"coffy" as an antedating in 1743

[Joel S. Berson]

I forgot to add that both of the following claim more information
about "caffoy" than the OED2's "1. Some kind of fabric, imported in
the 18th c.".  They call it a woolen velvet.

Beard, Geoffrey W.  Upholsterers and interior furnishing in England,
1530-1840.  New Haven: Published for the Bard Center for Studies in
the Decorative Arts by Yale University Press, 1997.

Montgomery, Florence M.  Textiles  in America, 1650-1870: A
Dictionary ... .  New York : W. W. Norton & Co., c2007.

Joel

At 3/5/2009 10:57 AM, you wrote:
>I now see that my 1743 "coffy" is an antedating of OED2 "caffoy"
>.  Whether one takes it as the fabric (sense 1) or the paper (sense
>2), both are 1750-.
>
>Boston Post-Boy.
>1743 May 16
>3/1-3/2
>A Very handsome CHARIOT, fit for Town or Country, lined with Red Coffy
>
>Joel
>
>At 3/5/2009 10:23 AM, you wrote:
>>Thanks, Doug, for knowing how to misspell.
>>
>> From the "long 18th century" email list, I got the same suggestion,
>>and for example this reference:
>>Caffoy - a Woolen Velvet from Upholsterers and Interior furnishing in
>>England - 1530 - 1840 -Geoffrey Beard. 1997 p. 31 and p. 318.  Also Glossary.
>>
>>Joel
>>
>>At 3/4/2009 11:58 PM, Douglas G. Wilson wrote:
>>
>>>>A Boston newspaper advertisement of 1743 starts "Very handsome
>>>>CHARIOT, fit for Town or Country, lined with Red Coffy".
>>>>
>>>>What is "coffy"?  My simple-minded searches haven't given me any clues.
>>>-
>>>
>>>I don't know, but my best guess would be a variant spelling of "caffoy"
>>>or maybe "caffa" (obsolete cloth types: both headwords in my poor-man's
>>>OED). My OED shows (e.g.) "coffae" as a variant spelling.
>>>
>>>-- Doug Wilson
>>>
>>>------------------------------------------------------------
>>>The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>>
>>------------------------------------------------------------
>>The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
>------------------------------------------------------------
>The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org