National Quilt Collection - Videos
The National Quilt Collection, part of the Division of Home and Community Life's Textile Collection at the National Museum of American History, had its beginnings in the 1890s. Three quilts were included in a larger collection of 18th- and 19th- century household and costume items from one Stonington, Connecticut family. From this early beginning, the Collection has grown to more than 400 quilts and quilt-related items, mainly of American origin. Most of the contributions have come to the Museum as gifts, many from the quilt-makers' families. The quilts are part of a lasting material record of the American experience, and are preserved in perpetuity for all Americans. As few of the quilts are on exhibition at any given time, this film provides an overview, in quilt storage, of the behind-the-scenes activities of the staff and volunteers as they work with this rich and interesting collection.
Quilts were made primarily by women, and have played a large part in revealing evidence of the circumstances of their lives: economic levels, the goods available to them and their increasing consumerism, their thrift and extravagance, the opportunity for self-expression in an acceptable activity, their schooling and family education and instruction, their group activities, personal identity and reward, and skills.
Some of the quilts reflect very personal interests and concerns; others express political and societal concerns such as patriotism, anti-slavery sentiments, war and peace. Many quilts in the collection have inscriptions that leave us a textile record expressing the interests and feelings of the makers. Others provided the makers an opportunity for artistic expression in a practical endeavor.
Altogether, the collection shows the progression and notable phases in American quilt-making; provides a history of materials available to the quilt makers and of the techniques practiced; illustrates many social, cultural, technological, and economic influences affecting quilts made and used in America; and contributes to the illumination of American life, family, community, and country.
The Division of Home and Community Life continues its long term mission to maintain and develop research-based collections that document and preserve American stories through family, community, biographical/individual oral histories and other materials. The quilt collection, for the most part, represents the middle class and affluent of the eastern half of the country, rather than a potpourri of the widely diverse population of the nation. We should like to encourage viewers to come forward with quilts and other needlework, to donate or to be recorded, with histories that contribute to our awareness of the rich diversity of the people who came to live here, the traditions they brought and carry on, and the ways in which they adopted the endeavors already here. Please contact us at bowmand@si.edu.
Videos
This virtual tour was made possible by a grant from Patty Stonesifer and Michael Kinsley through The Seattle Foundation.
The gift was made in honor of Mrs. Frances Quigley.
Smithsonian National Quilt Collection: An Overview
Smithsonian National Quilt Collection: Quilt Scene Investigation
In the Textile Analysis Lab, Kathy Dirks demonstrates how technical analyses of quilts with scientific equipment is used for identification and verification
Smithsonian National Quilt Collection: Quilt Care
Kathy Dirks shows the quilt storage room, and the cabinets and materials used in housing the collection.
Smithsonian National Quilt Collection: Machine Quilting
Barbara Janssen shows the patent model of a Grover & Baker sewing machine and explains how the stitch it produced helped to determine the probable date of a quilt in the collection.
Smithsonian National Quilt Collection: Civil War Sunday School Quilt
Virginia Eisemon discusses the history of a quilt made by a Maine Sunday school class for the benefit of hospitalized Union soldiers
Smithsonian National Quilt Collection: Lydia Finnell's Star Quilt
Sheryl DeJong identifies the techniques and stitches in a late 19th-century crazypatch quilt and discusses the availability of materials, patterns, and instructions at the time.
Links
NMAH Collections Site
Quilts, Counterpanes and Throws: A Selection from the National Collection
NMAH quilts in the general Smithsonian Collections
"National Quilt Collection - Videos" showing 6 items.
1850 Benoni Pearce's Album Quilt
- Description
- This album quilt has the inscription "Benoni Pearce Pawling 1850" plainly appliquéd across the top. Whether to celebrate an engagement, announce his availability for marriage, or as a token of friendship it is not evident why this quilt so boldly bears the name, Benoni Pearce. It is known that album quilts were quite popular in the mid-nineteenth century. In 1850 family and friends in the Pawling, New York area joined together to create this example well expressed by one of the inscriptions: "This Humble Tribute I Present - My Friendship to Portray." The needlework, artistry and many inscriptions on the Benoni Pearce Album Quilt make it an important part of the collection.
