Knotted and Tufted Coverlet

Adapted from a Deerfield Society of Blue and White Needlework interpretation of a nineteenth century bed spread (see comparison), this knotted and tufted, white-on-white bedcover which Emma Henry made for C. Alice Baker (1833-1909) is indirectly based upon an historic precedent. With a composition mirrored along its central vertical axis, Mrs. Henry's densely packed design is more strictly hieratic than her Blue and White Society inspiration, and, rather than imbuing her natural motifs with a sense of organic life, she controls them with symmetry and careful order. The original bedcover was stitched by Katy Catlin (b. 1783), a Deerfield milliner, for her niece, C. Alice Baker. A descendant of early settlers of the town, as an adult C. Alice spent her summers entertaining in Deerfield's historic Frary House. Ms. Baker was an historian, an active member of the Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, and an early officer of the Deerfield Industries.