Old Hudson Bay Point Blanket with a twist

[anhouraweek]

I just brought home from mom's place a Hudson Bay Point Blanket. Blanket has evidence that a tag was once attached to the center of one of the ends.  Background is that I remember this blanket being used in the car in the early 60's and how fussy Mom got when one of Dad's pipe ashes landed on the blanket and left a small hole.  Other background is that my Grandmother worked in logging camps as a cook in the early 1900's. Also, Minnesota Woolen Mills used to have a home sales service in the early 60's in our town of Ione, WA.  I remember the sales person coming the house with Dad's workwear. The twist to this blanket is that it does not have 'Points'.  Why?  Where is this blanket from?

[waywardangler]

Pics would be helpful.  As I understand point blankets (as told to me by modern day voyageurs at the Festival du Voyageur in Winnipeg), a full line is one point and a half line is a half-point.  "Size is indicated by a point system (a point is a woven line about 4 inches long that appears on the side of the blanket's edge). The point system ranged from 1-8 and included 1/2 point increments.Contrary to popular myth, these points did NOT indicate the number of beaver pelts needed to purchase a particular sized blanket."  http://reviews.ebay.com/Hudson-Bay-Company-Point-Blanket_W0QQugidZ10000000000939116 
This is contradicted on this page http://www.bemidjiwoolenmills.com/hudsonbay "One of the trading commodities most highly prized by the Indians in exchange for their beaver pelts, was the original Hudson's Bay "Point" Blanket. The earliest mention of Hudson's Bay "Point" Blankets is contained in the Minutes of a meeting of the Hudson's Bay Company's London Committee on 16th December, 1779, but there is little doubt that they were an article of trade before this date.

A letter of 1780 to the committee states that:

the "Points" are known to every Indian as the price to be paid for each as 2 1/2 points - 2 1/2 beaver, 3 points - 3 beaver, etc."
 
These lines are on the side of the blanket and are not the red/yellow/green/indigo stripes that go across the full width of the blanket.  I think only "Hudson Bay" blankets have the point lines on them but I may be wrong on this.  I have seen Hudson Bay blanket look-alikes made by other companies and they do not have the point lines on them.  Authentic Hudson Bay blankets say so on the label that has been on their blankets since the 1890s.  If your blanket is missing the label and it does not have the point lines, I highly doubt it is a genuine Hudson Bay blanket but rather a copy from a competing manufacturer.

[anhouraweek]