Jontz-Montgomery Coverlet Collection
As the Industrial Revolution in Great Britain intensified between 1820 and 1840, many handweavers emigrated to America and sought to extend their careers on the "western" frontier. Though nearly any household weaver with a four-harness loom could create simple geometric overshot coverlets for bedding or house decor, the immigrants brought with them skills and equipment that found them an eager clientele for their goods.
Many of the emigrant weavers brought supplementary appliances for their looms known as Jacquard mechanism, named after its French inventor Joseph Marie Jacquard. The Jacquard device was an intricate system of resolving pattern-punched cards which guided warp threads into complex designs. The result was a repeated motif which could be endlessly varied and recombined, but most often consisted of a field of floral medallions with a three or four-sided border.
Early Jacquard coverlets tended to be made up in two colors: white or natural-color cotton and indigo blue wool warp, crossed by a weft of the same colors and fibers. Later, dual and multi-colors came into use, producing even more variations in designs.
Many jacquard weavers settled in communities, often for months and years, and produced coverlets on commission. A coverlet could occasionally be completed in a single work day, but most probably required several days or a week to complete. The average price for a coverlet was likely $5.
The coverlets on the following pages are from Conner Prairie's Jontz/Montgomery Coverlet Collection of 104 handwoven coverlets produced by Indiana weavers.
Coverlet, double weave, figured
1852
Cotton, wool
Woven by the Craig family: William Sr. (b. Scotland 1800-1880), William Jr.(b. South Carolina 1824-?), or James (b. South Carolina 1823-1889), Decatur County
The courthouse with date turned ninety degrees from the usual orientation is the trademark of the Decatur County Craigs. Unlike most coverlet weavers, the Craigs wove borders on all four sides. The center motifs look very quilt-like on this coverlet.
96.1.2
Coverlet, double weave, figured/geometric
1839
Cotton, wool
Woven by David Isaac Grave (b. Pennsylvania 1803-1864), Richmond, Wayne County
A Quaker weaver, David Grave is known for his very unusual choices of motifs and colors. No other known Indiana weaver combined geometric with figured motifs. He is also one of a few weavers who wove both tied Beiderwand and double weave figured coverlets. The finches that you see in his borders are found as the border motif in several of his coverlets.
96.2.60
Geometric double weave coverlet
Also requiring a multi-shaft loom, this type of coverlet is visually and technically related to those woven on a four-shaft loom. Both use geometric motifs "built" from blocks of design, but because this double weave example is created on a loom with more shafts, it has more blocks and, therefore, a more intricate pattern. Double weave refers to the fact that the weaver has created a coverlet by simultaneously weaving two layers of fabric that join together wherever the colors switch.
96.1.22