National Quilt Collection

"Quilt": A cover or garment made by putting wool, cotton or other substance between two cloths and sewing them together. An American Dictionary of the English Language, by Noah Webster, LL.D., New York 1828. 

The National Quilt Collection incorporates quilts from various ethnic groups and social classes, for quilts are not the domain of a specific race or class, but can be a part of anyone’s heritage and treasured as such. Whether of rich or humble fabrics, large in size or small, expertly crafted or not, well-worn or pristine, quilts in the National Quilt Collection provide a textile narrative that contributes to America’s complex and diverse history. The variety and scope of the collection provides a rich resource for researchers, artists, quilt-makers and others. 

Part of the Division of Home and Community Life textiles collection, the National Quilt Collection had its beginnings in the 1890s. Three quilts were included in a larger collection of 18th- and 19th-century household and costume items donated by John Brenton Copp of Stonington, Connecticut. From this early beginning, the collection has grown to more than 500 quilts and quilt-related items, mainly of American origin, with examples from many states, including Alaska and Hawaii. Most of the contributions have come to the Museum as gifts, and many of those are from the quilt-makers’ families. The collection illustrates needlework techniques, materials, fabric designs and processes, styles and patterns used for quilt-making in the past 250 years. The collection also documents the work of specific quilt-makers and commemorates events in American history. 

Learn more about the quilt collection and step behind the scenes with a video tour.

