Ohio Finds: Woven Coverlet
This item was made by Frederick E. Hesse in Logan, Ohio, in 1862.
A perfect choice for an extra blanket on chilly nights, this colorful coverlet was woven by Frederick E. Hesse in 1862. Born in 1827, he was one of at least three known weavers in his family — Saxon immigrants who settled in Ohio and worked in Perry and Hocking counties, making coverlets from the 1830s through the 1860s.
Joseph-Marie Jacquard’s development of the Jacquard machine had revolutionized textile designs. The apparatus that mounted to a hand loom arrived in America in the early 1820s, just a few years before Frederick Hesse’s birth. Functioning in many ways like an early punch-card computer system, the Jacquard machine used a complex series of cards, each of which corresponded to one line in the pattern.
Openings in the cards either allowed or blocked hooks and threads from passing through, allowing for eye-dazzling designs and customized corner blocks with details like the names of owner and manufacturer, as well as the date it was made. This Logan, Ohio, coverlet made by Hesse sold in September 2024.
Sold: $1,320
Hollie Davis is a co-owner of Meander Auctions in Whipple, Ohio. meanderauctions.com
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