From lap to loom: The transition of Marseilles white work from hand to machine

Chronicle of the Early American Industries Association, Inc., The, Mar 2001 by Atkins, Jacqueline M

Once the yoke of England and its restrictive textile policies in regard to its colonies was thrown off, textile manufacturing and innovative developments in the field surged forward in the United States, spurred on by aggressive entrepreneurs who hoped to satisfy the demand for new/better/cheaper/fashionable goods. The urge for profit is a tremendous motivator in pushing the development of new technology, and this urge was as strong in the past as it is today. Thus, it would almost be more surprising if at least some Marseilles-style spreads were not being produced on draw looms in the United States by the turn of the eighteenth century than if they were (Figure 5).

All sources agree, however, that it is quite difficult to distinguish between British and American woven Marseilles-style woven spreads. Due to a lack of examples with firm attributions as to place of manufacture-England or America (nor can France be forgotten, for she also produced woven versions of the traditional Provencal stitchery)-it is hard to tell just when Marseilles-style spreads were first made in America, or even which ones might have been made here. Motifs cannot necessarily be used to identify place of origin. One striking 1876 spread shows an eagle with outspread wings and thirteen stars over its head standing above the words "E Pluribus Unum"-classic symbols of the United States. It also includes a thistle, rose, and clover in its design, representative respectively of Scotland, England, and Ireland. It is likely that it was woven for the 1876 American Centennial. But was it woven in the United States as an acknowledgment to the country's colonial heritage, or was it woven in England as a Centennial souvenir? 17 An argument either way could be equally valid.

Amelia Peck notes some evidence for Bolton-style coverlets being made in the United States before 1825, as one known counterpane has both "Rutgers Factory" and "Col. Henry Rutgers 1822" woven into it. The Rutgers factory was one of a number of cotton factories in Paterson, New Jersey. It had forty-four looms and employed a hundred hands who produced some 5,000 yards of fabric a week in 1825.38 Thus, it is quite likely that this factory produced the "Rutgers" counterpane. Peck also mentions Eliza Bourne, a professional weaver in Maine from about 1800 to 1820, who had three looms, two of them specifically for counterpane weaving.39 Thus, the evidence seems to point to the American ability to produce intricate pieces such as Bolton-style work, raising a strong possibility that Marseilles-style work was being produced as well. Ongoing research in this area may one day provide more substantial answers to the many questions that remain in regard to American-made Marseilles-style woven textiles, especially ones that predate 1825.

Marseilles- and Bolton-style spreads continued popular throughout most of the nineteenth century, along with other forms of machine-produced white work. As with many fads, however, the quality deteriorated as time moved on. The finest, most intricately patterned loom-made Marseilles-style spreads seem to have been produced in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, on draw looms and early jacquard-type looms. Further into the nineteenth century, when increasing mechanization and industrialization allowed for larger scale production, there was a general simplification in design and quality. Designs became codified and flat, lacking both charm and imagination. Whereas the earlier spreads were woven as a type of double cloth with a filler that supplied a strong three-dimensional relief effect, many later spreads were woven as single layer with a thicker background supplemental weft that still allowed a semblance of low relief, but did not have the distinctive quilted" look that once made woven Marseilles-style spreads so desirable.