Rare Kentucky wool and cotton "Tied Beiderwand" coverlet woven by Dennis Cosley. The central panel with oval double rose vignettes alternating with eight-pointed stars and bordered on three sides by designs of flowering footed urns, self-fringe to three sides. Visible central seam. Blue and white overall with a faint diamond design border to the lower end. Signed and dated in each lower corner MADE BY D. COSLEY KY. 1860. 811/2" H x 76" W. Note: A similar coverlet dated 1861 is documented in a Kentucky Museum: https://kentucky-museum.org/ipanorama/virtualtour/3. History: Dennis Cosley (1816-1904) was born in Berkeley County, Virginia (now West Virginia), and he was trained as a weaver along with his brother, George (1805-1884) in Franklin County, Pennsylvania. The brothers were operating a mill in Bridgeport, Pennsylvania in 1837. Dennis opened a mill in Fayetteville in 1844. That mill in Fayetteville burned two years later, and the Cosley brothers relocated to Xenia, Greene County, Ohio. In Xenia, tax documents show Dennis Cosley owning a coverlet and carpet factory that employed at least three men. Cosley left Xenia in 1864, moved to Miami County, Ohio and opened a weaving mill there. He retired to Troy, Ohio and operated a store until his death in 1904 (Smithsonian: National Museum of American History).

CONDITION: Overall good condition with some light wear, very minor scattered losses, old 1/2 repair to center, losses to fringe, some minor staining. Top edge has been reinforced.