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.

This indigo wool quilt is one of three late-eighteenth-and-early nineteenth-century quilts that were donated in the 1890s by John Brenton Copp of Stonington, Connecticut.
Description
This indigo wool quilt is one of three late-eighteenth-and-early nineteenth-century quilts that were donated in the 1890s by John Brenton Copp of Stonington, Connecticut. All are part of an extensive gift of household textiles, costume items, furniture, and other objects that belonged to his family from 1750 to 1850. The Copp Collection continues to provide insights into New England family life of that period.
Whole cloth quilts were most popular between 1775 and 1840, although before 1800 they were relatively rare and expensive. This eighteenth-century example from the Copp family is a glazed indigo wool quilt. The fabric was dyed blue with indigo, one of the oldest dyes used for textiles. Glazing, a process involving the use of a hot press on wool fabric, resulted in a smooth, lustrous surface. The lining, a butternut-colored wool, apparently was made from two different blankets.
It is quilted with a popular motif of the period, a large pineapple, using blue wool thread, 7 stitches per inch. A quilted flowering vine extends from a basket at the bottom edge of the quilt and frames the pineapple. A family member, John Brown Copp (b. 1779), was known to have drawn designs for white counterpanes for the young ladies in the Stonington area. The quilting pattern on this indigo wool quilt is similar to the embroidery pattern of a white counterpane, from about 1800, which also belonged to the Copp family.
An analysis of the household textile collection donated by John Brenton Copp can be found in the Copp Family Textiles by Grace Rogers Cooper (Smithsonian Institution Press, 1971). In the book the author summarizes the family background. “The first Copp to reach America was William, a 26-year-old London shoemaker who in 1635 set out for the Massachusetts Colony on the good ship Blessing. He landed east of Boston and became the first owner of Copp’s Hill in north Boston . . . . William’s son Jonathan established the Connecticut branch of the family around Stonington later in the seventeenth century. Many of his male descendents gained comfortable prosperity as merchants and businessmen, while their wives and daughters led full lives as mothers of the large families in which education and refinement were encouraged . . . . The long succession of Jonathans, Samuels, Catherines, Esters, Marys, and Sarahs makes it rather difficult to set in order the generations and their contributions to the collection.” The exact maker of this indigo wool quilt is unidentified, but it was probably made by one or more members of the Copp household.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1750-1800
maker
Copp Family
ID Number
TE.H006643
accession number
28810
catalog number
H006643
This quilt is one of three late-eighteenth-and-early-nineteenth-century quilts that were donated in the 1890s by John Brenton Copp of Stonington, Connecticut.
Description
This quilt is one of three late-eighteenth-and-early-nineteenth-century quilts that were donated in the 1890s by John Brenton Copp of Stonington, Connecticut. All are a part of an extensive gift of household textiles, costume items, furniture, and other objects that belonged to his family from 1750 to 1850. The Copp Collection continues to provide insights into New England family life of that period.
The pieced blocks on this quilt, a variation of the “Nine-patch” pattern, are each made of one of nine different block-printed cottons. These are symmetrically arranged according to the particular print, and alternate with plain white blocks. The quilting pattern consists of parallel diagonal lines on the pieced blocks contrasting with 1½-inch shells on the white blocks, all quilted at 7 stitches per inch.
An analysis of the household textile collection donated by John Brenton Copp can be found in the Copp Family Textiles by Grace Rogers Cooper (Smithsonian Institution Press, 1971). In the book the author summarizes the family background. “The first Copp to reach America was William, a 26-year-old London shoemaker who in 1635 set out for the Massachusetts Colony on the good ship Blessing. He landed east of Boston and became the first owner of Copp’s Hill in north Boston . . . . William’s son Jonathan established the Connecticut branch of the family around Stonington later in the seventeenth century. Many of his male descendents gained comfortable prosperity as merchants and businessmen, while their wives and daughters led full lives as mothers of the large families in which education and refinement were encouraged . . . . The long succession of Jonathans, Samuels, Catherines, Esters, Marys, and Sarahs makes it rather difficult to set in order the generations and their contributions to the collection.” The exact maker of this “Nine-patch” quilt is unidentified, but it was probably made by one or more members of the Copp household.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1790-1810
maker
Copp Family
ID Number
TE.H006679
accession number
28810
catalog number
H006679
This pieced-work example is one of three late-eighteenth-and-early nineteenth-century quilts that were donated in the 1890s by John Brenton Copp of Stonington, Connecticut.