- The eighty-one distinctive blocks of the quilt represent a great many of the quilting techniques and patterns popular in the mid-nineteenth century. Fifty-eight blocks are appliquéd, thirteen are pieced, eight are pieced and appliquéd, one is reverse appliquéd and one is quilted and stuffed. It is constructed mainly of roller printed cottons. The motifs of each of the eighty-one quilt blocks differ, from basic pieced star patterns to free form designs such as a girl jumping rope, a deer or trees. Details on many of the blocks are added in ink or embroidery. The quilting patterns also represent a variety of styles with quilted symbols of hearts, flowers, and various geometric shapes found throughout the quilt.
- The many contributors to this quilt have appliquéd, inked or embroidered their signatures to individual blocks, often adding dates, place names, relationship to quilt recipient Benoni Pearce, and even poems. One quilt block depicting a barren gnarled tree expresses the following sentiment:
- "I am a broken aged tree
- That long has stood the wind and rain
- But now has come a cruel blast
- And my last hold on earth is gone
- No leaf of mine shall greet the spring
- No Summers sun exalt my bloom
- But I must lie before the storm
- And others plant them in my room.
- Presented by Your Aunt Anna Dodge."
- ("Lament For James, Earl of Glencairn," Robert Burns)
- Other inscriptions express conventional sentiments. It is through the many dated inscriptions that some of the history of Benoni Pearce's Album Quilt has been established.
- Benoni Pearce married Emma Stark in 1851, farmed in the Pawling, Dutchess County, New York, area, had two daughters and died in 1871. By 1873 his widow, Emma, had moved to Washington D.C. with their two daughters and was working as a clerk for the U.S. government, one of the early government girls. Emma Stark Pearce continued to live in Washington D.C. and worked in various government offices until her death in 1899 at age seventy. After she died the quilt remained with her daughter, Jessie, who never married. The other daughter, Augusta, apparently died at a young age. Jessie also lived in Washington D.C., kept boarders and was listed in the city directory as a china painter or artist until her own death in 1907. It was in Jessie's handwritten will that mention was made of "my album quilt . . . ." probably the one that was eventually donated to the Museum in 1972 by descendants. According to the donors they felt that the Museum was better able to preserve and care for the quilt and that such a beautiful object, Benoni Pearce's Album Quilt, should be shared and valued.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1850
- quilter
- Pearce, Benoni, friends of
- ID Number
- TE*T16323
- accession number
- 304519
- catalog number
- T16323
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
1850 Mary T. Barnes's Dower Counterpane
- Description
- This white counterpane was made for Mary T. Barnes’s dower chest in 1850. She married Gen. John Bratton Erwin in 1866. The 20-inch center of this counterpane is composed of 7-inch squares filled alternately with wineglass and diagonal grid quilting. The center is surrounded by an 8 ½-inch band quilted in a pattern of large triangles filled with shell quilting. This band in turn is framed by a band of 7-inch squares quilted in the same pattern as those of the center. Next comes another 8 ½-inch band quilted in a running vine pattern with shell quilting in the background. Finally, a border of 7-inch squares, again filled with wineglass and diagonal grid quilting, completes this counterpane. An inked inscription, “Mary T. Barnes 1850” is near one corner. Mary’s two daughters donated the precisely quilted counterpane in 1932.
- Mary T. Barnes, the only child of Dixon Barnes (1816-1862) and Charlotte Brown Barnes, was born 16 October 1840 in Lancaster County, S. C. Her mother died when she was six. Her father, Col. Dixon Barnes, commanded the 12th South Carolina Infantry during the Civil War and died as a result of wounds during the Antietam Campaign when Mary was about 22.
- After her marriage in 1866, she and John Bratton Erwin (1834-1916) settled on her plantation in Lancaster County, S. C. John, trained as a lawyer, fought in the Civil War, and after his marriage managed Mary’s large estates. They had six children, of whom three lived into adulthood. In 1876 John Erwin was elected to the U. S. House of Representatives and in 1886 to the Senate. Mary died in 1893 and John in 1916. Both are buried in the Camp Creek Methodist Church Cemetery, Lancaster County, S. C..
