New Reproduction Embroidered Bedhangings to Debut at Historic Deerfield

Extra Tours, Access to Volunteer from Project to be Featured on Sat., May 7 

On Saturday, May 7, Historic Deerfield will officially debut a set of reproduction bed hangings in the Ashley House based on a set in its collection dating to about 1765.  They represent the culmination of two and a half years of collaborative work by nine volunteers under the direction of needlework expert and embroiderer Kathleen Smith of Textile Reproductions in Chesterfield, Massachusetts.  Visitors to the museum on Saturday can view the reproduction bed hangings in the north bed chamber of the Ashley House as part special guided tours offered every half hour from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. One of the volunteers will also be on hand to answer questions during the day.   In addition, a special tour of "Celebrating the Fiber Arts" in the Helen Geier Flynt Textile Gallery will be offered in the afternoon. 

"We hope visitors will understand the power of collaboration on these bed hangings and enjoy what an original set looked like-the product of many hands-when it was brand new," said Philip Zea, President of Historic Deerfield.  "The result is really quite thrilling."

It is likely that, a few years before her 1769 wedding to Major General John Ashley (1736-1799), Mary Ballantine (1744-1827) began creating the original set of embroidered bed hangings in preparation for her life as a married woman.  Ambitious sewing and embroidery projects like this one were not done alone.  Ballantine would have had help from her female relatives, friends and neighbors.

Inspired by her example, and spurred on by the enthusiastic and generous support of Historic Deerfield trustee Joseph P. Gromacki, the museum assembled a team of volunteers who contributed nearly 2,000 hours to the project.  Participants included: Elaine Barker, Mary Brinton, Ginny Crory, Betsy Douglas, Margo Ewers, Betsy Leiper, Mary Rice, Herb Steeper, and Anna Viadero.

The original set of embroidered bed hangings attributed to Mary Ballantine Ashley were acquired by Henry and Helen Flynt, the museum's founders, in the early 1950s from an Ashley descendant living in nearby Northampton, Massachusetts.  John Ashley's father, Judge John Ashley (1709-1802), was a cousin of Deerfield's Reverend Jonathan Ashley (1712-1780)-thus providing a compelling connection to Deerfield and the Ashley House.

"The set the volunteers made is remarkably like the Historic Deerfield set," said Smith.  "It shows different hands at work."

Working from detailed photographs of the original bed hangings, Smith first drew out the design onto linen, and coached the needlework volunteers in making their stitches.  For the sake of simplicity, and a more uniform appearance, the decision was made to reproduce the originals using only the dominant motifs on the newest, coordinated pieces. 

Samples of the embroidery thread from a valence acquired at auction in 2008 were sent to The Anglo-Saxon Laboratory in York, England, for dye analysis.  Results, while not 100% conclusive, suggested that pale woad or indigo was used to achieve the blue; a mixture of weld, greenweed or sawwort with madder produced the orange-red; and young fustic yielded the yellow.

"It's hard for us to imagine how much color meant to our ancestors," said Smith.  "The pure, vibrant colors brighten the room incredibly."