Textiles

Antique Jacquard Coverlets: Reading Woven Names, Dates and Corner Blocks

Few American antiques tell you as much about themselves as a jacquard coverlet. Many were woven with a corner block naming the weaver, the customer, the town or the year. That makes them wonderful research objects, and it also means you need to know how to read them carefully. This guide explains what a jacquard coverlet is, how it differs from an overshot coverlet, how to interpret the woven inscriptions, and how to care for one without harming it.

What a jacquard coverlet is

A coverlet is a woven bed cover, the top layer on a bed. In America, wool and cotton (and sometimes linen) coverlets were woven in large numbers through the first two-thirds of the nineteenth century. Jacquard coverlets are named for the jacquard mechanism, a punched-card device attached to a loom that controls individual warp threads. That control allowed weavers to produce large, flowing, highly detailed designs that would have been impractical on a simpler loom.

The jacquard device came into American use in the first half of the nineteenth century, and jacquard coverlets became a popular product of professional weavers, many of them immigrants with European weaving training. These weavers often worked in particular regions, including New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana, and customers commissioned coverlets from them, sometimes supplying their own yarn.

Typical jacquard designs include central medallions, floral sprays, stars, birds, eagles, buildings and elaborate borders. Blue and white wool-and-cotton combinations are classic, but red, green and multicolored coverlets are found too.

Jacquard vs overshot vs other coverlet types

Precise weave identification can be technical, and specialists sometimes disagree on terminology. For buying and research, the key distinction is usually between figured jacquard designs and geometric designs, plus whether the coverlet is one piece or seamed.

Reading the corner block

The corner block is what makes jacquard coverlets so researchable. Many have one or more woven blocks in the corners containing some combination of:

• The weaver's name, sometimes with the word "weaver" or a trade description
• The client's or owner's name, often a woman's name
• A town, county or state
• A year
• A small motif, which some weavers used like a trademark

How to read and record it

1. Find all the blocks. Some coverlets have inscriptions in two or four corners, sometimes reversed. Others have a woven trademark motif in the corner with no text.
2. Photograph each block straight on with even light and a ruler for scale. Then photograph the reverse, since the text is mirrored on the back of many weaves and can sometimes be clearer there.
3. Transcribe exactly. Woven lettering can be odd: reversed letters, abbreviations, missing letters or nonstandard spellings. Write down exactly what you see, then a separate line for what you think it means.
4. Separate the names. Decide carefully which name is the weaver and which is the client. The block layout and wording usually help, but not always.
5. Record the year as woven. A woven date is good evidence of when the coverlet was made, but keep it in context with the weave, materials and condition.

Other identification clues

Materials

Many jacquard coverlets combine a cotton warp with wool weft, the wool carrying the pattern colors. Indigo blue is the classic color. Look for even, natural fading consistent with age and light exposure, and for consistency between colors. Modern synthetic fibers and bright, uniform modern dyes are warning signs.

Construction

• Seams: note whether the coverlet is one width or two panels joined. Check whether the pattern matches across a seam and whether the panels look like they belong together.
• Borders: count how many sides have borders. Some coverlets have borders on three sides, leaving the top plain where it went at the head of the bed.
• Edges and fringe: note whether the fringe is woven-in, applied or missing, and whether hems look original.
• Size: measure length and width carefully. Coverlets have often been cut down or altered.
• Repairs: look for darns, patches and re-sewn seams, noting whether the yarns match.

Condition issues

Wool coverlets are vulnerable to moth damage, so look for holes, thin areas and any sign of active insects. Fading, stains, fiber loss along fold lines and weakened cotton are common. A coverlet with a crisp corner block and a legible inscription can still be interesting despite wear. A tattered example may be primarily a research or study piece.

Reproductions and later coverlets

Jacquard-woven bedcovers did not stop in the nineteenth century. Later coverlets, Colonial Revival pieces and modern reproductions all exist, some with copied inscriptions and dates. Things to compare:

• Fiber content: synthetics, or wool and cotton with an unusually uniform modern feel.
• Colors: very bright, even colors without natural fading.
• Edges: machine-finished hems or modern labels.
• Inscriptions: copies may reproduce a well-known weaver's text, or include dates that do not fit the materials.

As with quilts, dating a coverlet means weighing several clues together. Our guide on dating antique quilts covers textile dating principles that also apply here, and why one clue is not a date explains why a woven year should still be checked against everything else.

Safe care: what to do and what to avoid

• Storage: store flat if possible, or rolled on an acid-free tube with acid-free tissue. If it must be folded, pad the folds with tissue and refold along different lines periodically.
• Light: keep coverlets out of direct sunlight and limit display time. Light fading is cumulative and permanent.
• Pests: inspect regularly for moths and carpet beetles, especially in wool. Isolate any coverlet with signs of active pests and seek advice before treating.
• Display: avoid hanging a coverlet by tacks or clips that concentrate stress. Conservators use methods such as a sleeve with a hook-and-loop system to distribute weight.
• Handling: clean, dry hands, and support the whole textile when moving it.

Researching value

Coverlet interest depends on many factors: design, color, condition, legibility and completeness of the inscription, the weaver's reputation, regional interest and rarity of the pattern or motif. Avoid guessing from asking prices. Instead, compare against sold and completed listings, auction archives with catalog notes, and museum examples. Note how condition and inscriptions affected descriptions of comparable pieces. For an important or unusual coverlet, a specialist textile dealer or auction house can give an informed opinion.

If a coverlet came from a family estate, keep it together with any letters, photographs or papers that came with it. Our article Do Not Break Up the Estate Group Yet explains why that context matters.