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1850
- maker
- unknown
- ID Number
- TE*T07045
- accession number
- 120169
- catalog number
- T07045
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
1850 Mary T. Barnes's "Irish Chain" Quilt
- Description
- This quilt, a variation of the “Irish Chain” pattern, was made for Mary T. Barnes’s dower chest in 1850. She married Gen. John Bratton Erwin in 1866. Blocks pieced in red, green, and white cottons were set such that the “chain” runs both horizontally and vertically. Both plain and printed fabrics were used for the border which is quilted with parallel diagonal lines. An inked inscription, “Mary T. Barnes 1850” is in the upper left corner block. Mary’s two daughters donated the “Irish Chain” Quilt in 1933.
- Mary T. Barnes, the only child of Dixon Barnes (1816-1862) and Charlotte Brown Barnes, was born 16 October 1840 in Lancaster County, S. C.. Her mother died when Mary was six. Her father, Col.l Dixon Barnes, commanded the 12th South Carolina Infantry during the Civil War. Colonel Barnes died as a result of wounds during the Antietam Campaign when Mary was about 22.
- After her marriage in 1866, she and John Bratton Erwin (1834-1916) settled on her plantation in Lancaster County, S. C. John, trained as a lawyer, fought in the Civil War. After he married, he managed Mary’s large estates. They had six children of whom three lived into adulthood. In 1876 John Erwin was elected to the U. S. House of Representatives and in 1886 to the Senate. Mary died in 1893 and John in 1916. Both are buried in the Camp Creek Methodist Church Cemetery, Lancaster County, S. C.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1850
- maker
- unknown
- ID Number
- TE*T07141
- accession number
- 122856
- catalog number
- T07141
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
1851 Ellen Calder's Presentation Quilt
- Description
- Harrisburg, Pennsylvania friends of Ellen Winebrenner Calder presented this quilt to her in 1851. It was a farewell present for Ellen, a young bride, who was accompanying her husband, Rev. James K. Calder to Fuh-Chua, China. They worked under difficult circumstances in China for two years as missionaries for the Methodist Episcopal Church before returning to the United States. Ellen Calder, born in 1824, died in 1858 at Shippensburg, Pennsylvania. She is buried in the Harrisburg Cemetery.
- This cotton quilt consists of 36 blocks appliquéd with a fleur-de-lis motif often used by religious groups for presentation pieces. In the center circle of each block is penned a name and on many the place and date as well. Also penned on the quilt are a few pertinent religious inscriptions such as:
- "When on the bounding wave,
- Or in a Heathen land,
- May God in Mercy Save,
- And guide you by the hand.
- And when your labors cease,
- And you no more must roam,
- May you return in peace,
- To your beloved home."
- In the mid nineteenth century the album or autograph quilt was a popular token of affection, often presented to someone leaving the community for a long journey or a new home far away.
- Date made
- 1851
- user
- Calder, Ellen Winebrenner
- quilters
- unknown
- ID Number
- TE*T08114
- accession number
- 144655
- catalog number
- T08114
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
1853 Rachel Roseberry's "Album Patch" Quilt
- Description
- A date of “August 1853” inscribed on seventeen blocks provided a clue to the possible origins of this “Album Patch” quilt. Names and places inscribed on other blocks gave further information. Probably Rachel Young Roseberry started this quilt when the family moved to Brentsville, Va., from Phillipsburg, N.J., in 1853. At the time she and her husband, Michael, had four young children: Emma (1838-1897), Annie (about 1840-?), John (1843-1915, and, Alice (about 1844-?). The names of friends and relatives appear to have been written by the same hand, maybe at different times, and many are further embellished by different floral drawings.
- Thirty-six nine-inch “Album Patch” or “Friendship Chain” pieced blocks are composed of plain red and white or printed green and white cottons. The “Album” blocks are framed by a 1 ½-inch border of printed green and plain white triangles. All blocks are signed in ink denoting name, and sometimes a date and/or place. Ink drawings are added to several of the inscriptions. The same red and green cottons and thread were used throughout the quilt and nearly half are inscribed “1853.” The addition of dates of “1858,” “1859,” and “1871,” suggest signatures may have been added after the quilt was completed. Places included Washington, D.C., Youngsville ?, Newark, N. J., and Brentsville, Va.
