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19TH CENTURY HAND LOOMED TWO PIECE
LINSEY-WOOLSEY BLANKET FROM A TEXAS HILL COUNTRY ESTATE
– VERY GOOD EXAMPLE OF THE BLANKETS BROUGHT FROM HOME BY
THE CIVIL WAR SOLDIERS: Based on the weave and
the two piece construction, I have been told by the
people who collect textiles that this blanket almost
surely was hand woven on a 19th century home
loom. Although it is a light weight summer blanket,
despite its weight is surprisingly warm (I’ll admit I’ve
napped under this one a number of times.) This is just
the sort of blanket that Civil War soldiers on both
sides of the conflict would have carried as they
traveled to the recruit depots and in the first months
of their enlistment.
Measuring 81” L x 62”, this blanket is woven of natural,
undyed ivory colored Linsey-Woolsey with a series of
light brown accent stripes running up the center length
of the blanket. The blanket is constructed of two
pieces running the length of the finished blanket, hence
the common reference “two- piece blanket”. The looms
present in most 19Th Century American homes
were smaller than the commercial looms and were limited
as the width of the material they could produce. As in
the case of this blanket, the loom on which the material
was woven was restricted to a 26” width, so two pieces
of the woven material were sewn side by each to create a
blanket of the necessary width. The seam running up the
middle of the length of the blanket is very fine hand
work and the seam is almost imperceptible, evidence of
the very fine work of a capable homemaker. I have
looked at a fair number of these two piece blankets at
various antique shows and the work shown in this
specimen is really in a class by itself. The stripes
running the length of the blanket consist of a ¼” stripe
of brown, a ½” stripe of ivory, a 2” stripe of brown, ½”
stripe of ivory and ¼” stripe of brown. With a center
separation of 3 ¼” strip of ivory this pattern repeats.
While the blanket is very clean and was well cared for,
there is a wear spot 1” by 1 ¼” at one end and a
scattering of 1/8” moth holes along the edges where the
blanket was folded as can be seen in the photos. In
spite of this minor amount of wear, the blanket is
otherwise very solid and would display very well with a
grouping of a soldier’s effects. The ends are bound in
a yarn of the same color as the blanket.
These home made blankets have been long recognized as an
integral piece of the Civil War soldier’s experience and
I would imagine these blankets brought from home
provided a tenuous link with a better place and time,
and provided the soldier with a small sense of comfort.
This particular blanket was purchased from an old Texas
Hill Country estate and is definitely the type the boys
brought with them when they enlisted. (C113) $350
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