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DS2003-0874
Woven Doublecloth Coverlet
DS2003-0874

Woven Doublecloth Coverlet

DateMarch 4, 1834 (dated)
Maker David Daniel Haring (1800-1889)
OriginAmerica, New Jersey, Tappan
MediumBlue wool warp and weft; white cotton warp and weft in double weave technique
DimensionsOW with fringe: 78"; OH with fringe 99" OW w/out fringe 73"; OH w/out fringe 94"
Credit LineGift of Mrs. Frederick S. Nobbs
Object number2003.609.7
DescriptionThis fancy and figured coverlet is woven in a double weave technique with a wool and cotton warp and weft. The coverlet is made up of two loom widths joined with a center seam. It has a rolled hem at top (turned to light side of coverlet), long self tasseled fringe at bottom, and shorter tied-in tasseled fringe at sides.
The corner block consists of an angled rose with the inscription: "David / Haring/ TAPPAN".
The border at top and bottom consists of a rooster, eagle with heart on breast and stars above, and an oval cartouche with the inscription: "ELIZA / HARING. / March 4 1834". Below this is an undulating ribbon with tulip, diamond, and stars.
The border at sides consists of a two-handled vase with flowering plant, eagle with heart on breast and stars above, and tulip tree with a pair of birds in tree. Below this is a ribbon swag with hearts at each point and rosettes within each swag.
The centerfield consists of three central designs of eight pointed stars with smaller stars between the points, four tulips stemming from central flower with a smaller tulip between each tulip, and four flowers with rosette between each flower.


Label TextOf Dutch descent, David Haring was a professional weaver and farmer who worked and lived in Bergen County, New Jersey, with his wife, Leah Vervalen (Verveelen) Haring, and children. Their farmhouse on Tappan Road still stands today. It was a family business with all able hands participating in the weaving process and farming. Haring used wool sheared from his own sheep to weave his coverlets. Maria Haring, David and Leah's oldest child, remembered as a young girl that she had to wash the fleece in a brook across the road and help in the carding and spinning.

Haring's career as a weaver and farmer can be traced in the 1830 and 1840 Census Records for Harrington Township, which described him as employed in manufacture and trades, a designation that included weaving. The 1850 Census described him as a fifty-year-old farmer with $4,000 in real estate living with wife, Leah, and ten-year-old William. A respected member of his community, Haring served in the Bergen County Brigade and from 1851 to 1853 as a freeholder of Harrington Township. He died in 1889 leaving an estate that totaled $42,799.60, not including valuable real estate. David and Leah Haring are buried in the Tappan churchyard.

A prolific weaver, over thirty extant signed coverlets, dating between 1833 and 1835, are recorded for David Haring. The coverlets are woven in a double weave technique in two loom widths joined with a center seam in only two color variations: blue and undyed cotton. This construction technique and color scheme was typical of New Jersey weavers. Haring often used motifs based on a combination of traditional Dutch designs and symbols of the new Republic incorporating signature cartouches, flowers, eagles with hearts on their breasts, stars, roosters, tulip trees, and birds into his coverlet patterns. Many weavers wove inscriptions into the corners of their coverlets stating the place and date of manufacture, the client's name, and their own name. This practice not only personalized the coverlets, but also advertised the weaver's work. David Haring's primary corner block logo was an angled rose with four leaves.

Typical of Haring's fancy and figured coverlets, this one features a corner block with an angled rose and the inscription: "David / Haring/ TAPPAN." The border at top and bottom consists of a rooster, eagle with heart on breast and stars above, and oval cartouche with the inscription: "ELIZA / HARING. / March 4 1834". Below this is an undulating ribbon with tulips, diamonds, and stars. The coverlet is finished with long self tasseled fringe at bottom, and shorter tied-in tasseled fringe at sides.

It is believed that David Haring wove this coverlet for his third child, Eliza, who was born on April 26, 1831. In 1848, Eliza married Peter Blauvelt, a neighbor on Tappan Road. This coverlet along with two geometric patterned coverlets descended in her family until they were given to Colonial Williamsburg in 2003.
InscribedThe corner block consists of an angled rose with the inscription: "David/ Haring/ TAPPAN."
The border at top and bottom consists of a rooster, eagle, and cartouche with the inscription: "ELIZA/ HARING./ March 4 1834."
MarkingsSee inscription.
ProvenanceThis coverlet along with two other geometric patterned coverlets descended in the family of David Haring to Mrs. Jean Nobbs, a descendant of David Haring. It is believed that the coverlet was made for David and Leah Haring's third child, Eliza, who was born on April 26, 1831.
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