On writing the book:

"I began by trying to understand a remarkable shift in the gender division of labor. In seventeenth-century New England, as in Europe, weaving was a male occupation; in the early eighteenth-century it became women's work. I wanted to know how that happened and what difference it made. Thinking that surviving textiles might help me answer those questions, I began searching the storage collections of American museums. I was amazed by what I found. There were New England textiles all over the United States and in Canada. I had always thought of history as detective work. Now I had a whole new set of clues to work with. I even began carrying a magnifying glass."--Laurel Thatcher Ulrich

Here, Laurel Thatcher Ulrich presents some of the key images from THE AGE OF HOMESPUN in full color, along with commentary.

Click on a thumbnail image below to view the image and text.

1. Eliza Philbrick's "Colonial Gown"

2. Bed rug

3. Tablecloth

4. Woodsplint basket

5. Amanda K. Winter's blankets

6. Purse

7. Hannah Barnard "table stone" Hadley, MA cemetary

Additional photos.