Description:
One of two cotton whitework coverlets (see also HD V.068A)) in three panels embroidered in loops with the initials "LM" for Lucia (or Lucretia) Mason in an elaborate cartouche over a footed urn full of flowers encircled by a shaped cartouche; cornacopia in the bottom corners with intertwining flowers, leaves and grapes; and three borders: 1. an oval chain around the bottom and sides, 2. bows and ribbons connecting to the oval chain intersperced with flower bouquets and urns; 3. an oval chain around the bottom and side edges. According to the donor, Lucia (or Lucretia) Mason (c.1805-1863), who was either the natural or adopted daughter of John and Susannah Mason of Thompson, Windham County, Connecticut, and married Harvey Blashfield (1794-1851) in Putnam, Connecticut, on October 25, 1814. Born in Brimfield, Massachusetts, Harvey Blashfield is listed in the 1820 census living in Killingly, Connecticut, with three children and a partner with John Mason and his brothers in a cottom mill called Stone Chapel incorporated in 1815; listed in the 1830 census in Thompson with six children and on the board of directors of the Windham County Bank in 1830 and president of the Thompson Bank when it was incorporated in 1833; listed in the 1850 census in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, with his wife Lucia and three daughters and described as a manufacturer. There are records for Harvey Blashfield dying in NYC in 1851 at age 55, and his widow, Lucia Blashfield, dying in Brooklyn, NY, in 1863 at the home of her son, William Henry Blashfield; both are buried in Green Wood Cemetary along with Charles D. Blashfield (d.1881), the son of William Henry Blashfield. The embroidery is done in a style known as "candlewicking" because of the thick thread's resemblance to a candle's wick. The period term for this kind of embroidery is "knotted counterpane" as found in a c.1854 Illinois reference by Gail Bakkom and referred to by former Winterthur textile curator and author, Susan Swan. White bed coverings, such as this example with white embroidery or surface design, are referred to as "whitework," and frequently appear on examples dating to the early 19th century. Although more difficult to keep clean, white domestic textiles, especially those made from cotton, could be easily laundered.
Subjects:
Textile fabrics; Cotton Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+V.068 |
