A Hudson's Bay point blanket is a type of

wool Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool. ...

blanket A blanket is a swath of soft cloth large enough either to cover or to enfold most of the user's body and thick enough to keep the body warm by trapping radiant body heat that otherwise would be lost through convection. Etymology The term ...

traded by the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business di ...

(HBC) in

British North America British North America comprised the colonial territories of the British Empire in North America from 1783 onwards. English colonisation of North America began in the 16th century in Newfoundland, then further south at Roanoke and Jamestow ...

, now Canada and the United States from 1779 to present.The Canadian Encyclopedia: Hudson’s Bay Point Blanket
/ref> The blankets were typically traded to

First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...

in exchange for

beaver Beavers are large, semiaquatic rodents in the genus ''Castor'' native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. There are two extant species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers a ...

pelts as an important part of the

North American fur trade The North American fur trade is the commercial trade in furs in North America. Various Indigenous peoples of the Americas traded furs with other tribes during the pre-Columbian era. Europeans started their participation in the North American fur ...

. The blankets continue to be sold by Canada's Hudson's Bay department stores and have come to hold iconic status in the country.HBC Stripes: Iconic Multistripe Point Blanket
/ref>

History

In the

, by 1700, wool blankets accounted for more than 60 per cent of traded goods. French fur trader Germain Maugenest is thought to have advised the HBC to introduce point blankets. Originally point blankets had a single stripe across each end, usually in blue or red. In the mid-1800s blankets began to be produced with a green stripe, red stripe, yellow stripe and indigo stripe on a white background; the four stripe colours were popular and easily produced using good colourfast dyes at that time. In 1798, a mill owner received a purchase order for "30 pair of 3 points to be striped with four colors (red, blue, green, yellow) according to your judgement." to be manufactured in

Witney Witney is a market town on the River Windrush in West Oxfordshire in the county of Oxfordshire, England. It is west of Oxford. The place-name "Witney" is derived from the Old English for "Witta's island". The earliest known record of it is as ...

, Oxfordshire, a town famous for its woollen

s since the Middle Ages. From the early days of the fur trade, wool blankets were made into hooded coats called capotes by both natives and

French Canadian French Canadians (referred to as Canadiens mainly before the twentieth century; french: Canadiens français, ; feminine form: , ), or Franco-Canadians (french: Franco-Canadiens), refers to either an ethnic group who trace their ancestry to Fre ...

voyageurs, which were well-suited to Canada's cold winters.HBC Heritage: Hudson's Bay Point Blanket Coat
/ref>

Point system

Points are short black lines woven into the selvage of the blanket along the edge just above the bottom set of stripes. About four inches in length (except in the case of half points, which are two inches), they indicate the finished overall size (area) of a blanket and allow easy determination of the size of a blanket - even when folded. French weavers invented the point system in the mid-1700s since then, as now, blankets were shrunk as part of the manufacturing process. The word ''point'' derives from the French ''empointer,'' meaning "to make threaded stitches on cloth". Over the centuries the sizes of blankets have shifted, particularly during the twentieth century as beds became larger. Blankets of 2.5, 3, 3.5 and 4 point were most common during the fur-trade era. Today, Hudson's Bay blankets are commonly found in point sizes of 3.5 (

twin bed Standard bed sizes are based on standard mattress sizes, which vary from country to country. Bed sizes also vary according to the size and degree of ornamentation of the bed frame. Dimensions and names vary considerably around the world, with ...

), 4 (

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * ...

), 6 (

queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

) and 8 (

king King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen regnant, queen, which title is also given to the queen consort, consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contempora ...

). The misconception persists that originally the points were an indication of a blanket's price in beaver pelts or even its weight. Thickness and quality are the same blanket to blanket, and a larger blanket will naturally weigh more.

