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Early nineteenth-century British carpet patterns (46 'Brussels' drafts by I. Arbuthnot, 1803–06 and 1813–17)

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Made by: Michelle McFadden (M.A. thesis, University of Delaware / Winterthur Program, 1993)
Date: 1993 (drafts 1803–1817)
Place: England
Held by: University of Delaware (UDSpace)
Themes: Woven carpet, Tools & equipment

View at the source Cited in chapter 3, note 31

Cite this source

Michelle McFadden (M.A. thesis, University of Delaware / Winterthur Program, 1993). Early nineteenth-century British carpet patterns (46 ‘Brussels’ drafts by I. Arbuthnot, 1803–06 and 1813–17). England, 1993 (drafts 1803–1817). udspace.udel.edu/items/87a6bdac-8a10-499b-8263-a957d9a595d7.

Research notes

Winterthur Program thesis on 46 watercolour point-paper 'drafts' for five-frame Brussels or Wilton carpet, signed and dated by I. Arbuthnot, with weaving instructions on the front and colours and quantities on the back. Commonest size 130 × 240 lashes (about a 27-inch square repeat); uses loom-gearing terms 'comber', 'point' and 'cross point'. The abstract says they hold information on the draw-loom weaving process, before Jacquard. Few English patterns of the period were previously known. The drafts were catalogued in Kidderminster in January 1989; where the originals are now held is not stated in the results. Why it matters: the closest documentary evidence found for how draw-loom Brussels and Wilton were designed and set up, within about 60 years of 1741. Sources: https://udspace.udel.edu/items/87a6bdac-8a10-499b-8263-a957d9a595d7 · https://udspace.udel.edu/items/87a6bdac-8a10-499b-8263-a957d9a595d7/full Research note (Oct 2026): from search results; pages not opened.