Description
This pieced-work example is one of three late-eighteenth-and-early nineteenth-century quilts that were donated in the 1890s by John Brenton Copp of Stonington, Connecticut. All are a part of an extensive gift of household textiles, costume items, furniture and other objects that belonged to his family from 1750 to 1850. The Copp Collection continues to provide insights into New England family life of that period.
The arrangement of the pattern of this quilt is one found frequently in eighteenth-century and early-nineteenth-century quilts, a succession of borders framing a center panel of pieced work. A view of the pieced center of this quilt seen from the right side, suggests the shape of a tree, and the printed fabrics repeat in mirror fashion in each row about ninety percent of the time. Perhaps the center was erroneously placed in this direction, or it was meant to be viewed from the bedside. The lining is pieced of much-mended linen and cotton fabrics that originally were probably sheets. On one piece, the initials “HV” are cross-stitched in tan silk thread. It is quilted in an overall herringbone pattern, 5 or 6 stitches per inch.
The clothing and furnishing fabrics used in the quilt top span a period of about forty years. This, and the fact that the Copp family was in the dry goods business, may explain why the quilt includes more than one hundred and fifty different printed, woven-patterned, and plain fabrics of cotton, linen and silk. Although the array of fabrics is extravagant, economy is evident in the use of even the smallest scraps. Many blocks in the quilt pattern are composed of several smaller, irregularly shaped pieces. Two dresses, in the Copp Collection, one from about 1800 and the other from about 1815, are made of fabrics that appear in the quilt.
An analysis of the household textile collection donated by John Brenton Copp can be found in the Copp Family Textiles by Grace Rogers Cooper (Smithsonian Institution Press, 1971). In the book the author summarizes the family background. “The first Copp to reach America was William, a 26-year-old London shoemaker who in 1635 set out for the Massachusetts Colony on the good ship Blessing. He landed east of Boston and became the first owner of Copp’s Hill in north Boston . . . . William’s son Jonathan established the Connecticut branch of the family around Stonington later in the seventeenth century. Many of his male descendents gained comfortable prosperity as merchants and businessmen, while their wives and daughters led full lives as mothers of the large families in which education and refinement were encouraged . . . . The long succession of Jonathans, Samuels, Catherines, Esters, Marys, and Sarahs makes it rather difficult to set in order the generations and their contributions to the collection.” The exact maker of this quilt is unidentified, but it was probably made by one or more members of the Copp household.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1790-1810
maker
Copp Family
ID Number
TE.H006680
accession number
28810
catalog number
H006680
Copper-plate and block-printed fabrics from the late-18th and early-19th centuries make this pieced quilt a valuable contribution to the Collection.
Description
Copper-plate and block-printed fabrics from the late-18th and early-19th centuries make this pieced quilt a valuable contribution to the Collection. Originally purchased at a thrift shop for $2.00, this rare find was generously donated to the Museum in 1956.
In the 21-inch pieced center section are ten fragments of a plate-printed cotton fabric thought to commemorate the Treaty of Pillnitz, 1792. It was the first formal alliance in opposition to the French Revolution. Participants whose portraits appear on the fabric segments are the King of Prussia (Frederick William II), The Empress of Russia (Catherine II), the King of Britain (George III), and the Emperor of Germany (Leopold II).
The center block is immediately surrounded by 15 ½-inch-square pieced blocks and rectangular blocks either of linen embellished with wool embroidery or plain and block-printed cotton and linen/cotton fabrics. This is framed by a complex piecing of printed, embroidered, and plain fabrics. The crewel-embroidered floral sprigs and exotic birds on linen may have been fragments from recycled bed furnishings or a petticoat. Linen thread was used for the chevron and diagonal grid quilting patterns, quilted at 7-8 stitches per inch. The various fabrics produced by different printing techniques make this quilt a remarkable example of the period.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1792-1810
maker
unknown
ID Number
TE.T11457
accession number
211584
catalog number
T11457
The 17-inch center block of this early 19th-century quilt is appliquéd with a charming array of floral, geometric, and heart-shaped designs.
