Checked Shirts in 18th century Southeastern Native trade
It's important for historical interpreters to accurately represent the range
of material goods in use, ideally in the same "commonality" that they
existed historically. One of the oft-times under represented material
goods among SE native reenactors is the checked or Holland checked shirt that was common on trade lists.
If you judge by the records of traders here in Georgia, "check" shirts were a lot more commonly traded/given than white or white ruffled shirts (unless someone knows that "check" means something other than a two-color "checked pattern" in cloth). I find lots of references across time periods in the south to "check" or "holland check" shirts. See Jim O'Neil's
Their Bearing is Proud and Noble vols 1 and 2 for
references covering many time spans, cultural groups, and locales (the "18th
Century Bibliography" page contains full bibliographic information on
this book). Below are a few that I don't think are in his citations, ranging from 1756 through 1786.
References from Trade Lists:
Account of Wm Belcher with the state of Georgia, 1778 Mar. 3 / signed by Wm Belcher:
15 yds Check for 3 huntg shirts @ 20/
------------------------
List of articles delivered to Mr. James Durouzeaux, 1786 Nov. 4
6 best white ruffd. shirts @13/4 4. 0. 0
12 do. check ... ditto 10/ 6. 0. 0
-----------------------
List of articles delivered to Mr. John Galphin, 1786 Nov. 3
2 doz: best white ruffled shirts @ 16.0/.
2 doz: do. check shirts 240/.
----------------------------
List of articles delivered to Daniel McMurphy, 1786 Nov. 3
1 doz: best white ruffd Shirts 160/ 8.0.0
4 doz: Check ditto. 120/. 24.0.0
--------------------------------
Above references from Hargrett Rare Book Library, University of Georgia Libraries
----------------------------
John Nash, December 1756, Lists of Indian Goods at Rock Creek
(Pub'd in: Letters to Washington and Accompanying Papers. Published by the Society of
the Colonial Dames of America. Edited by Stanislaus Murray Hamilton.--vol.
01)
Linnen & Holland Checks from 8d--to 15d per yd.
---------------
Source: Mississippi Provincial Archives, 1763-1766, English Dominion, Volume I, by Dunbar Rowland, Brandon Printing Co., Nashville, 1911, page
215.
1 White Shirt-- 3 "
1 Check do-- 4 "
One conclusion that can be drawn from the lists above and those published in
Their Bearing is Proud and Noble is that there were more checked shirts given as
gifts and purchased for trade than plain white or fancy ruffled. As such,
it seems appropriate that if the correct pattern and color can be found, more
checked shirts should be worn at events than white.
The general assumption seems to be that these were a small blue and white "yarn dyed" check.
I'm trying to find the references the assumptions of color were based on, and
will post that information here as it becomes available.
As far as the size of the check itself goes, I have gotten the following
responses to requests for information, courtesy of Veronica Wiese via the 18th
Century Woman mail list on Yahoo! Groups:
"CW [Colonial Williamsburg] has a checked apron artifact. It's
currently on display, and is pictured in _What Clothes Reveal_. The check
are small, approx.1/4", IIRC. There are checked fabrics in
Montgomery's Textiles In America and they appear small (~1/4") but I
don't recall if the scale is actually given. And anyway, Montgomery covers
fabric samples rather than garment artifacts, so you mostly can't tell if the
samples were used for clothing or furniture."
"Recently I had a chance to look at the Temperance Pickering
Knight quilted petticoat. The lining was a 1/4"
white and yellow wool check. My reaction when I saw it was of a the
typical 1/4" gingham that's available in cotton today."
"For example, the woman's apron in Fitting&Proper, which probably
is, as attributed, woven during the AWI, has a slightly unbalanced blue/white
check of 4 threads blue/6 threads white, with a scale of about 6 repeats to the
inch, more or less. Furnishing checks, on the other hand, could be over 1"
checks (or a 2"+ repeat)."
| "CW [Colonial Williamsburg] has a checked
apron artifact. It's currently on display, and is pictured in _What
Clothes Reveal_. The check are small, approx.1/4", IIRC.
There are checked fabrics in Montgomery's Textiles In America and
they appear small (~1/4") but I don't recall if the scale is actually
given. And anyway, Montgomery covers fabric samples rather than
garment artifacts, so you mostly can't tell if the samples were used for
clothing or furniture."
"Recently I had a chance to look at the Temperance Pickering
Knight quilted petticoat. The lining was a 1/4"
white and yellow wool check. My reaction when I saw it was of a the
typical 1/4" gingham that's available in cotton today."
"For example, the woman's apron in Fitting&Proper, which
probably is, as attributed, woven during the AWI, has a slightly
unbalanced blue/white check of 4 threads blue/6 threads white, with a
scale of about 6 repeats to the inch, more or less. Furnishing checks, on
the other hand, could be over 1" checks (or a 2"+ repeat)."
A couple of available fabrics that are near this 1/4" size are
pictured on the right. Neither is exactly 1/4" per check.
The smaller is 3/16", with an 8/8 thread pattern, giving about 6
checks per inch. The wider is 7/16", with a 20/20 thread
pattern, giving about 5 checks per 2". Both these fabrics are
available from Ninety Six Fabrics, 301 E. Main St. Ninety-Six, SC
(864) 543-3363
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As I find more information, I will include it on this page.
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