Beekman 1802 Huckaback Fingertip Towel

Description from Beekman 1802

Beekman 1802 Huckaback Fingertip Towel

There was a short window of time between the invention of the cotton gin in 1793 and the adoption of the power loom when all cloth in America was woven by hand using both cotton and linen. This window of time includes 1802 – when William Beekman (who built The Beekman Mansion) was a merchant with a supply store located across the road from his mansion. Coincidentally, 1802 was also the year the power loom was perfected in England. In the early 18th century every NY state home hand-wove, on average, nearly ten yards of cloth per family member. By mid-century – after the power loom had reached America – that number had fallen to less than one yard. Our master weaver has woven for us one of the most popular weaving structures of the early nineteenth century, called “Huckaback.”