History of the Granny Square!

I'm so excited! I've found evidence of how far back Granny Squares go! I've been researching them in an attempt to place them in history. Clearly they have a revival at the moment and I know they were huge in the 70s, but where did it start?

I've done a bunch of research on the net and can't find out anything about the history of them before the 70s... until now!

I was looking through a book I've got which is a reproduction of a number of crochet newsletters stuffed full of patterns from a company called Weldons from the mid 1800s. Right at the back, there's a pattern for "Patchwork Squares", which has a little blurb at the top describing how useful these are for using up scraps of yarn you might have, and how they're great for rugs, baby's blankets and the like. Breathless I turned the page to see if I could find an illustration and there, on the next page, was a handsome black and white engraving of... a granny square!

I'm so happy! Granny squares date back to at least Victorian times! That's so awesome to find. How good is  researching? Love it, love it...

Granny squares image from http://www.spinningwheel.net/?p=148