Point of No Return: Hudson’s Bay Company Blanket, ca. 1930s

Hands ABOVE the blanket please your majesty...

Founded in 1670, The Hudson’s Bay Company introduced the Point blanket in 1780. Initially the blankets were used in the growing fur trade with natives along the Western coast of Canada and the point system was an easy method of categorizing a blanket’s size. Sizes ranged from 1 – 6 and the number of 5″ indigo lines or points were woven into the side of each blanket.

Though the white blanket with green, red and yellow stripes has become the trademark Hudson’s Bay design, the company produced other solid color variations which included light blue, indigo, green and – as is pictured – scarlet; all with a single dark stripe at each end of the blanket.

This example is a 4-point and is still very vibrant in color. These blankets are made with a combination of high quality New Zealand and British wool and manufactured 50% larger and then shrunken to size so that they don’t lose shape after repeated cleaning.

Now, if only it weren’t the first day of summer…