Hudson Bay Point Blanket Coat

Point blankets introduced to the north american wilderness in 1779.

Hudson bay point blanket coat. Point blanket coats remained popular in canada first as utilitarian garments later as fashion. Capotes were worn by first nations métis french settlers traders trappers and later british settlers throughout the fur trade era. Hbc heritage is an internal department of hudson s bay company. Hudson s bay wool point blankets in the late 1700s wool blankets were so important to comfort and survival that they were used as a form of currency in trading between trappers and native americans.

We are committed to the preservation education and promotion of hudson s bay company s history and the ongoing care and maintenance of the company s historical hbc corporate art artifact image and reference collections. Hudson s bay point blankets were used twice by admiral byrd s expeditions to the antarctic. Capotes date back to the mid 17th century and are arguably the earliest iterations of the hudson s bay point blanket coat. A capote is a handmade wrap style coat often made from a hudson s bay point blanket.

Made from hudson s bay point blankets these striped coats are iconically canadian. Early mount everest expeditions depended on them and colonel and mrs. The blanket design was introduced in the late 1700s by the hbc and the material was soon adapted into coats by fur traders. Charles lindbergh wore point blanket coats on their flight to europe by way of greenland and iceland.