66. The “Queen Elizabeth” Bedspread
Bates Manufacturing Company, Lewiston, Maine, ca. 1952
Courtesy of Museum L/A, Lewiston, Maine
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This bedspread was produced in the 1950s at the Bates Mill in Lewiston, Maine, by the Bates Manufacturing Company. Carmen Giguere, then a secretary in the Bates Division, proposed the name for the bedspread, and the “Queen Elizabeth” bedspread was introduced and dedicated to the young Queen Elizabeth II in1952, the year of her coronation. This bedspread was woven using Bates’ new patented extra puffy technique known as metalasse featured in the central medallion. The medallion design and the puffy, trapunto-type Marseilles weave was applied to white quilted cotton fabrics. The name ‘Marseilles’ was chosen for the weave because the French city had a long association with expensive, hand-quilted, and early quilted-look machine-made fabrics and bed covers.
The Bates Mill began producing textiles in 1850, and, after slowing production in the 1990s, closed its doors in 2001. Today the Bates Mill Complex is home to restaurants, apartments, offices, and, notably, Museum L/A, where visitors can learn the rich history of manufacturing, labor, creativity and innovation in the Lewiston/Auburn region.
67. Diorama of the 1891 Everett Mill
Shawn Martel, 2022
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Based on the 1891 insurance plan drawings of the Everett Mills in Lawrence, Massachusetts, this diorama provides a three-dimensional visual representation of the mill’s layout and size at the turn-of-the-century. The model features 18 handmade and handpainted foam structures. The North Canal and Spicket River are constructed of UV Resin, and a miniature scale railway system has been added to represent the importance of railroads to mill operations. The structure took a total of 65 hours to complete, and was built by Shawn Martel, Reference Room and Education Outreach Assistant for the Osher Map Library and Smith Center for Cartographic Education, with the help of River Alleyne, USM Education and History major and Student Gallery Assistant with the OML.