While the precise name of an individual’s quilt pattern was seldom recorded in the nineteenth century, Mary Totten left no doubt about the name she gave this quilt or its importance to her when she prepared her will, circa 1860.
Description
While the precise name of an individual’s quilt pattern was seldom recorded in the nineteenth century, Mary Totten left no doubt about the name she gave this quilt or its importance to her when she prepared her will, circa 1860. “First, after all my lawful debts are paid and discharged, I give and bequeath to Rachel Mary Drake, daughter of William Drake, deceased, my large spread called the Rising Sun.” (Florence Peto in her book Historic Quilts ). More than 75 years later, the “Rising Sun” quilt was brought to the Smithsonian in 1938 by the donor, Marvel Matthes. She had been presented with this magnificent quilt by her godmother, Ellen Totten Butler.
The “Rising Sun” (also referred to at times as "Star of Bethlehem") pieced pattern in the center of the quilt is an eight-pointed star measuring 76 inches across. It contains 648 diamond-shaped pieces made of eleven different roller-printed cottons arranged concentrically by color. Appliquéd between the points of the star are elaborate vases of flowers and birds, combining floral glazed chintzes with some of the same fabrics used in the star. A matching floral vine runs around the four sides of the quilt between a swag-and-bow border on the inside, and a chain along the outer edge. The appliquéd flower stems, vine, swags, bows, and chain are only 3/32-inch wide. The star and border appliqué are outline-quilted, with additional small floral motif quilting in the open spaces in the border. The initials “B T” (unclear) are embroidered in red silk cross-stitch next to one of the corner vases.
Mary Totten, daughter of Gilbert Totten (1740-1819) and Mary Butler (1739-1832), was born in 1781 in Staten Island, New York. Mary was one of eight siblings. In the late eighteenth century, members of the Totten family bought land in the Staten Island area. About 1840 the area purchased by Gilbert, Mary’s father, became known as Tottenville. The economy revolved around oyster fishing, shipbuilding and repair, and farming. Mary married late in life, in her forties, first to Rev. Joseph Polhemus (1762-1827), and, after his death, to Matthew Williams (1780-1836). Mary had no children of her own and her “Rising Sun” quilt was willed to her grandniece when she died in 1861.
At the time of donation, 1938, the "Rising Sun" quilt was noted as made by Mary Betsy Totten or in another note Betsy Totten. In subsequent references either Mary Totten, Mary (Betsy) Totten, or Betsy Totten have been ascribed as the maker of the quilt. Mary did have a sister Elizabeth Totten Cole (1772 - 1860).
Mary "Betsy" Totten's “Rising Sun”quilt is an important example of design and workmanship in the Collection. The fabrics chosen to create this quilt were reproduced in the late twentieth century for the inspiration of contemporary quilters. Other Totten family quilts are in the collections of the Staten Island Historical Society, and another in Cooperstown, New York.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1825-1835
maker
Totten, Mary Betsy
ID Number
TE.T08153
accession number
147358
catalog number
T08153
According to information given with the donation in 1945, this quilt originally belonged to Abbie Corey Brackett. Abbie Corey [Corah] married Ichabod Brackett, a hired man on the Corey family farm in Plainfield, Conn., in 1816.
Description
According to information given with the donation in 1945, this quilt originally belonged to Abbie Corey Brackett. Abbie Corey [Corah] married Ichabod Brackett, a hired man on the Corey family farm in Plainfield, Conn., in 1816. “All her father, Squire Joshiah Corey would allow her to take from home, were the two quilts, which she made. He allowed her nothing more. The Coreys were Scotch.” While this may have explained the other “quilt,” a woven coverlet, this particular quilt dates from about 1825-1835.
The quilt top consists of lengths of a single glazed, roller-printed cotton. The “Pillar Print” design is in red and brown, with an olive drab color added by surface roller. The combination of architectural and floral elements was particularly popular from 1825 to 1835 in American household furnishing fabrics. The quilt has a plain-weave white cotton lining and cotton fiber filling. Concentric diamonds and a quilting pattern variously known as “Rob Peter and Pay Paul,” or “Lafayette Orange Peel” or “Dolly Madison’s Workbox,” quilted at six stitches per inch, complete the quilt.
Records indicate that Abigail Corey was born about 1789. She married Ichabod Brackett (about 1790-1862) 3 February 1816. Sadly, after his death, Abigail is listed on the 1870 census as “Nabby Brackett” born about 1787 and living in Dudley, Worcester, Mass., as a pauper. On the 1880 census she is listed as Abigail Brackett and an “inmate” in Dudley. The donor received this quilt and a woven coverlet from a friend of her mother’s, Mrs. Hattie Vinton Wright, who was the great-granddaughter of Abbie Corey Brackett. When the items arrived at the Museum in 1945, they were deemed “excellent examples representing types not duplicated in the collections.”
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1825-1835
maker
Brackett, Abbie Corey
ID Number
TE.T09126
accession number
169638
catalog number
T09126
A quilted inscription at the base of the flowering tree on this quilt reads “Violet E. L. Alexander / June 10 / 1830.” The central focus of this quilt, a flowering “Tree of Life” motif, is appliquéd on a 40-inch square of white cotton.
Description
A quilted inscription at the base of the flowering tree on this quilt reads “Violet E. L. Alexander / June 10 / 1830.” The central focus of this quilt, a flowering “Tree of Life” motif, is appliquéd on a 40-inch square of white cotton. Other motifs of palm trees, flowers, and long-tailed birds are appliquéd on white cotton triangles to fill out the center section. This is framed by 3-inch and 7-inch borders that are made of roller-printed floral and geometric stripes. The two borders are separated by a 3¾-inch plain white border. The corner motifs and some parts of the central tree are cut from block-printed cotton produced at the Bannister Hall print works near Preston, England.
The quilting pattern, 8 stitches per inch, consists of diagonal lines, ¼-inch apart, over the entire center and on the printed borders. Clamshell quilting is found on the plain white border. The fine quilting and use of costly chintz fabrics printed in England make it a typical example of a medallion quilt, popular in the early nineteenth century, and often found in the American South.
Violet Elizabeth was the daughter of William Bain Alexander and Violet Davidson. Violet was born January 9, 1812. She was one of fourteen children (seven girls and seven boys) who grew up on a prosperous estate in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. On December, 27, 1831 she married Dr. Isaac Wilson, who both farmed and maintained an extensive medical practice. The couple had six children, five sons and one daughter. Two sons lost their lives in the Civil War, two others farmed in the county, and another practiced medicine. Violet died at age 33 of erysipelas, a bacterial infection, during an epidemic in 1845. This quilt was made just prior to her marriage. According to information from the donor, Dr. John E. S. Davidson, the quilt may have been made by his mother, Jane Henderson (Mrs. Edward Constantine Davidson), a friend or relative of Violet.