- Rachel Roseberry’s quilt represents a personalized textile document containing names of friends and family and associated dates that may represent visits, marriages, deaths or other significant events related to that name. Album quilts such as this were popular in the mid-19th century, as was the use of the red and green color combination.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1853
- maker
- unknown
- ID Number
- TE*T11232
- accession number
- 209501
- catalog number
- T11232
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
1853 Yale Engine Company's Quilt
- Description
- The inscription found on this quilt identifies its origins. Within a wreath cut from a printed cotton chintz on one block is inked: “Ladies’ Donation / to the Fireman’s Fair / Yale Engine Co. No. 1 / South Reading / July 1853.” Quite likely a group of women devised the quilt making project to raise funds for the Yale Engine Company. A new engine house was erected in South Reading, Massachusetts, in 1853.
- Two blocks in particular indicate the pride the community had in its ability to be prepared for fires. One has an appliquéd and embroidered fire engine marked “Yale 1.” The other block, all embroidered, has a ladder, hook, hose, the date "1853," and inscription: "Yale Engine Company No. 1 / South Reading." As reported in the Official Program of the Celebration of the 250th Anniversary of the Settlement and Incorporation of Ancient Redding” May 1894: “In 1852, by vote of the town, came a handsome new, double-decker fire-engine, resplendent in finish of rosewood and trimmings of polished brass . . . . The new machine was from Jeffers’ works at Pawtucket, R.I., and was named ‘Yale Engine, No. 1,’ in grateful recognition of a large gift . . . from Burrage Yale, Esq., whose tin pedler’s carts were for many years known all over New England." It was further reported that, "'The Yale’ distinguished herself in many fields, and saved much property from destruction. She is still [1894] retained by the town . . . and regarded with respect and appreciation."
- All but five of the thirty 15½-inch blocks that comprise this quilt have geometric motifs made by cutting folded cloth. These were made from the same roller printed cotton fabric and appliquéd to a white ground. One block is pieced in a popular pattern, “Star of Bethlehem.” The inclusion of an American flag block contributes an element of patriotism. The blocks are joined in a quilt-as-you-go method. Each one is appliquéd, pieced or embroidered; then lined and quilted; bound with a narrow red-ground print; and finally, joined to make the quilt.
- Burrage Yale, whose contributions to the community of South Reading, Massachusetts, were many, was born in Meriden, Connecticut, on March 27, 1781. At an early age he set out to help his family as a peddler of tinware. In 1800 he came to Reading, Massachusetts, and within a few years had settled there and founded a soon-thriving business manufacturing and dealing in tinware.
- A man of strong convictions, he was profiled by Lilley Eaton in his 1874 Genealogical History of the Town of Reading. Burrage Yale was known as “polite, dignified, and hospitable, a friend and patron of education and liberal toward public improvement.” He was also “. . . a shrewd and accomplished business man . . . . accused of being proud, haughty and ambitious . . . unmerciful to his debtors.”
- According to Eaton, “he once rendered himself so odious to a portion of the people . . . that on a certain night he was hung in effigy . . . and then consumed in a great funeral pyre, amid the shouts of the crowd; and . . . upon a board nailed high upon the oak, these words in epitaph: ‘This great and mighty lord, he is no more!’”
- While Burrage Yale may not always have been gracious or generous, he apparently contributed a significant-enough sum to the fire fighting cause in his community that a fire engine, fire house and later an avenue bore his name. His wife, Sarah Boardman (1786-1844), was one of the early female teachers in South Reading. She was described by Lilley Eaton as “. . . a faithful teacher, and our memory of her in that capacity is most pleasant. In after-life she was ever a most worthy and valuable woman.” When Burrage Yale died September 5, 1860, the fully uniformed firefighters of the Yale Engine Company marched in his funeral procession.
- This quilt, so carefully worked, is an example of efforts by women of South Reading, then a small rural New England town, to work together to provide for their community.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1853
- maker
- unknown
- ID Number
- 1995.0011.04
- accession number
- 1995.0011
- catalog number
- 1995.0011.04
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center