Description
The 17-inch center block of this early 19th-century quilt is appliquéd with a charming array of floral, geometric, and heart-shaped designs. It is surrounded by five pieced borders.
Block-printed, copperplate-printed, Indian-painted, and roller-printed techniques are represented in the fabrics that were used for piecing. Plain-woven and pattern-woven white cottons are also evident. The 8 ½-inch blocks that make up the borders are pieced in a variety of patterns popular in the first half of the 19th century. It has a cotton filling and is quilted, 7 stitches/inch.
The quilt is probably from southern New England, possibly Connecticut, where it was found. The many, many fabrics, different pieced block patterns, and appliquéd designs contribute to this sampler of 19th- century quilt making.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1800-1850
maker
unknown
ID Number
1981.0417.04
catalog number
1981.0417.04
accession number
1981.0417
This quilt top was made at Vaux Hall, a plantation near Baltimore, Md., owned by Charles Jessop. The center square, composed of motifs printed about 1800 and appliquéd with linen thread, has been attributed to Mary Gorsuch Jessop.
Description
This quilt top was made at Vaux Hall, a plantation near Baltimore, Md., owned by Charles Jessop. The center square, composed of motifs printed about 1800 and appliquéd with linen thread, has been attributed to Mary Gorsuch Jessop. The corners, with chintz motifs printed about 1830 and sewn with cotton thread, were added later.
The sixteen block-printed motifs applied to the center square are the work of John Hewson (1744-1821), one of the few 18th-century American textile printers who have been identified. Persuaded by Benjamin Franklin to leave England before the Revolutionary War, Hewson set up his printing works on the banks of the Delaware River near Philadelphia. There he worked with such skill and success that the British, who sought to eliminate competition for their products, posted a reward during the Revolutionary War for his body, dead or alive.
Hewson survived to demonstrate fabric-printing, aboard a float, in the Grand Federal Procession held on July 4, 1788, in Philadelphia, to celebrate the adoption of the Constitution. William Bagnall ‘s The Textile Industries of the United States , published in 1893, states, “President Washington was accustomed to point with patriotic pride to domestic fabrics worn by Mrs. Washington and printed at the works of . . . Hewson.”
Mary Gorsuch, born in Baltimore County, Md., in 1767, married Charles Jessop (1759-1828) in 1786. Their son, William, was born in 1800 about the same time that Charles bought 200 acres of land and built Vaux Hall. Mary died in 1830. William’s wife and Mary’s daughter-in-law, Cecilia Barry Jessop, may have added the corners to the quilt top in 1830. William inherited Vaux Hall and lived there until his own death in 1866 (or 1869). Vaux Hall, named for gardens in England, was destroyed in the 1930s in the construction of a dam for Baltimore.
The quilt top was placed in a trunk with other finished family quilts and put in commercial storage. At a later date it was discovered that the lock of the trunk was broken and the finished quilts missing, leaving only this quilt top. The quilt top is significant for the John Hewson prints that were used for the appliqué.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1800-1850
maker
Jessop, Mary Gorsuch
Barry, Cecelia
ID Number
TE.T15295
catalog number
T15295
accession number
292866
In 1962 a great-great-granddaughter of one of the makers of this quilt donated it to the Museum with the information that it had been made by women in the Adams family. They were said to have made the quilt while the men were away during the War of 1812.
Description
In 1962 a great-great-granddaughter of one of the makers of this quilt donated it to the Museum with the information that it had been made by women in the Adams family. They were said to have made the quilt while the men were away during the War of 1812. The donor’s great-grandfather was Jackson Adams, her great-great uncle, Joshua Adams, and her grandmother, Jane Adams.
This quilt is made up of 7-inch blocks pieced in the "Pinwheel" pattern, alternating with plain white blocks. Detailed stuffed quilting embellishes the white blocks and border. Ten different quilting patterns are used for the plain blocks, all but one repeated.
The 8-inch white border has a quilted-and-stuffed feathered vine with small quilted-and-stuffed floral motifs. White cotton fabric was used for the lining, cotton fiber for the filling and stuffing. The pieced blocks and border are quilted at 9 stitches per inch. The “Pinwheel” Quilt, with its contrast of elaborate stuffed quilting and simply pieced blocks, is a fine example of early 19th-century quilting making.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1812-1814
maker
unknown
ID Number
TE.T12815
accession number
242609
catalog number
T12815
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
An appliquéd and embroidered adaptation of the Great Seal of the United States centers this cotton quilt made by Susan Strong in the early second quarter of the nineteenth century. Susan probably made this quilt in Ohio, where her family moved prior to 1820.
