Textiles in America, 1650-1870 [Hardcover]

Florence M. Montgomery (Author), Linda Eaton (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 17, 2007

First published in 1984, this remains the definitive study of textiles as they were used in early American homes.

The book offers an overview of textiles in America, based on years of research, that is unmatched in scope. Imported textiles played a central role in the lives of American colonists. The most-imported commodity, and a highly valued one, textiles were used for bedding, bed curtains, clothing, household linens, window curtains, upholstery, and floor covering. This book illustrates samples from collections around the world, as well as drawings and engravings of the time. Its dictionary-style entries depict the myriad household uses for textiles in the period. Drawing on original documents, prints, paintings, commercial records, merchant papers, advertisements, and pattern books, Textiles in America is a comprehensive resource, and a treasure trove of scholarship. 117 color, 255 black & white illustrations

Editorial Reviews

Review

A fascinating and thorough account here...A valuable resource for researchers and laypersons. alike (Choice) REVIEW: A comprehensive resource for historians, dealers, interior designers/decorators and vintage enthusiasts. Above all, it's a treasure trove of scholarship. (New England Antiques Journal, Judy Penz Sheluk)

A comprehensive resource for historians, dealers, interior designers/decorators and vintage enthusiasts. Above all, it's a treasure trove of scholarship.

Review

A comprehensive resource for historians, dealers, interior designers/decorators and vintage enthusiasts. Above all, it's a treasure trove of scholarship.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 496 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (August 17, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 039373224X
• ISBN-13: 978-0393732245
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 8.6 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #815,717 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE TEXTILES MAKE THE HOME!!, March 20, 2009

By 

John R. Vacca "Tech Write Independent Reviewer" (Pomeroy, Ohio) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Textiles in America, 1650-1870 (Hardcover)

Are you an amateur historian or a researcher of the American textile industry prior to 1870? If you are, then this book is for you! Author Florence Montgomery, has done an outstanding job of writing a book (that was initially published in 1984), that is a definitive study of textiles in early America.

Montgomery, begins by looking at the furnishing practices in England and America by covering wash drawings; striped upholstery material to complement neoclassical furniture; figured silk and satin; scrolled cornices and pleated and fringed valances; draped ceilings and continuous window pelmet; and, red curtains with deep fringed lambrequins and continuous cornice. Then, the author discusses bed hangings, by focusing on the textile material used in ladies bedrooms during the 1650s; King Louis the XIV's royal bedroom; state beds in the 1760s; Thomas Chippendale beds showing side and foot curtains; Gothick beds with a flat tester; curtains made out of Genova velvet with a satin or superfine cloth and a suitable border being worked around them on an embroidery of gold; dome beds decorated with calico or silk, an exterior green and the linings yellow; French beds where the tester with the dome is attached to the wall, and supports the curtains, which draw round the bedstead, which is in the form of a sofa; and, field beds, with plain or printed calicoes, where the border is cut out in black Manchester velvet and sewed on. Next, she looks at the textile material that window curtains were made of during the seventeenth- and eighteenth century, by focusing on a stiff upholstered valance edged and scrolled with tape; fringed and ruffled valance that conceals the pulleys and cords ending in tassels by which it was drawn; cornices, curtains and drapery for drawing room windows; valances made of lemon colored silk with embroidered muslin curtains and fine spotted muslin hung over a gilt dart; and, continued drapery that are suitable to Venetian, Bow, or large Windows. The author then explains what type of upholstery was used to cover furniture, by zeroing in on the use of red velvet; leather; English Turkey; crewel embroidery in rose, green, blue and brown; and, the use of leafy central medallion and floral trails. She continues by exploring the types of textiles used for the period rooms in America. Then, the author presents 64 pages of colored plates showing every textile from swatches- of calmuc to moreen. Finally, she introduces you to the dictionary, which covers every cloth from adatais to zanella.

If I've learned anything from this most excellent book, is that textiles played a very important part in the lives of Americans colonists. But surprisingly, I also learned that estate inventories of the period indicated that bedding and bed curtains were among the most highly valued possessions, exceeded in value only by land, buildings, and, in rare occasions, wrought silver.

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars College-level collections strong in textile history and art can't miss this., October 6, 2007

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Textiles in America, 1650-1870 (Hardcover)

TEXTILES IN AMERICA 1650-1870 was first published in 1984 to become a celebrated, definitive study on the topic of textiles in early American homes. Its reprint here makes it an ongoing top pick and mention for any college-level art library holding: it draws on source material scrapbooks of cloth swatches offering period terms, dimensions, prices, and engravings of their times to reproduce both photos and information, adding historical background on decorative practices and textile use in both England and America. College-level collections strong in textile history and art can't miss this.

6 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Textiles in America, February 15, 2008

By 

Nancy Kerns (Skillman. NJ) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Textiles in America, 1650-1870 (Hardcover)

This is a reprint of a classic Textiles reference book. I'm happy to get a copy at the current price instead of inflated re-sale prices.