Ernest D. Chapman Papers

THe Ernest D. Chapman Papers consists of material assembled by Ernest D. Chapman of Clark's Falls, CT and of South Berwick, Maine ca. 1900-1915. It contains correspondence, ca. 1912, to Ernest D. Chapman from Harmon Goodwin (a fellow weaver) of South Berwick, Maine; weaving drafts created by and/or collected by Mr. Chapman; and sixty photographs of coverlets and their patterns documented by Mr. Chapman. Also included in the collection are weaving drafts on wood and five woven samples.

Much of the correspondence from Mr. Goodwin consists of instructions for drawing and weaving and notes about drafts that he corrected for Mr. Chapman.

Three letters dated in April of 1912 also contain several references to a Mrs. Allen of Rochester, NY. Laura M. Allen (Mrs. William Allen) was a noted basket-maker and hand-weaver who collected among many things, early textiles and weaving drafts. Many of the over twelve hundred samples of drafts she collected were published in Marguerite P. Davison's, A Handweaver's Source Book, including drafts by both Chapman and Goodwin. Mrs. Allen, William Henry Harrison Rose (known as "Weaver Rose") along with a small group of hand-weavers are credited with the establishment of the "Colonial Weavers' Association," ca. 1912.

Harmon Goodwin's comments regarding Mrs. Allen indicate that he was "unimpressed" by the samples of the southern drafts she sent him in exchange for his:

"…the ones she sent me did not amount to a row of pins… (Goodwin to Chapman, April 16, 1912) [and] "… you want to be wise for her…I think she is too cute for anything…" (Goodwin to Chapman, April 27, 1912).

The majority of the drafts in this collection are done in pencil, mainly on notebook paper, some on cardboard; some on torn pieces of scrap paper; seven are done on wood. It appears that many of the drafts were drawn or copied by Mr. Chapman, sent to Mr. Goodwin and then returned with comments from Mr. Goodwin. Others are original designs by Mr. Goodwin sent to Mr. Chapman with instructions on how to follow the draft and the "best" way to weave it. The correspondence indicates that Mr. Chapman and Mr. Goodwin also sent woven samples back and forth for comment and clarification.

The sixty photographs in the collection are black and white, close-up prints (ca. 1910) of coverlets documenting weaving patterns. The prints are numbered, and labeled with the title of the pattern and a location.

The woven samples in the collection are small samples which appear to have been meant for instruction and practice. At least one piece (OSV #CXLV) may be referenced in the correspondence between Chapman and Goodwin (OSV-26.60.2 VIII).