Description
An appliquéd and embroidered adaptation of the Great Seal of the United States centers this cotton quilt made by Susan Strong in the early second quarter of the nineteenth century. Susan probably made this quilt in Ohio, where her family moved prior to 1820. The Great Seal has been in use since 1782 to authenticate documents issued by the United States government. Adaptations of this patriotic motif, a bald eagle with its wings spread, have been used on many quilts.
In Susan’s adaptation, the eagle holds vines in its talons and beak instead of the arrows, olive branch, and banner with E Pluribus Unum that are found on the traditional motif. The thirteen appliquéd 8-pointed stars above the eagle represent the thirteen colonies. The center panel is framed by three borders, each 7½-inches wide. They are appliquéd with the same design of flowering vines growing from corner vases. Two fabrics, a white cotton and roller-printed discharge white on blue cotton, are used alternately for the appliqué and the background. The shield and details on the eagle’s head are embroidered with silk thread in chain and satin stitches. Quilting is 6 stitches to the inch, in various patterns. This patriotic quilt is an example of an important design motif used to decorate many objects during the early part of the nineteenth century.
Susan Strong was born on July 4, 1809, in Frederick County, Maryland. She is listed among the pioneers in Richland County, Ohio, those who lived in the county prior to 1820. Charles, George, and John Strong of Maryland are among the 1818 listing of property owners in Jefferson Township. Susan married William Bell (1805-1847) on December 6, 1831. William was the son of Robert Bell, an early developer (1814) of the town of Bellville, Ohio. They had six children, two boys and four girls (all of whom taught school). In 1840 they moved to Hancock County, but Susan returned to Bellville after the death of William in 1847. She did not remarry and later lived with her daughter, Sarah (Mrs. Charles H. Dewey), in Omaha, Nebraska. Susan died in 1875, at age 66.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1825-1840
maker
Strong, Susan
ID Number
TE.T14833
catalog number
T14833
accession number
283467
This framed-center quilt was among several quilts, quilt blocks, and other household textile items that were donated in 1932. It is the work of Rachel Burr Corwin. At the time of the donation it was considered by the curator “. . .
Description
This framed-center quilt was among several quilts, quilt blocks, and other household textile items that were donated in 1932. It is the work of Rachel Burr Corwin. At the time of the donation it was considered by the curator “. . . a valued addition to the Museum’s collection of old cotton prints.”
A variation of the “Nine-patch” pattern is used for the central panel. This is framed by borders pieced in the “Flying Geese,” “Lemoyne Star,” “Chained Square,” and “Nine-patch” patterns. The fabrics are mainly roller-printed fabrics with a few block-printed cottons. The quilting employs various geometric patterns, 5 stitches per inch.
Rachel Burr, daughter of Samuel Burr and Sibyl Scudder Burr of Massachusetts, was born March 3, 1788. She married Samuel Corwin of Orange County, New York, October 14, 1809. They had four children. Needlework examples by one of their daughters, Celia, are also in the Collection. Rachel Burr Corwin died March 14, 1849, in Orange County, New York.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1825-1850
maker
Corwin, Rachel Burr
ID Number
TE.T07117
accession number
121578
catalog number
T07117
Jane Winter Price pieced this example of the “Carpenter’s Wheel” pattern in the second quarter of the nineteenth century and quilted her initials, “JWP,” into a white triangle at the lower edge of the quilt.
Description
Jane Winter Price pieced this example of the “Carpenter’s Wheel” pattern in the second quarter of the nineteenth century and quilted her initials, “JWP,” into a white triangle at the lower edge of the quilt. According to family information, she may have made this quilt during a previous engagement when she lived in Maryland, before the death of her fiancé. “Keate Price McHenry from her Mother” is written in a corner of the lining. Catherine (Kate) Price McHenry was Jane’s daughter, born in 1856 in Arkansas.
