author
Grace Rogers Cooper
1924–2004
Best known for bringing a careful eye to historic textiles and early American flags, this Smithsonian curator wrote with the clarity of a hands-on expert. Her books open a window onto the tools, fabrics, and craftsmanship that shaped everyday life in the United States.
2 Audiobooks
The Invention of the Sewing Machine
by Grace Rogers Cooper
The Scholfield Wool-Carding Machines
by Grace Rogers Cooper
About the author
Born in Sharon, Pennsylvania, in 1924, Grace Rogers Cooper built her career at the Smithsonian Institution, where she became a curator of textiles and a widely respected authority on historic fabrics, sewing technology, and flags.
She is especially remembered for research that combined close observation with practical knowledge. Her work on early sewing machines and handweaving helped explain how textile tools and techniques developed over time, and her book Thirteen-Star Flags: Keys to Identification became well known for challenging doubtful "antique" claims through careful evidence.
Cooper also played an important role in the study of flags as the first woman to serve as president of the North American Vexillological Association. She died in 2004, leaving behind a body of work valued for its precision, usefulness, and respect for material history.