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John Long's coverled book, 1815 (1815)

Author: Long, John
Keywords: Weaving; Pennsylvania; Bucks County; 19th century; Coverlets; Weaving instruction; Handlooms; Baltimore, Battle of, Baltimore, Md., 1814; Songs and music; United States; History; War of 1812; Pattern books
Publisher: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. Library
Year: 1815
Language: English
Collection: opensource

Description

Haycock Township, Bucks County, [Penn.], 1815

1 v. (52 p.) ; 195 x 197 mm

John Long's Coverled Book is a handwritten manuscript containing diagrams and instructions for the weaving of geometric patterns into coverleds, or coverlets. The instructions are for double weaving on a loom, which is also called a summer and winter pattern. The book's original cover has been pasted onto new boards. Two hands can be identified in the text: that of the original author, John Long, and of the subsequent owner, John Bechtel. The manuscript's title page indicates that John Long wrote it in Haycock Township, Bucks County, [Pennsylvania] in 1815. Three years later it passed into the possession of John Bechtel, who added more patterns as well as inscriptions in German. Like Long, Bechtel lived in Bucks County, outside of Philadelphia. In addition to weaving patterns, the manuscript contains two copies of a short patriotic passage on the Battle of Baltimore. The first version was written in John Long's hand. Bechtel recopied the verse on the same page at a later date. The manuscript is heavily illustrated with 94 ink-drawn diagrams of weaving patterns. Diagrams for the creation of smaller, repeated patterns appear on pages 3-23. Some of the repeating patterns include New Snow Ball, Old Snow Ball, Bird's Eye, All Roses, Trueloves Not [sic], and Cat with Rings. There are also patterns for making large and small trees, as well as patterns by other weavers, such as Frey, Blim, and Isac Funck, labeled in Bechtel's hand. The book also includes diagrams for over 50 patterns that are not named or numbered. Instructions on page 25 provide the loom setup for larger patterns that are individually diagrammed on pages 2

Forms part of the Mary Ann Beinecke Decorative Art Collection

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