American Furniture, Folk & Decorative Arts

Provenance:

Emily Crane Chadbourne (1871–1964), Washington, DC, and Stone Ridge, New York, by February 1930 [incoming receipt R4416, February 21, 1930; in registration records];

Art Institute of Chicago, Gift of Emily Crane Chadbourne, 1930.

Display and Loan History:

Art Institute of Chicago, American Coverlets, July 14–October 14, 1973.

Art Institute of Chicago, Elizabeth F. Cheney and Agnes Allerton Textile Galleries, America the Beautiful: Textiles from the Permanent Collection, March 6–July 21, 1996.

Publication History:

Mildred Davison and Christa C. Mayer-Thurman, Coverlets: A Handbook on the Collection of Woven Coverlets in The Art Institute of Chicago, exh. cat. (Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago, 1973), 98.

Note:

As quoted from Coverlets: A Handbook on the Collection of Woven Coverlets in The Art Institute of Chicago, "The Ithaca Carpet Factory was located a quarter of a mile east of Ithaca, New York, an Archibald Davidson was the master weaver there. He had been a weaver in Scotland before coming to the United States and his well-known "Deer-hunt" border is said to have been reminiscent of his boyhood in his native land. According to his advertisement in 1831, he wove carpets and carpet coverlets and would weave the owner's name, date, and year if requested. His personnel consisted of six attendants. There were three looms-one for coverlets, one for carpets, and a third for homespun goods. Two spinning wheels and one dye pot completed the equipment. The operation of the factory came to an end with the Civil War as the demand for coverlets ceased." Mildred Davison and Christa C. Mayer-Thurman, Coverlets: A Handbook on the Collection of Woven Coverlets in The Art Institute of Chicago, exh. cat. (Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago, 1973), 98.