18th Century - Semiquincentennial Fabrics

Examples of textiles available in the 18th Century (1700-1800) in America.

In 2026 we will celebrate the United States Semiquincentennial, the 250th anniversary of the United States Declaration of Independence, signed in 1776.

Europe and America was clothed mainly in linen, wool and for the very wealthy silks before the 1600. The opening up of the Spice Trade with the East Indies introduced cottons, chambrays, woven stripes and plaids along with wood block prints as well as hand painted chintzes.

These fabrics were comfortable to wear and color-fast! What a delight. There was fabric printing in Europe at the time, but it was done with inks and used mainly for diplomas.

Originally these were worn by the middling classes in England, but the East India Company started to influence the designs done by the crafts people in India to appeal to the upper classes. This push was around 1650 and an attempt to reach out to higher end customers in Great Britain. EIC sent to India...15th Century printed herbals, paintings and embroidery....to illustrate British 'floral and fauna'. The Indian crafts people quickly adapted and by 1668 the value of the cottons coming into England....was greater than the pepper.

Then linen and wool merchants went to Parliament to demand bans. Those were in place from 1701-1775. As a merchant in London I could continue to ship to the Colonies for many of those years.

The French also had bans on the printing, selling, wearing and displaying of cottons from India. Not the Dutch! See the new Surat prints from Dutch Heritage.

With the Treaty of Paris signed in 1783, Great Britain recognized the United States as an independent nation. The Colonies had been forced to trade only with Great Britain...now in 1784...Yankee Traders sailed directly to India. They brought back Indigo dye stuffs, raisins and lots of cottons....gingham, stripes, Surat cottons and painted floral Chintz.