Textile storage in Colonial America, 1680-1750
Date
1998
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Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
Trends in textile storage reveal a great deal about the importance and value of textiles in the home as well as the safe-keeping o f these textiles in a piece o f case furniture that made a visual statement to visitors and guests. The furniture used to protect and store textiles changed dramatically from 1680 to 1750, which affected methods of clothing storage and retrieval. In addition, the different cultural ideas brought to America by immigrants from various parts of Europe influenced the choices made regarding textile storage. ☐ To determine methods of textile storage, an intensive survey o f probate inventories took place, yielding information regarding the estate values, the appearance of textiles and storage furniture, and incidence and type of storage furniture. Other contemporary sources utilized include period domestic advice manuals, written accounts, and surviving case furniture and portraits. The four areas compared were: Suffolk County, Massachusetts; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; York County, Virginia; and New York City and its vicinity. ☐ Throughout the period from 1680 to 1750, many changes occurred in the storage of textiles. Although people still tended to fold, rather than hang, their garments and linens, the objects in which they placed their textiles changed. While the chest remained a popular form for storage, changing little except stylistically during the time period studied, the popularity of the chest of drawers increased dramatically. Additionally, the differences in the rate at which new forms assimilated into the homes o f colonists from New England to the South is remarkable. Finally, throughout the time period studied in this thesis, 1680 to 1750, the colonists looked to their different cultural roots to determine what types of storage furniture filled their homes and how they stored the textiles themselves.