Note: The name Violet appears and reappears in the family. She may have gone by the name “Elizabeth,” as some sources cite.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1830
maker
Alexander, Violet Elizabeth Lee
ID Number
TE.T14673
catalog number
T14673
accession number
279890
On the front of this “Irish Chain”-patterned quilt is found an inscription in ink: “Commenced in 1825 & Finished in 1830 by Mifs Jane Valentine Scipio Cayuga Co. N.Y. No.
Description
On the front of this “Irish Chain”-patterned quilt is found an inscription in ink: “Commenced in 1825 & Finished in 1830 by Mifs Jane Valentine Scipio Cayuga Co. N.Y. No. of Pieced Blocks 168 Small Blocks 4,2,42." Another inscription in a different hand and ink on a back corner states: “My Mothers 5040 Blocks 1832 In Case of My death to be given to My Sister Hattie Blodgett.”
The quilt is made of 3-inch plain and pieced blocks. The blocks are comprised of about 130 different roller-printed cottons with small print motifs. An examination of the quilt reveals that there are 348 white blocks and 348 pieced blocks; the segments of the pieced blocks are 5/8-inch square, and there are 10,092 of them. Diagonal grid quilting follows the “chain.” The plain white blocks are quilted, 6 stitches per inch, with a floral motif. The “Irish Chain” pattern was in use in the early 1800s and may have been adapted from weaving patterns.
Margaret Jane Valentine was the daughter of Peter Valentine (1784-1865) and Elizabeth Hilliker. Jane married Benjamin Brown Jr. on November 16, 1831. Harriet Brown was born in 1848 and married Charles Blodgett. It was Mrs. Harriet E. Blodgett who in 1915 donated this quilt and a coverlet. At the time she wrote that the quilt was “. . . pieced by my mother. Commenced in 1825 when she was about fourteen finished 1830. . . I feel a great desire to put them [both quilt and coverlet] where they will be preserved.”
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1830
maker
Valentine, Jane
ID Number
TE.E287383
accession number
58478
catalog number
E287383
Jessy Anderson made this white quilted and stuffed-work counterpane in New York, probably completing it in 1835. The free-form overall design incorporates eagles, cornucopias, flowers, leaves, fruits, and other motifs popular at the time.
Description
Jessy Anderson made this white quilted and stuffed-work counterpane in New York, probably completing it in 1835. The free-form overall design incorporates eagles, cornucopias, flowers, leaves, fruits, and other motifs popular at the time. Acorn, oak leaves and thistles are repeated in the quilting in several places.
The center panel, 43 x 39 inches, contains a basket of flowers surrounded by branching coral with a different spray of flowers in each corner. With a thin inner layer of cotton it is closely quilted at sixteen stitches per inch. A 24-inch border surrounds the center panel. It does not have an inner layer of cotton, but is quilted at 18 stitches per inch.
Two eagle motifs are centered in the top and bottom borders. One eagle is perched on an arch that is inscribed in quilting “E Pluribus Unum.” The other eagle holds arrows and an olive branch under a ribbon also inscribed in quilting, “Pluribus Unum.” A cornucopia in the left border holds a “lemon,” the family term, on which is embroidered in backstitch “Jefsy Anderson New York 1835.”
For seven generations the quilt was handed down to the first-born daughter before its donation to the Smithsonian in 1981. The donor remarked that “I am unable to give it the kind of preservative care it needs and deserves . . . . I am also anxious to share this remarkable piece of artistry with as many people as would be interested in it.” While it had been in the family for over 140 years, the decision was made by the donors that “the highest honor we could give to our talented ancestor would be to place the quilt in a museum for many to enjoy.” Jessy Anderson’s quilt documents the expression of skills and art that many women displayed with their needlework.
Jessie was born April 3, 1812 in Scotland. She married January 17, 1840, Robert Dougal Thompson (1812-1889) in Albany, NY. They had six children and she died April 18, 1870 in Cambridge, WI.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1835
quilter
Anderson, Jessy
ID Number
1981.0830.01
catalog number
1981.0830.01
accession number
1981.0830
The embroidered inscription “Frances M Jolly 1839” graces the center medallion of this quilt top. This signed and dated silk-and-wool-embroidered quilt top came from an African American family, and the maker, Frances M.
Description
The embroidered inscription “Frances M Jolly 1839” graces the center medallion of this quilt top. This signed and dated silk-and-wool-embroidered quilt top came from an African American family, and the maker, Frances M. Jolly, was said to be an ancestor of one of the donor’s grandparents. The family, of whom little else is known, is said to have lived in Massachusetts and moved to Pinehurst, North Carolina.
A 37½-inch black square set diagonally in the center with red corner triangles is the focal point of this quilt top. It is surrounded by three borders: a 9-inch black, a 10-inch orange, and an 11-inch black. Appliquéd flowers, leaves, and vines embellished with braid and embroidery decorate the surface.
The edges of the appliquéd motifs are not turned under, but are held in place by buttonhole stitching in matching or near-matching thread colors. Silk or cotton threads are used for securing the appliqué motifs, stitching, and the embroidery, except for the inscription, which is chain-stitched in red wool. The quilt has both hand and machine stitching. The outer two borders are machine-stitched, indicating that they were joined after 1860 when sewing machines became common in households. Wool fabrics are used for both the pieced sections and the appliquéd motifs. Wool and silk braid and silk ribbon contribute to the overall design.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1839
quilter
Jolly, Frances M.
ID Number
1983.0241.01
catalog number
1983.0241.01
accession number
1983.0241
The date “June 3 1836” and initials “W.B.” in the center panel are plainly evident on this quilted and stuffed white counterpane. Unfortunately no further information was given at the time of donation. Does the date signify an engagement or wedding date?
Description
The date “June 3 1836” and initials “W.B.” in the center panel are plainly evident on this quilted and stuffed white counterpane. Unfortunately no further information was given at the time of donation. Does the date signify an engagement or wedding date? Is “W.B.” the maker or a person honored?
The white-work counterpane is an example of stuffed work using a method of spreading apart the threads in the lining and inserting cotton stuffing. In this way the motifs such as the plumes, sunflowers, daisies, and undulating vines are given a dimensionality. Precise quilting, 10 stitches per inch, further enhances the elegance and overall design of this bedcover.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1836
maker
unknown
ID Number
TE.T12170
accession number
231271
catalog number
T12170

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