Description:
White linen towel woven in a variation of a 1:3 twill weave, sometimes known as overshot. This woven configuration not only helped to make the textile stronger, but the short floats helped make the linen extra absorbent. The selvage-width towel is hemmed about 1/4" at both the top and bottom (the cut edges). The towel is embroidered with the intials "PS," an ancestor of the donor, Polly Stebbins Telford. The presence of initials and/or numbers on table linens helped provide evidence of ownership in instances of communal laundry and also made rotation of table linens for uniform wear and use possible. Telford was a direct descendent of Asa Stebbins (1767-1844) of Deerfield and Emilia Harvey (1769-1841), daughter of Simeon Harvey of Deerfield, through their daughter Emilia (b.1798) who married Abel Houghton of St. Albans, Vermont, in 1817.
Subjects:
Textile fabrics; Embroidery; Linen; Silk Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+F.848 |
