ABSTRACT
The use of textiles for upholstery, drapery and numerous other requisites in nineteenth-century interiors was crucial to both the practical and symbolic effects produced. These matters included aspects of bodily comfort, the practical and visual softening of surfaces, as symbols of fashion, status and progress and often as demonstrations of a person’s own handiwork. Any number and variety of home crafted textiles for furnishing purposes displayed both a woman’s skill in needlework and handwork and, by their protective purpose, an involvement with creating a comfortable home.
