Chasing Rainbows: Collecting American Indian Trade & Camp Blankets

by Barry Friedman, Gary Diamond (illustrator)

The dazzling Indian trade blanket has become one of the hottest categories in collecting. Icons of Adirondack and Western décor, these stunning geometric-patterned blankets remain a staple of Native American life and are regularly featured in design and shelter magazines. CHASING RAINBOWS is the first book to trace the fascinating story of the commercially produced wool trade blankets from the 1892-1942 "golden age" as well as the equally collectible 1910-1942 cotton Indian camp blankets. Illustrated throughout with hundreds of rare blankets, historic photographs of Native Americans and original blanket manufacturers' catalog pages, this definitive work advises where and what to collect and how to care for vintage blankets.

Hardcover

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

There is more than one author with this name

Barry Friedman is the pioneer collector/dealer of Indian trade blankets and has bought and sold a staggering 40,000 vintage blankets in his 50 year career. He is Ralph Lauren's primary supplier of blankets and is the vintage Indian blanket consultant for Pendleton Woolen Mills, the only surviving pioneer Indian trade blanket manufacturer. Stories about Mr. Friedman have appeared in hundreds of publications ranging from USA Today and the Los Angeles Times to the Antique Trader and he's been profiled on TV programs such as "Good Morning America". He has lectured at many institutions including the Baltimore Museum of Art and the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum and was the first non-Indian ever invited to give the keynote address at the Pendleton Woolen Mills national sales meeting. In a previous life he was a Hollywood television comedy writer and received six Emmy nominations and wrote stand-up material for scores of comedians. He lives in Phoenix, Arizona.

Reviews

[Henry Gordon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Top shelf color illustrations of some of the rarest Native American blankets/weaving techniques. This is pinnacle of print visual scholarship next to Blomberg’s “Navajo textiles.” Good history lesson, too.