This guide offers a simple way to help age your Bates bedspread. To use this guide, you'll want to find the care label on your bedspread (usually sewn into one of the hems) or you can look at the packaging if you're lucky enough to have it available.

Once you locate the label or packaging, you'll want to note which Bates logo is featured. Find the logo below, and you'll be able to estimate how old your Bates bedspread is. Please note that these years are based on trademark registrations with the US Patent & Trademark Office so these should be used as an estimate versus an exact range as trademarks are often used prior to formal registration.

1931-1943

Note: The George Washington's Choice Bedspread (known today as the "Martha Washington's Choice Bedspread") was released in 1940.

1944-1961

Notes:

• Text below logo reads "Loomed to be Heirloomed."
• Queen Elizabeth Bedspread was released in 1952.

1962-1969

1970-1983

• Note: The Abigail Adams Bedspread was released in 1976.

1984 - 1990s

Note: Text reads "an employee owned company" below logo.

1990s - 2001

Note: A few iconic bedspread styles went by different names at this time:

• Abigail Adams: First Lady's Choice
• Queen Elizabeth: Elizabethan Court
• New England Tradition: American Tradition
• George Washington's Choice/Martha Washington's Choice: America's First

 

2002-2011

Note: When Bates closed in 2001, former President of Bates, Fred Lebel, started Maine Heritage Weavers in 2002. He continued to make the same Bates bedspreads with many of the former craftsmen and women of Bates under the Maine Heritage Weavers name until 2012. In 2012, he was able to procure the Bates trademark so that the bedspread could be "Bates" bedspreads again.

2012-Present