The Hudson Bay point blanket is a type of wool blanket traded by Hudson Bay Company (HBC) in British North America (now Canada) and the United States during the 1700s and 1800s. The company is named for Hudson Bay and the blankets are usually traded to First Countries instead of beavers. Blankets continue to be sold by Hudson Bay stores in Canada and have come to hold iconic status in Canada. In the United States, they can be found in fancy department stores and sister chains of Hudson's Lord & amp; Taylor.
Video Hudson's Bay point blanket
History
In North American feather trade, in 1700, wool blankets accounted for more than 60 per cent of traded goods. The French feather merchant, Germain Maugenest allegedly has advised HBC to introduce the point blanket.
The blankets are often produced with green stripes, red lines, yellow lines and tilapia on a white background; four strip colors are popular and easily manufactured using good colourfast dyes at that time. In 1798 the factory owner received a purchase order for "30 pairs [s] of 3 points for a line of four colors (red, blue, green, yellow)" to be produced in Witney, Oxfordshire, a city famous for its woolen blankets since medieval times.
From the early days of the feather trade, the woolen blankets were made into a hooded cape called capotes by the native and French Canadian voyages, which are perfect for the cold winters of Canada.
Maps Hudson's Bay point blanket
System points
The dots are short black stripes that are woven to the edges of the woven that are woven along the bottom of the set of stripes. About four inches in length (except in the case of half points, which is two inches), they show the entire finished size (area) of the blanket and allow the blanket size to be easily determined even when folded. The points system was created by French weavers in the mid-1700s since then, as now, the blankets shrink as part of the manufacturing process. The point comes from the French empointer, which means "to make threaded stitches on the cloth."
Over the centuries the size of the blanket has shifted, especially during the 1900s when the bed became larger. The 2.5, 3, 3.5 and 4 point blankets are most common during the feather trade era. Currently the Hudson Bay blanket is commonly found in 3.5 point size (twin beds), 4 (double), 6 (queen) and 8 (king).
Continuing misunderstanding that initially points are an indication of the price of a blanket on the otter's skin or even its weight. The thickness and quality is the same blanket for the blanket, and the bigger blankets will naturally be heavier.
Current use
Made in England of 100% wool, blanket versions are available at Hudson Bay stores across Canada. Solid colors are available, such as the classic pattern featuring green, red, yellow, and indigo lines. Today the blanket is made in the UK by John Atkinson, sub brand A.W. Hainsworth & amp; Sons Ltd.
Wool from England and New Zealand is used in making blankets.
The official license allowed to import Hudson Bay Blankets to the United States for commercial sale is Woolrich Inc. from Pennsylvania. Five US retailers are currently selling blankets to consumers: Woolrich, Lord & amp; Taylor (sister chain to Hudson's Bay), L.L.Bean, Getz's Department Store in Marquette, Michigan and Johnson Woolen Mills.
Collectibility
The original blanket points have become highly collectible and can take the price up to thousands of dollars. The main determinants of value include age, size, color, scarcity of patterns and conditions. Particularly collectible point blankets are the coronation blankets: those produced for the 1953 coronation of Queen Elizabeth II carry about $ 600 if in mint condition while the example of the richer 1937 coronation blanket has sold for $ 1300.
In 1890, HBC began adding labels on their blankets because a blanket point of similar quality was being sold by HBC competitors from producers like Early's of Witney.
Harold Lee Tichenor, the counselor and blanket consultant for Hudson's Bay Company, has written two books on their point blanket and collectibles.
In April 2017, HBC updated the label, rotating it from portrait to landscape, making it easy to have English and French on both sides of the emblem, which have been enhanced with red in the flag. To celebrate Canada's 150th anniversary in 2017, HBC added additional labels, voyage images in canoes, with CANADA on top, to the covers.
Name in First Nations
Hudson's Bay Blanket is called by a different name in First Nations. Some examples are:
- Baahlaads gyaa'adaay , Haida
- , Kwak'wala
- , Kutenai language
References
External links
- Hbc Heritage - Our History - The Hbc Point Blanket
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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