Thirty “Carpenter’s Wheel” pieced blocks are set diagonally with alternate white blocks on this elaborately quilted example of mid-nineteenth-century needlework. The blocks are 11½ inches square, and the blue-ground chintz border is 7½ inches wide. The white squares are quilted, 15 stitches per inch, with sprays of flowers and grapes against a background of diagonal lines 1/8 inch apart. Double clamshell quilting is found in the white triangles inside the border. Both the pieced blocks and the border are quilted 9 stitches per inch. The wide border effectively frames the artistic placement of pieced blocks and finely quilted white blocks and triangles.
Jane Winter Price, born in 1818 in Maryland, was the daughter of Catherine Winter Dunnington II (1790 -1863) and Richard Price (b 1771). Catherine was married in 1813, but widowed in 1823. In 1838 she, along with her two living children, Jane and George Richard Price, left with others for Alabama. Jane married Josiah W. McHenry (b.1815) in 1849. In 1860 they lived in La Pile, Union County, Arkansas, with their four children, Catherine (b. 1850), Barnabas (b. 1852), George (b. 1854) and Jane C. (b. 1856) and Jane’s mother, Catherine, then aged 70. By 1870, they were living in Homer, Louisiana, where Jane died in January 1899.
This quilt is among several items that G. Ruth McHenry donated to the Smithsonian in 1961. It had been given to her by her aunt, Kate (Catherine) Price McHenry. Catherine Price McHenry was the daughter of Jane Winter Price, who probably made this quilt before her marriage to Josiah W. McHenry in 1849.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1825-1850
maker
Price, Jane Winter
ID Number
TE.T12697
accession number
238478
catalog number
T12697
This example of the “Feathered Star” pattern was among several quilts, quilt blocks, and other household textile items that were donated in 1932. It is the work of Rachel Burr Corwin. At the time of the donation the quilt was considered by the curator “. . .
Description
This example of the “Feathered Star” pattern was among several quilts, quilt blocks, and other household textile items that were donated in 1932. It is the work of Rachel Burr Corwin. At the time of the donation the quilt was considered by the curator “. . . a valued addition to the Museum’s collection of old cotton prints . . . one is amazed at the work required to piece together patches of ½-inch dimensions.”
Fifteen-and-a-half-inch “Feathered Star” pieced blocks are set diagonally with sashing pieced in the “Garden Maze” pattern. These are framed by a six-inch pieced border. An 1829 date was given on a note pinned to the quilt, but the roller-printed cottons are more typical of those used a few years later. Small quilted floral motifs and outline quilting, 7 stitches per inch, complete the quilt.
Rachel Burr, daughter of Samuel Burr and Sibyl Scudder Burr of Massachusetts, was born March 3, 1788. She married Samuel Corwin of Orange County, New York, October 14, 1809. They had four children. Needlework examples by one of their daughters, Celia, are also in the Collection. Rachel Burr Corwin died March 14, 1849, in Orange County, New York.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1825-1850
maker
Corwin, Rachel Burr
ID Number
TE.T07118
accession number
121578
catalog number
T07118
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
This mid-nineteenth-century quilt, its maker unknown, is from the Williams family of Milton, Pennsylvania. It features an unusual seven-sided sunburst radiating from a seven-pointed star in the center.
Description
This mid-nineteenth-century quilt, its maker unknown, is from the Williams family of Milton, Pennsylvania. It features an unusual seven-sided sunburst radiating from a seven-pointed star in the center. The skillful quilt maker combined precision piecing with mathematical proficiency to create this intricate geometric figure with its uneven number of sides of equal length. The number seven is echoed in the seven-petal-flowers on the vine encircling the heptagon.
Nine different assorted small print cottons in reds, greens, browns, and blues contribute to the radiating effect of the center. The heptagon sunburst is surrounded with appliquéd motifs of partridges and May trees cut from an early-nineteenth-century English furnishing chintz. It is quilted with various patterns: herringbone, clamshell, outline and parallel diagonal lines.
Fancy sunbursts adorn the centers of many mid-nineteenth-century quilts, but most of them have eight sides. The number seven, found significant in many cultures, myths, and legends, represents concepts of completeness, perfection, plenty, security, and safety. The Heptagonal “Sunburst,” donated in 1991, is a complex variation of the more frequently found eight-sided pattern. It is a tribute to workmanship and design in quilting.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1830-1850
maker
unknown
ID Number
1991.0381.01
accession number
1991.0381
catalog number
1991.0381.01
"There was exhibited at the late Mechanical Fair held at Chicago, Ill., by Mr. C. Taylor, of that place, a quilt composed of 9,800 pieces of silk, each of which was about an inch square and all sewed with exceeding beauty and neatness.
