Four-color Woven Wool and Cotton Tied-beiderwand Coverlet with Railroad Car Border

Description:

Four-color Woven Wool and Cotton Tied-beiderwand Coverlet with Railroad Car Border, Jacob Lutz, East Hempfield Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, 1848, two-piece coverlet in shades of brick red, scarlet red, blue, and celery green, with a central field of intersecting rows of sunbursts and blossoms and leaves, bordered on three sides with locomotives and boxcars, two corner blocks with wove inscription "MADE BY J.LUTZ E. HEMPFIELD TOWNSHIP FOR SARAH HEIDELBAU 1848," (wear, minor losses),approx. 87 x 81 in.

Literature: This coverlet is pictured in Coverlets and the Spirit of America, Melinda Zongor (Schiffer Publishing, Ltd., Pennsylvania, 2002),pp. 116-17. Zongor writes: "The delightful train motif in this coverlet is unquestionably celebrating railroading as an industry and was made in Hempfield Township, Pennsylvania. However, it cannot be specifically honoring the well-known Hempfield railroad, since the coverlet was made several years before that railroad was constructed."
Estimate $1,000-1,500

Minor toning, subtle scattered losses to wool yarn.


The absence of a condition statement does not imply that the lot is in perfect condition or completely free from wear and tear, imperfections or the effects of aging. Condition requests can be obtained via email (lot inquiry button) or by telephone to the appropriate gallery location (Boston/617.350.5400 or Marlborough/508.970.3000). Any condition statement given, as a courtesy to a client, is only an opinion and should not be treated as a statement of fact. Skinner Inc. shall have no responsibility for any error or omission.

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