= Hudson's_Bay_point

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= Hudson's_Bay_point_blanket =
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Introduction
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A Hudson's Bay point blanket is a type of wool blanket traded by the
Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) in British North America, now Canada and
the United States, from 1779 to present. The blankets were typically
traded to First Nations in exchange for beaver pelts as an important
part of the North American fur trade. The blankets were long sold by
Canada's Hudson's Bay department stores and have come to hold iconic
status in the country.

History
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In the North American fur trade, 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-19th century, 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[s] of 3 points to be
striped with four colors (red, blue, green, yellow) according to your
judgement." to be manufactured in Witney, Oxfordshire, a town famous
for its woollen blankets 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
voyageurs, which were well-suited to Canada's cold winters.

Point system
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Points are short black lines woven into the selvage of the blanket
along the edge just above the bottom set of stripes. About 4 in in
length (except in the case of half points, which are ), 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 , 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), 4 (double), 6 (queen) and 8 (king).

The misconception persists that originally the points were an
indication of a blanket's price in beaver pelts or even its weight.
The number of pelts required to buy a blanket ranged widely by time
and location, regardless of its size. Thickness and quality are the
same blanket to blanket, and a larger blanket will naturally weigh
more.

Mackinaw jacket
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In 1811, at Fort St. Joseph there was a shortage of greatcoats for the
King's soldiers. The date was November 20, 1811, and British Army
Captain Charles Roberts, wrote a letter to Captain Evans, Adjutant
General in Quebec, making a requisition, written as follows:

Roberts requisitioned HBC 3.5-point blankets from the British Indian
Department to manufacture greatcoats for his troops. John Askin Jr.,
a Métis and keeper of the King's stores at the fort, hired local women
to design and manufacture forty woollen greatcoats. Everyone was in
agreement that the newly tailored greatcoats were of better 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, Roberts and his men occupied Fort
Michilimackinac located at the present-day Mackinaw City, Michigan.
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 tailors and seamstresses 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 and requested it be replaced by the shorter
double-breasted style, which became known as the Mackinaw jacket. At
first, the Mackinaw jacket was produced in blue and was later replaced
by the more popular red and black tartan 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.

More than 100 years into the future, when the Hudson's Bay Company
began to commercially sell point blanket coats, the Mackinaw jacket
remained popular with their customers.

Current use
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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 Inc. of Pennsylvania.
Four U.S. retailers sell the blankets to consumers: Woolrich,
L.L.Bean, Getz's Department Store in Marquette, Michigan, and Johnson
Woolen Mills.

In May, 2025 Canadian Tire bought the rights to the blankets from
Hudson's Bay as part of a $30 million purchase agreement.

Collectibility
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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, point blanket collector and consultant to
Hudson's Bay Company, has written two books on point blankets and
their collectability.

In April 2017, HBC updated the label, rotating it from vertical to
horizontal, 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 the 150th anniversary of Canada 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 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
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The Hudson's Bay blanket is called by different names in First Nations
languages. Some examples are:
* , Haida language
* , Kwakʼwala
* , Kutenai language

Bibliography
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* Bown, S. (2020). '[https://books.google.com/books?id=BMuMzgEACAAJ
The Company: The Rise and Fall of the Hudson's Bay Empire]'. Anchor
Canada.
* Bryce, G. (1900). 1st ed.
'[https://books.google.com/books?id=_ltbNBHw-eIC 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.
"[https://ottawacitizen.com/opinion/mcintosh-blanket-statement-how-a-canadian-icon-is-woven-into-the-countrys-shameful-past
Blanket Statement -- How a Canadian icon is woven into the country's
shameful past]". November 25, 2021. Ottawa Citizen.
* The Manufacturing Process of HBC Point Blankets. Moccasin Telegraph,
Spring 1963, pp. 11-13.
* Olsen, S. (2010). '[https://books.google.com/books?id=1oydcQAACAAJ
Working with Wool: A Coast Salish Legacy and the Cowichan Sweater]'.
Sono Nis Press.
* Ostroff, J. (2017).
'[https://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/how-a-smallpox-epidemic-forged-modern-british-columbia/
How a Smallpox Epidemic Forged Modern British Columbia]'. Maclean's.
* 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).
'[https://www.washingtonhistory.org/columbia-magazine/columbia-archives/
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).
'[https://books.google.com/books?id=1iu9swEACAAJ The Blanket: An
Illustrated History of the Hudson’s Bay Blanket]' A Quantum Book.
* Tichenor, H. (2002).
[https://books.google.com/books?id=aYL_ygAACAAJ 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
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* [http://www.hbcheritage.ca/hbcheritage/history/blanket/ HBC Heritage
- Our History - The HBC Point Blanket]
*
[https://www.gov.mb.ca/chc/archives/hbca/common_research_topics.html#blankets
Government of Manitoba Archives: HBC Point Blankets]
* [https://www.pointblankets.com/ The Point Blanket Site] - Researcher
and consultant Harold Tichenor provides valuable information about the
history of the point blanket.
*
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JettV-JsUhY&ab_channel=TextileMuseumofCanada
Textile Museum of Canada] - This short video provides more information
about the Hudson’s Bay Point Blanket.
*
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=466ok04_grI&ab_channel=CurriculumServicesCanada
Curriculum Services Canada]. - Learn more about the HBC Point Blanket
from this educational video.
* [https://www.lunchip.com/hbb/index.html The Warm Blanket Story] -
includes an interview with Harold Tichenor.
* [https://downiewenjack.ca/the-blanket-fund/ The Blanket Fund] - 100%
of Net Proceeds from the Sale of all HBC Point Blankets will go to
Indigenous Peoples
*
[http://www.witneyblanketstory.org.uk/wbp.asp?navigationPage=North%20America
Whitney Point Blankets and America]

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Original Article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hudson's_Bay_point_blanket