Description
"There was exhibited at the late Mechanical Fair held at Chicago, Ill., by Mr. C. Taylor, of that place, a quilt composed of 9,800 pieces of silk, each of which was about an inch square and all sewed with exceeding beauty and neatness. Its chief charm, however, was the great skill evinced in the ingenious blending of colors, so as to produce a proper effect in the representation of various figures which ornamented it in every part. A brilliant sun shown in the centre, the moon and stars beamed out from one corner, while in another appeared a storm in the heavens, with lowering clouds and flashes of lightning.
Around the border were various designs illustrative of the season and the rapid growth of the western country. At one place appeared a barren heath, with Indians and hunters roaming over it; next, a trading post, as the first entrance of civilization; next, a military station, with the glorious banner of our country streaming from the flagstaff; then a city, and steamboats and vessels gliding in and out of port." "Great Quilt," Scientific American, Volume 5, Number 12, December 8, 1849.
The quilt described in the 1849 Scientific American, may well have been Mary Willcox Taylor's silk quilt made between 1830 and 1850 and brought to the Museum in 1953. Although the pieced and appliquéd quilt was made in Detroit, Michigan it was said that Mary at one time had lived at Fort Dearborn. In one corner of the quilt is depicted a military fort complete with a prominent U.S. flag on a pole. Fort Dearborn was completed in 1804, burned by Indians in 1812 and rebuilt in 1816. It was demolished in 1856 to accommodate the rapidly expanding city of Chicago. Today, a plaque located in the Chicago Loop recognizes the earlier Fort Dearborn.
Mary used many shades of silk, even a few embellished with water-colors to depict the skies from dawn to dusk, sunny to stormy. Vignettes on the outer edges of the quilt are detailed and precise using many different fabrics and techniques. They portray scenes of the growth and changes in Chicago during the first half of the nineteenth century. All the diamond shaped pieces are quilted in an outline pattern. Now, unfortunately too fragile to exhibit, this example of a nineteenth-century pictorial quilt displays the skills and artistic ability of Mary Willcox Taylor.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1830-1850
quilter
Taylor, Mary Willcox
ID Number
TE.T11053
accession number
197748
catalog number
T11053
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
An intriguing note came with this framed medallion quilt when it was donated: “The Quaker Quilt. Phil.
Description
An intriguing note came with this framed medallion quilt when it was donated: “The Quaker Quilt. Phil. ca 1840 made for wedding of bride of early Philadelphia Quaker Abolitionist of pieces from the gowns of her trousseau.” Unfortunately there is no indication of the quilt maker or ownership.
The focus of the 41-inch central square, “Star of Bethlehem,” is set off by a 5-inch octagonal border. Additional pieced and plain borders frame this variation of a medallion-style quilt. The beige, tan, brown, rust, and light grey silks and satins utilized for the pattern would be typical of the Quaker esthetic and period. The quilt is lined with roller printed cottons and filled with wool. It is quilted with a variety of geometric patterns (grid, diagonal, chevron, and parallel lines), feathered and flowering vines in the borders, and a spray of flowers in the corner squares. This quilt is a precisely designed example of Quaker quilts in the mid-19th century.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1835-1845
maker
unknown
ID Number
TE.E388880
accession number
182022
catalog number
E388880
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
Eliza Rosecrans Hussey personalized her pieced wool-and silk-star quilt with symbols of the Masonic Society. The embroidered motifs are interspersed between twenty-five blocks pieced in a variation of the “Feathered Star” pattern.
Description
Eliza Rosecrans Hussey personalized her pieced wool-and silk-star quilt with symbols of the Masonic Society. The embroidered motifs are interspersed between twenty-five blocks pieced in a variation of the “Feathered Star” pattern. Another silk quilt in the Collection was also made by Eliza, and was embroidered with symbols and inscriptions of the Odd Fellows. Edward Simmons Hussey, her husband, was an active member of both the Masons and the Odd Fellows.
Eliza, born October 14, 1816, in Pennsylvania, went with her family to Indiana as a young child. She married September 17, 1835. Edward Simmons Hussey in Carlisle, Indiana. They lived in various Indiana towns while Edward worked as a merchant, hotel manager, book keeper, and express agent.
