Form, Function, and Meaning in the Use of Fabric Furnishings: A Philadelphia Case Study, 1700-1775

Abstract

search has identified the major styles and fabrics used in eighteenth-century bed hangings and covers, table coverings, upholstery, window curtains, and floor coverings.' The sociohistoric context of these goods, however, is much less clearly understood. What physical and psychological needs prompted the use of fabric coverings for beds, tables, seating furniture, windows, and floors? Did use of these goods vary between social and economic classes or change over time? Did occupation or place of residence influence use of fabric furnishings? Finally, how did use of these goods relate to concepts of comfort, style, and status? Answers to many of these questions emerged from an analysis of 324 estate inventories filed in Philadelphia County during twenty-five-year intervals beginning in 1700 and ending in 1775. During these years, Philadelphia experienced rapid and dramatic growth from a small and relatively new settlement to the leading city in the American colonies. This significant demographic, economic, and social transformation telescoped into a few decades domestic changes that had extended across centuries in Europe. Numerous contemporary sources provide information on fabric furnishings used in ighteenth-century Philadelphia: probate records, newspapers, craftsmen's account books and bills, family papers, pictorial materials. The newspapers, bills, account books, and family manuscripts frequently contain quite specific information on individual forms, and these detailed descriptions often elucidate terse inventory notations. However, since the former references are generally isolated from their domestic context, they do not allow the reconstruction of a household assemblage. Newspaper advertisements, for example, can tell us what items were available and, occasionally, how much they cost, but seldom do they reveal who