Bead Chains of the 1830s

Woven bead chains were unknown to me until just a few months ago when Diane Fitzgerald came to teach a workshop at our Guild.

Not more than one week after her visit, I stumbled upon two bead chains available for sale.  One at an  antique store not far from my house and one on Etsy.

I couldn't believe my luck.  What is the likelihood that, after just hearing about these antique bits of needlework, I would find myself confronted with two real-life examples...?

All of this in the same month that I would buy my first bead loom and begin taking classes from bead looming expert, Erin Simonetti.  

I don't ever take serendipitous events lightly.  So I did what any good bloodhound would do when confronted with such a coincidence.  I followed the path, did some more research

 and I bought the two beaded ribbons.

So...what are these beauties and what were they used for?

All my knowledge comes from two articles written by Massacusetts Textile Curator, Lynn Zacek Bassett.

According to one article which appeared in the December 1995 publication of The Magazine Antiques, these finely woven chains were popular in America in the mid-1830s and they were woven on a loom similar to the one pictured above.

The chains were quite long, ranging in length from 40 to 60 inches.  The beads used were most likely from Murano, Italy and were much smaller than anything we have commercially available today.  

The bead chain pictured below is only 3/8" wide and contains about 12 beads per row or 28 beads per inch.  This makes for a very delicate and lovely ribbon of beading...

It is believed that the popularity for bead chains originated in young ladies' academies where beading was often part of the fancywork curriculum taught together with other domestic arts such as embroidery.

It was common to bead your name, age and place of residence into the chain similar to the practice incorporated into girlhood samplers.

One of my chains has the date "1834" and the name "H.W. Gilbert" woven into the strip which is completely consistent with the author's research...

The chains were often worn as necklaces and were finished with tassels or bits of silk ribbon at the end.  

Often there would be a watch or key tied onto one ribbon end and tucked into a belt while the other end would be pinned to a bodice. 

There are historical accounts of the chains being worn as adornment in the hair and also carried by men as watch chains. 

Bead chains frequently included memorials, sentiments of friendship, virtues or moralistic mottoes.  

Though neither one of my finds contains a written message, the dark blue version does contain many motifs representing religious faith, domesticity, and love.

 A few appear such as faith (cross), charity (heart) and birds (signifying the soul)...

And crowns which often represented immortality in heaven...

The fad was short-lived and seemed to be limited to the 1830s.  

I find them to be very lovely, reminding me of a beaded strap used for a chatelaine, though too delicate to actually be used for that purpose.  They are not well-known and are often misnamed by museums and collectors as either belts or necklaces.

Perhaps you have run into something similar and not known what it was called?  

I saw one on Ebay the other day that has since sold.  It only had a name woven into the ribbon..."Ruth".  No date.  Here's a link to the sold listing so you can see it.

Diane Fitzgerald has a group of beading pals that are all making a section with the intention of swapping sections with one another to form a chain.  Rather than using a loom, they are using the peyote stitch so that each section can be "zipped" together.

I imagine it as a friendship sampler of sorts...a chain of friends similar to something like the ribbon pictured below...

This one appeals to me most and I imagine it would be fun to do a journal ribbon of sorts.  Once again, the mind is a whirlwind of possibilities.

A few of my friends are beginning to play with the concept and we may end up doing a similar exchange.

Many thanks to Diane Fitzgerald for sharing these delightful bits of history so that I can share them with you.

I also found another great article written by Lynne Zacek Bassett in the May/June 2000 issue of Piecework Magazine titled Guard Thy Hours: Bead Watch Chains of the 1830s which included a pattern for the chain pictured on the cover to make yourself...

I'd be interested to know if any of you have ever encountered one of these chains or intend to make one  in the future.  Keep me posted.