Mackinaw jacket

In 1811, at Fort St. Joseph there was a shortage of

greatcoat A greatcoat, also known as a watchcoat, is a large overcoat that is typically made of wool designed for warmth and protection against the weather. Its collar and cuffs can be turned out to protect the face and hands from cold and rain, and the ...

s for the King's soldiers.Wooley, H. J. L. (1911). The ''Sword of Old St. Joe''. Chp V, pg 17-21.HBC Heritage: Hudson's Bay Point Blanket Coat
/ref> The date was November 20, 1811 and

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...

Captain Charles Roberts, wrote a letter to Captain Evans,

Adjutant General An adjutant general is a military chief administrative officer. France In Revolutionary France, the was a senior staff officer, effectively an assistant to a general officer. It was a special position for lieutenant-colonels and colonels in staf ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirte ...

, making a requisition, written as follows: Captain Roberts requisitioned HBC 3.5 point blankets from the

British Indian Department The Indian Department was established in 1755 to oversee relations between the British Empire and the First Nations of North America. The imperial government ceded control of the Indian Department to the Province of Canada in 1860, thus setting ...

to manufacture greatcoats for his troops. John Askin Jr., a

Métis The Métis ( ; Canadian ) are Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples who inhabit Canada's three Canadian Prairies, Prairie Provinces, as well as parts of British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, and the Northern United State ...

and keeper of the King's stores at the fort, hired local women to design and manufactured forty woollen greatcoats. Everyone was in agreement that the newly tailored greatcoats were of superior quality than the British Army standard issue greatcoats and helped to increase the morale of the King's soldiers. At the beginning of the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It be ...

, Roberts and his men occupied

Fort Michilimackinac Fort Michilimackinac was an 18th-century French, and later British, fort and trading post at the Straits of Mackinac; it was built on the northern tip of the lower peninsula of the present-day state of Michigan in the United States. Built aroun ...

located at the present-day

Mackinaw City, Michigan Mackinaw City ( ) is a village in Emmet and Cheboygan counties in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 846 at the 2010 census, the population increases during summertime, including an influx of tourists and seasonal workers who serve ...

. Roberts ordered a new supply of Hudson's Bay point blankets for the upcoming winter to manufacture more greatcoats. This time Roberts had enlisted the aid of professional

tailor A tailor is a person who makes or alters clothing, particularly in men's clothing. The Oxford English Dictionary dates the term to the thirteenth century. History Although clothing construction goes back to prehistory, there is evidence of ...

s and

seamstresses A dressmaker, also known as a seamstress, is a person who makes custom clothing for women, such as dresses, blouses, and evening gowns. Dressmakers were historically known as mantua-makers, and are also known as a modiste or fabrician. Nota ...

to produce the greatcoats. A despatch runner advised that the long length of the greatcoat was impractical for the deep snow drifts when travelling between Mackinaw and

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

and requested it be replaced by the shorter

double-breasted A double-breasted garment is a coat, jacket, waistcoat, or dress with wide, overlapping front flaps which has on its front two symmetrical columns of buttons; by contrast, a single-breasted item has a narrow overlap and only one column of butt ...

style, which became known as the

Mackinaw jacket The contemporary mackinaw jacket, also known as a mackinaw coat, is a short double-breasted coat made of a thick heavy wool material, generally with a red-and-black plaid pattern. Etymology The word "mackinaw" is derived from the Odawa Ojibwe la ...

. At first, the Mackinaw jacket was produced in blue and was later replaced by the more popular red and black

tartan Tartan ( gd, breacan ) is a patterned cloth consisting of criss-crossed, horizontal and vertical bands in multiple colours. Tartans originated in woven wool, but now they are made in other materials. Tartan is particularly associated with Sc ...

pattern. The new design of the Mackinaw jacket was so beneficial for travelling through woods and trails that orders were received from people located from Fort William to

Penetanguishene Penetanguishene , sometimes shortened to Penetang, is a town in Simcoe County, Ontario, Canada. It is located on the southeasterly tip of Georgian Bay. Incorporated on February 22, 1882, this bilingual (French and English) community has a populati ...

