Counterpane, Bolton type

The 1845 edition of Webster's "Encyclopedia of Domestic Economy" described the differences between what were termed Marseilles quilts (see 11.60.329) and what were then called counterpanes:
"‘Counterpanes,’ evidently a corruption of counter-point, have little protuberances on the surface, dispersed after a certain pattern. ‘Marseilles quilts’ are a more elegant kind of bed-quilts, and lighter than common white counterpanes of cotton. This fabric is a double cloth with a third of softer material between, which is kept in its place by quilting done in the loom.
Bolton, near Manchester in Lancashire, was the English center of the home industries that produced these all-cotton bed covers. So-called Bolton coverlets, or "counterpanes," were imported to the United States in large quantities starting around the turn of the nineteenth century. The counterpanes were woven in one piece on two harness looms that were usually about nine or ten feet wide, either by two weavers sitting side by side at each loom or by a single weaver using a fly shuttle. The pattern was produced by pulling the heavy weft threads up into loops at the appropriate places. The thick cotton design wefts, which resemble candlewicking, were woven into the fabric every few rows in a set proportion (in this example 1:6) to the thinner cotton weft threads. The warp is the same weight as the finer weft threads.
Most of the counterpanes in our collection were made in England. The serious study of this type of bed cover is relatively new, but characteristics that distinguish English counterpanes from the few known American examples are coming to light. The first important research on American counterpane weaving was done when Esther I. Schwartz discovered an example inscribed with "Rutgers Factory" woven above a spread eagle in the center and "Col. Henry Rutgers 1822" woven in the border. Although Colonel Henry Rutgers (1745-1830) was a New York City resident, Schwartz assumed that the counterpane had been woven on a power loom in the cotton factory Rutgers had founded in Paterson, New Jersey, sometime before 1822. Until Schwartz's discovery, it had been assumed that no American factories or weavers working during the early nineteenth century were skilled enough to undertake this type of intricate weaving. Schwartz backed up her supposition with research about the Rutgers factory, which was one of fifteen cotton factories operating in Paterson by 1825, with forty-four looms that employed one hundred hands and wove 5,040 yards of fabric a week. It is more likely, however, that rather than counterpanes, the products of the Rutgers factory were solely yard goods and, in light of recent research, we need to reevaluate Schwartz's assumptions. It is probable that the counterpane made for Colonel Rutgers in 1822 was individually woven by hand in a small workshop in New York City, not in his factory.
Several scholars have come to the conclusion that counterpanes were being successfully manufactured in the eastern United States by individual hand-loom weavers very early in the nineteenth century, and, in fact, some of the only documented professional female weavers were counterpane weavers. Eliza Bourne, a professional weaver who worked from her home in Kennebunk, Maine, produced numerous counterpanes for sale between 1800 and 1820, solely with the help of her large family. She owned three looms, two of them specifically for counterpane weaving, and was referred to as a "household manufacturer" by the local press. Her pieces sold for either ten or seventeen dollars each, depending on the grade of quality. Hannah Wilson of New Hampshire is another documented female counterpane weaver, producing at least 177 counterpanes to order during the period of the 1830s through the 1850s. And an advertisement in the "Baltimore Patriot" from June 11,1816, states that "The Independent Manufacturing Company, No 54 Howard-Street" can supply buyers with "Domestic Counterpanes, &c." and "have now on consignment and can be constantly supplied with Counterpanes of as elegant appearance (and a far superior texture) as any ever imported from Manchester." These counterpanes were probably made by individual home manufacturers (the independent manufacturers referred to in the company name) and then marketed and sold on consignment through the company for a fee or percentage of the price.
This counterpane belonged to Cornelia H. Hansen and came to us along with her wedding dress. According to family history, she was married in New York City on the night of the Great Fire of December 16, 1835. The counterpane may have been either part of her trousseau or a wedding present. The eagle and the thirteen stars in the center certainly seem to suggest that the piece is the product of an American manufacturer, and its border designs closely resemble the borders on the aforementioned Colonel Henry Rutgers counterpane. Yet because the piece is not inscribed, its origins may never be certain.
[Peck 2015; adapted from Amelia Peck, "American Quilts & Coverlets in the Metropolitan Museum of Art," 2007]