Photo Blanket - History

History

The photo blanket has a history nearly as long as the history of clothing itself. For thousands of years, people around the world used blankets as a form of communication through storytelling, honoring dead, and a well-respected form of art.

Ancient Egyptians weaved colored threads and sometimes even gold into a fabric (usually linen) or by painting with inks and dyes on papyrus cloth. The cloth (blanket) would often form pictures to tell stories and to honor prominent people or one of the multiple gods of their culture.

Navajo tribes used special indigo dye from Mexico and other vegetal dyes to color multi-ply yarns and weave them into three main types of blankets - a serape (a shoulder covering blanket that is longer than it is wide), a saddle blanket (a blanket that was folded in half under a horse’s saddle for extra cushioning), and a chief's blanket (a shoulder blanket that was made wider than it was long).

Nepalese rug makers - one of the most respected jobs in their society - would use luxurious silks, wools, and hemp to create beautiful works or art. Using vertical looms and fibers dyed with natural vegetal dyes, they form several different types of knots together for a soft and evenly tufted finish.

For hundreds of years, tribes throughout Indonesia and Africa have used a dye and resist technique called batik to create intricate patterns and pictures. During the past two or three centuries batik has become one of the principal means of expression of the spiritual and cultural values of Southeast Asia. Once again used as a form of storytelling and passing down history, picture fabrics and blankets have been an integral part of their culture.

Asian cultures have used weaving and blankets for the same purposes, using gold and other precious metals woven into their cloths and blankets. As an important artistic form, it conveys the history and myths of a culture through iconography and pictures.

Throughout history, photo blankets have been an ever present and fundamental key to communication, decoration, and tradition. Today’s photo blankets have changed to modern techniques and more efficient manufacturing, but the primary meaning has remained very similar. People display meaningful photos that represent memories and reveal history. Adding text or symbols communicate language and add to the blanket’s storytelling aspect.