You all know of Barbara Brackman, quilt historian and prolific author from Kansas. She has a very interesting post on her blog about selvages, bolt stamps and bolt labels. The bolt stamp on the selvage above is from about 1800. Under the crown it says "British Manufactory."
The image above, printed on muslin, was found on the back of this Double Irish Chain quilt top. Barbara says this is probably a bolt stamp, like a selvage marking. It says: "Finished Soft for the Sewing Machine."
Above is an example of the paper bolt labels that were used in the 1800's. They became more elaborate as printing capabilities improved. Then, in the 1900's printing on the selvage became popular again. Read more on this topic at Barbara's blog: www.barbarabrackman.blogspot.com.She even shows a selvage block by May Britt.
Those historic bolt stamps are delightful. A little piece of history surviving to tell us about the past.
ReplyDeleteThese bolt stamps are fantastic. Just goes to show us that we aren't the first to use "selvedges" in our quilts. Everything old becomes new again. If would be fun for a quilting anniversary or something manufacturers put out a line using bolt stamps.
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