200 year old shawl identification

L

Lully

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Hi! I have this silk shawl that is purported to be over 200 years old. I would love to know more about it. Is it a shawl or is it a piano scarf? Any idea on the age? I am also attaching a picture of the note that was pinned to it. I can't make out the word prior to shawl. Perhaps one of you can??
Any information is appreciated. It measures 58" x 57". It is a true olive green color.
 
What an amazing piece. I can't help with much but the word looks like a name to me, possibly "Jackson's" or similar.
 
Wow, what an incredible find. I assumed you'd probably gotten it from your grandmother or something like that.

It is amazing what ends up in charity shops; I often think the same about some of the things I find. I wonder if sometimes older people pass away and those tasked with disposing of their things don't know what they have or can't be bothered with it.

By the way, analyzing the handwriting further I am sure the word is "Jackson's" (without the apostrophe), comparing how she forms the same letters that are a bit more readable.
 
plousia said:
Wow, what an incredible find. I assumed you'd probably gotten it from your grandmother or something like that.

It is amazing what ends up in charity shops; I often think the same about some of the things I find. I wonder if sometimes older people pass away and those tasked with disposing of their things don't know what they have or can't be bothered with it.

By the way, analyzing the handwriting further I am sure the word is "Jackson's" (without the apostrophe), comparing how she forms the same letters that are a bit more readable.
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Can you make out her name? It looks to me like Carrie B?? S??
 
https://www.familysearch.org doesn't turn up a great-grandmother Jackson for Carrie Blue Styles, but some pieces of her ancestry are missing.

Her husband has a great-great-grandmother Johnson who lived from 1732-1774, apparently about the right time frame for this shawl, but I don't think that's who the note is referring to.

Well that's my rabbit hole for today...
 
I highly doubt this is 200 years old. I might call it a table cover or table topper, not really a shawl although it could be worn as one. And generally it is too small for a piano shawl also. It would have to be hand woven if it is 200 years old and though I cannot see an extreme close up of the weave, it appears to machine woven. Hard to date it accurately without handling it, but I might guess late Victorian era just on the look of it, the colors, the pattern. Probably a rayon cotton blend. These were hugely popular for middle class homes in the late Victorian era.
 
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It's funny, when I read '200 years old' I think 18th century, but of course now, 200 years old is 1824. In two years it's going to be the semiquincentennial of the U.S. I agree its machine made, which could put it as early as the 1820s, but the fringey tassels around the perimeter, and the scale of the design suggest table covering to me, rather than a shawl. I would guess middly-late 19th century when 18th century style designs were back in fashion - 1870s?
 
Jen S said:
Even if it’s not 200 years old, it’s got to be one of the best charity shop finds ever!
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I agree. But I feel bad it ended up there based on her sweet note. But, that being said all of the stitching on the hem was definitely hand done.
 
It just struck me as having a rather similar fern-like pattern. It's amazing what turns up in charity shops! In which area of the country did you find the shawl?
 
That makes sense since the lady whose name is on the note, based on the information I found, lived in Texas.
 
Lully said:
I can't understand how this ended up in a charity shop
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Dilly Day said:
In which area of the country did you find the shawl?
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Lully said:
I found it in Ceder Creek Texas.
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Yikes, and I'd been assuming you (and the shawl) were in the UK! I've always thought of "charity shop" as a term more often used there than in the US. I can't say that I've ever heard anyone in my Midwest US neck of the woods use the phrase "charity shop"... it's always "thrift store".
I'm linguistically curious... is "charity shop" commonly used in Texas?

By the way, the shawl is beautiful, what a great find!
 
I also assumed that Lully & the shawl were in the UK - it was "charity shop" that made me think that too!
When I saw the word "color" I realised I was mistaken. So probably I'm way off the mark with the Spitalfields idea too!
 
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