. More than 100 years into the future, when the

began to commercially sell point blanket coats the Mackinaw jacket remained popular with their customers.

Current use

Versions of the blanket are available at Hudson's Bay stores throughout Canada. Solid colours are available, as is the classic pattern featuring the green, red, yellow, and indigo stripes. The blankets have always been made in England; today they are made by John Atkinson, a sub brand of A.W. Hainsworth & Sons Ltd. Wools from Britain and New Zealand are used in the manufacture of blankets. The official licensee allowed to import Hudson's Bay Blankets into the United States for commercial sale is

Woolrich Woolrich, Inc. ( ) is an American outdoor clothing company that originated in Woolrich, Pennsylvania in 1830. History Woolrich, Inc., founded in 1830 by John Rich and Daniel McCormick, is the oldest manufacturer of outdoor wear in the United ...

Inc. of Pennsylvania. Four U.S. retailers currently sell the blankets to consumers: Woolrich, L.L.Bean, Getz's Department Store in

Marquette, Michigan Marquette ( ) is a city in Marquette County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 20,629 at the 2020 United States Census, which makes it the largest city in the Upper Peninsula. Marquette serves as the seat of government of Marque ...

and Johnson Woolen Mills.

Collectability

Genuine point blankets have become very collectible and could fetch prices up to thousands of dollars. The main determinants of value include age, size, colour, pattern rarity and condition. Particularly collectible point blankets are the Coronation blankets: the one produced for the 1953 coronation of Queen Elizabeth II brings approximately $600 if in mint condition while examples of the even rarer 1937 Coronation blanket have sold for as high as $1300. In 1890, HBC began adding labels to their blankets because point blankets of similar quality were being sold by HBC competitors from such manufacturers as Early's of Witney.

Harold Lee Tichenor Harold Tichenor (born January 17, 1946 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is a Canadian multi-award winning film producer and writer and an adherent of the Baháʼí Faith. Biography In the early 1960s, Harold Tichenor along with his brother Jim, dev ...

, point blanket collector and consultant to Hudson's Bay Company, has written two books on point blankets and their collectibility. In April 2017, HBC updated the label, rotating it from portrait to landscape, making it easy to display English and French on either side of the crest, which has been enhanced with red on the flag. To celebrate Canada's 150th Anniversary in 2017, HBC added an additional label to the blanket: a picture of voyageurs in a canoe, with "Canada" printed at the top. On 2 May 2020, HBC celebrated its 350th anniversary. It has re-released a series of special, limited-edition blankets in a variety of historic colourways and patterns. It added a 'Special Edition' label with a picture of the sailing vessel ''Nonsuch'' and the words 'Celebrating HBC's 350th Anniversary'. * The Sky Blue Hudson's Bay Point Blanket - February * The Camel Hudson's Bay Point Blanket - March * The Ice Cream Hudson's Bay Point Blanket - April * The 350th Commemorative Hudson's Bay Point Blanket (Grey) - May * The Gold Hudson's Bay Point Blanket - June * The Scarlet Hudson's Bay Point Blanket - July

Name in First Nations languages

The Hudson's Bay blanket was called by different names in First Nations languages. Some examples are: * ,

Haida language Haida (', ', ', ') is the language of the Haida people, spoken in the Haida Gwaii archipelago off the coast of Canada and on Prince of Wales Island in Alaska. An endangered language, Haida currently has 24 native speakers, though revitaliz ...

* , Kwak'wala * ,

Kutenai language The Kutenai ( ), also known as the Ktunaxa ( ; ), Ksanka ( ), Kootenay (in Canada) and Kootenai (in the United States), are an indigenous people of Canada and the United States. Kutenai bands live in southeastern British Columbia, northern ...

Oshki Wupoowane / The Blanket Fund

On 30th September 2022 (National Day for Truth and Reconciliation), the Hudson's Bay Foundation and the Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund (DWF) Partner to Launch Oshki Wupoowane , The Blanket Fund. Moving Forward, 100% of Net Proceeds from the Sale of all HBC Point Blankets will go to Indigenous Peoples. The First $1 Million Contribution from Hudson’s Bay Foundation Helps Launch the Initiative.

