"From the Famed Craig Family" 1848 Indigo Blue & Ivory (Cream) Double Woven Wool Jacquard Coverlet (Greensburg, Indiana)
The Craig Family is Featured in the Smithsonian, Natural History Museum, Art Institute of Chicago & Other Many other Museums
Double Woven, 2 Connected Sections
Urns, Floral, Birds of Paradise, Buildings, Indigo Blue & Ivory White, Approx: 84" x 70" (Total)
Some General Surface and Edge Wear and One patch area as shown in pictures. Underside has more wear than show side. Please use Zoom features we shot multiple pictures.
Antique Collectors Estate Find
Just Reduced over 50% from Original List Price!
Note: We attached a photo at the bottom of this listing of another Craig coverlet similar to this that sold years back on eBay, it is not the one in this sale.
The Rembrandts of Weavers! Rare to find Craig works outside of private collections (as this was in) or in a museum. You can research the Craig family and its contribution to the 19th Century US coverlet weaving industry in the Midwest. William Craig Sr and his son James coverlets are featured in museums across America and are highly sought after by collectors. Many of their coverlets have brought well into the thousands over the years depending on style, color, design, condition etc. and of course some for less. We are asking far less.
We recently sold a William Craig Sr. coverlet & a James Craig coverlet of this approximate size on eBay that we obtained from an estate sale. They were different patterns. This one offered here is unsigned but dated (perhaps as preferred by buyers), but was obtained from a sale with other Craig pieces and we know this pattern to be theirs (see photo of another on at bottom of page, not included in this sale).
This jacquard coverlet is deep indigo blue and ivory white with detailed floral patterns, urns, birds of paradise and buildings. The coverlet has several areas of general wear and fraying, but no noted staining or odors. There is a patched area as shown in pictures. The underside of coverlet has more surface wear than show side. We did not try to clean or alter in any way as it is so striking and beautiful as it is. Colors are uniform on jacquard. We did have a few shadows when taking pictures, sorry about that. Despite wear to piece it displays very nicely as you can see. Although it is double sided, the seam is raised a bit on what we would call the underside, you can see that in pictures.
We took multiple pictures for your consideration & can send more if you need them, but I think we covered every square inch in the pictures. This would make a great show piece for any antique store window, B & B, antiqued room or home. Given its historic nature and value it is sure to be a treasure for any buyer.
The Craig family were among the most sought after weavers in Indiana and beyond in the 1840s-1860s per our research. It was recorded that people would ride by wagons sometimes for days to acquire these coverlets for their homes and especially for their daughters dowry chests. This may be why so many are in museums today. William Sr had made use of a process that allowed them to make the coverlets much faster using Jacquard cards. They charged $5 per coverlet ($165 in todays money), a sizable amount for that era. Their coverlets were double woven, very detailed and durable. This coverlet was owned by a selective antique collector and we acquired from the estate.
Let us know if you have questions before buying. We try to describe items as best we can, but you may have questions and we want all buyers to feel 100% comfortable before buying.
