Hudson Bay Trading Company Four-Point Wool Blanket [SOLD]

Beginning as early as the mid-18th century, French and British traders began trading blankets to the Native Americans for furs. The Hudson Bay Company began importing blankets from England in 1779 to Canada and the blankets were used as a form of currency between trappers, traders, and Native Americans. The Hudson Bay Company blankets were greatly prized for their durability and water-resistant qualities, having been made of high quality wool blends from New Zealand and England. The blankets were made in England and imported to Canada. They were referred to as “point blankets.”  The term originated from a system used by French weavers as a means of describing the size of a blanket. The word point comes from the French word empointer, which means “to make threaded stitches on cloth.”   Blankets had indigo lines woven into the side of each blanket. The lines were representative of the size of the blankets. One line, or point, being the smallest blanket, up to the largest at 6 points. The company has produced high quality blankets for more than two centuries. The square company tag attached to the end of the blanket is a general indicator of the manufacture date of the blanket. 

This blanket is a four-point blanket, measuring 72” wide x 90” long, and will fit a standard full-size bed. Its tag indicates the manufacture time as early-20th century. The wool is still incredibly soft, and the red, green, yellow and indigo stripes remain vibrant.

Condition: this Hudson Bay Trading Company Four-Point Wool Blanket is in very good condition

Provenance: from the collection of a resident of Santa Fe