References

Bibliography

* Bown, S. (2020).
The Company: The Rise and Fall of the Hudson's Bay Empire
'. Anchor Canada. * Bryce, G. (1900). 1st ed.
The Remarkable History of the Hudson's Bay Company
'. * Forest, Alison and Jill Oakes. “The Blanket Coat: Unique Canadian Dress.” Canadian Home Economics Journal, 41 (3), Summer 1991, pp. 121-127. * Hanson, C. “Some Additional Notes on Trade Blankets.” The Museum of the Fur Trade Quarterly, 24 (4), Winter 1988, pp. 5-11. * Hudson’s Bay Point Blankets. Moccasin Telegraph, Spring 1963, pp. 10 & 15. * Hudson’s Bay Point Blankets. Moccasin Telegraph, Summer 1979, pp. 60-61. * Mackay, D. “Blanket Coverage.” The Beaver, June 1935, pp. 44-52. * McIntosh, Andrew.
Blanket Statement — How a Canadian icon is woven into the country's shameful past
. November 25, 2021.

Ottawa Citizen The ''Ottawa Citizen'' is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. History Established as ''The Bytown Packet'' in 1845 by William Harris, it was renamed the ''Citizen'' in 1851. The news ...

. * The Manufacturing Process of HBC Point Blankets. Moccasin Telegraph, Spring 1963, pp. 11-13. * Olsen, S. (2010).
Working with Wool: A Coast Salish Legacy and the Cowichan Sweater
'. Sono Nis Press. * Ostroff, J. (2017).
How a Smallpox Epidemic Forged Modern British Columbia
'.

Maclean's ''Maclean's'', founded in 1905, is a Canadian news magazine reporting on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian pers ...

. * Plummer, A., Early, R. E. (1969). ''The Blanket Makers, 1669-1969: A History of Charles Early & Marriott (Witney) Ltd.'' United Kingdom: Augustus M. Kelley. * Ross, Lester A. Hudson’s Bay Company Suppliers: An Illustrated Directory of British Commercial Suppliers who provided Manufacturers, Products and Provisions shipped to the Hudson’s Bay Company Columbia Department, 1821-52. Parks Canada, Manuscript Report Number 381, Volume 1. * Rich, E.E., ed. McLouglin’s Fort Vancouver Letters, First Series, 1825-38. Volume IV, Hudson’s Bay Record Society, London, 1941. * Rich, E.E., ed. McLoughlin’s Fort Vancouver Letters, Second Series, 1839-44. Volume VI, Hudson’s Bay Record Society, London, 1941. * Swagerty, W.R. (2002).
Indian Trade Blankets in the Pacific Northwest: History and Symbolism of a Unique North American Tradition
'. Columbia: The Magazine of Northwest History. * Tichenor, H. (2002).
The Blanket: An Illustrated History of the Hudson’s Bay Blanket
' A Quantum Book. * Tichenor, H. (2002)
The Collector's Guide to Point Blankets of the Hudson's Bay Company and Other Companies Trading in North America
Cinetel Film Productions Ltd.

External links

HBC Heritage - Our History - The HBC Point Blanket

The Point Blanket Site
- Researcher and consultant Harold Tichenor provides valuable information about the history of the point blanket.
Textile Museum of Canada
- This short video provides more information about the Hudson’s Bay Point Blanket.
Curriculum Services Canada
- Learn more about the HBC Point Blanket from this educational video.

- includes an interview with Harold Tichenor.
The Blanket Fund
- 100% of Net Proceeds from the Sale of all HBC Point Blankets will go to Indigenous Peoples {{Hudson's Bay Trading Company, L.P. Blankets Canadian fashion Fur trade Hudson's Bay Company Native American clothing Western wear Winter clothes