Osnaburg is a general term for coarse, plain-weave
fabric
Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not th ...
. It also refers specifically to a historic fabric originally woven in
flax
Flax, also known as common flax or linseed, is a flowering plant, ''Linum usitatissimum'', in the family Linaceae. It is cultivated as a food and fiber crop in regions of the world with temperate climates. Textiles made from flax are known in ...
but also in
tow
Towing is coupling two or more objects together so that they may be pulled by a designated power source or sources. The towing source may be a motorized land vehicle, vessel, animal, or human, and the load being anything that can be pulled. Th ...
or
jute
Jute is a long, soft, shiny bast fiber that can be spun into coarse, strong threads. It is produced from flowering plants in the genus ''Corchorus'', which is in the mallow family Malvaceae. The primary source of the fiber is ''Corchorus olit ...
, and from
flax
Flax, also known as common flax or linseed, is a flowering plant, ''Linum usitatissimum'', in the family Linaceae. It is cultivated as a food and fiber crop in regions of the world with temperate climates. Textiles made from flax are known in ...
or tow warp with a mixed or
jute
Jute is a long, soft, shiny bast fiber that can be spun into coarse, strong threads. It is produced from flowering plants in the genus ''Corchorus'', which is in the mallow family Malvaceae. The primary source of the fiber is ''Corchorus olit ...
weft.
Historic osnaburg
Osnaburg fabric may have been first imported into English-speaking countries from the
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
city of
Osnabrück
Osnabrück (; wep, Ossenbrügge; archaic ''Osnaburg'') is a city in the German state of Lower Saxony. It is situated on the river Hase in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest. With a population ...
, from which it gets its name.
Scottish weavers produced a coarse lint- or tow-based linen imitation in the later 1730s, which quickly became the most important variety in east-central Scotland. Sales quadrupled, from 0.5 million yards in 1747 to 2.2 million yards in 1758. It was exported mainly to England, the Netherlands, and Britain's colonies in America. In the Atlantic plantation complex, prior to the abolition of slavery, osnaburg was the fabric most often used for slave garments.
It was in widespread use worldwide for general utility and housework, with finer varieties used as common sheeting. Grades contained from 20 to 36
threads per inch
A screw thread, often shortened to thread, is a helical structure used to convert between rotational and linear movement or force. A screw thread is a ridge wrapped around a cylinder or cone in the form of a helix, with the former being called a ...
and 10 to 15
picks per inch.
In culture
* “Osnaburg sheets” are referenced by Josiah A. Gregg as cargo wagon coverings in his 1844 book, “Commerce of the Prairies,” which details his eyewitness experiences as a trader on the Santa Fe Trail.
* In ''The Prairie Traveler'' (1859) Captain Randolph B. Marcy recommends that every wagon used to cross the plains by settlers "be furnished ... with double osnaburg covers, to protect its contents from the sun and weather." This use is also mentioned in
Gwen Bristow
Gwen Bristow (September 16, 1903 – August 17, 1980) was an American writer and journalist.
Early life
Bristow was born in Marion, South Carolina in 1903 to Baptist minister Louis Judson Bristow and Caroline Cornelia Winkler. Bristow became in ...
's novel ''
Jubilee Trail
{{Unreferenced, date=December 2009
''Jubilee Trail'' is a novel written by Gwen Bristow, copyrighted in 1950. It follows the adventures of two strong women in the mid-19th century as they travel across the United States to the then- Mexican terri ...
'': in Chapter 10, it is spelled ''osnabrig''.
* In the novel ''
S.'' by
J. J. Abrams and
Doug Dorst
Doug Dorst is an American novelist, short story writer, and creative writing instructor. Dorst is a graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop and the Stegner Fellowship at Stanford University. He is the current director of the MFA Program in Creati ...
, there is a description of a sailor "clad neck-to-shin in sailor's osnaburg".
* In the novel ''
Book of Negroes
The ''Book of Negroes'' is a document created by Brigadier General Samuel Birch, under the direction of Sir Guy Carleton, that records names and descriptions of 3,000 Black Loyalists, enslaved Africans who escaped to the British lines during ...
'' by
Lawrence Hill
Lawrence Hill (born January 24, 1957) is a Canadian novelist, essayist, and memoirist. He is known for his 2007 novel '' The Book of Negroes,'' inspired by the Black Loyalists given freedom and resettled in Nova Scotia by the British after the ...
, there is a description of slaves being given garments of osnaburg cloth to wear.
* In the novel ''The Water Dancer'' by
Ta-Nehisi Coates
Ta-Nehisi Paul Coates ( ; born September 30, 1975) is an American author and journalist. He gained a wide readership during his time as national correspondent at ''The Atlantic'', where he wrote about cultural, social, and political issues, parti ...
, the main character, a slave named Hi, wears osnaburg clothing.
Modern osnaburg
Fabric sold today as "osnaburg" is typically an unprocessed, relatively stiff
cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...
twill
Twill is a type of textile weave with a pattern of diagonal parallel ribs. It is one of three fundamental types of textile weaves along with plain weave and satin. It is made by passing the weft thread over one or more warp threads then under ...
. Though rough by modern standards, it is much finer and softer than historic osnaburg.
The Spanish word "osnaburgo" is still commonly used in
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
for coarsely woven cotton or linen fabric.
See also
*
Negro cloth
Negro cloth or Lowell cloth was a coarse and strong cloth used for slaves' clothing in the West Indies and the Southern Colonies. The cloth was imported from Europe (primarily Wales) in the 18th and 19th centuries.
The name ''Lowell cloth'' came ...
References
External links
"Osnaburg the Great"from fabrics.net
Woven fabrics
Textile industry of the United Kingdom
Industry in Scotland
{{Scotland-hist-stub