By 1860 they had settled in Brazil, Indiana, where Eliza worked as a milliner. There they raised their family of ten children. Eliza, after some years as an invalid, died March 23,1880. Her carefully designed and crafted quilts are a reminder of the importance of benevolent societies such as the Masons and the Odd Fellows in the developing towns and cities in the Midwest in the first half of the nineteenth century.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1840
quilter
Hussey, Eliza Rosenkrantz
ID Number
1981.0680.01
catalog number
1981.0680.01
accession number
1981.0680
According to family information, this mid-nineteenth-century appliquéd quilt belonged to Hephzibah Jenkins Townsend of Charleston, South Carolina. The central focus of this quilt, a “Tree of Life” motif, is decorated with appliquéd peacocks and other birds.
Description
According to family information, this mid-nineteenth-century appliquéd quilt belonged to Hephzibah Jenkins Townsend of Charleston, South Carolina. The central focus of this quilt, a “Tree of Life” motif, is decorated with appliquéd peacocks and other birds. The branches, flowers, birds, and butterflies are cut from different block-printed cottons. An 8½-inch border is printed with several floral stripes on one piece of cloth. The overall diagonal grid quilting pattern is very closely worked at 13 stitches per inch.
Hephzibah (Hepzibah – Hepsaba – Hepsibah) Jenkins was the daughter of Capt. Daniel Jenkins, a Revolutionary War officer, and Hephzibah Frampton. She was born about 1780 in Charleston, South Carolina. Her mother died in childbirth, while her father was imprisoned by the British during the Revolutionary War. Before her death, Hephzibah’s mother seems to have arranged to have two trusted family slaves take Hephzibah to Edisto Island, a difficult journey at that time, to stay with the Townsend family. The little girl grew up at Bleak Hall, the Townsend family home on Edisto Island. Sometime before 1801 she married Daniel Townsend (1759-1842) and they raised a large family on the island. Hephzibah was said to have been beautiful, and gifted with a brilliant mind, a strong will, and a sense of justice.
During her stay on Edisto Island, Hephzibah was inspired by the preaching of Richard Furman, an influential Baptist minister who led the church from 1787 to 1825. He was well known for his leadership, promotion of education, and mission work in South Carolina and elsewhere. After becoming a Baptist in 1807, Hephzibah utilized her talents and organizational abilities to found, in 1811, the first mission society in South Carolina, the Wadmalaw and Edisto Female Mite Society. Their fund raising efforts succeeded, and $122.50 was contributed to the missionary fund in 1812, motivating women to organize societies in other Baptist churches. A few years later, about 1815, this society was responsible for building tabby ovens made from a mixture of sand, lime, oyster shells, and water. There the women baked bread and pastries which were sold to raise money to support mission work and build a church.
Hephzibah is also credited with founding the Edisto Island Baptist Church, which was constructed in 1818. While Baptists had worshipped on Edisto Island from the late seventheenth century, it was Hephzibah whose efforts built the first Baptist church on the island. She died in 1847 and is buried in the church cemetery.
Initially, the Edisto Island Baptist Church accommodated both the island’s white planters and their enslaved African Americans. During the Civil War the building was occupied by Union troops. After the war, when most of the plantation families left, it was turned over to the black membership and continues to this day as an African American church. Both the ovens and the church foundation were made of tabby, an early building material consisting of sand, lime, oyster shells, and water. The Hephzibah Jenkins Townsend Tabby Oven Ruins and the Edisto Island Baptist Church are both on the National Register of Historic Places.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1840-1850
maker
unknown
ID Number
TE.T16009
accession number
298698
catalog number
T16009
In the mid-nineteenth century, Mary Ann Bishop appliquéd this cotton “Wreath of Roses” quilt in the then popular red and green combination of fabrics. Nine 18-inch blocks appliquéd with wreaths of roses are separated by 5½-inch plain white sashing.
Description
In the mid-nineteenth century, Mary Ann Bishop appliquéd this cotton “Wreath of Roses” quilt in the then popular red and green combination of fabrics. Nine 18-inch blocks appliquéd with wreaths of roses are separated by 5½-inch plain white sashing. Eight-pointed stars are appliquéd at the sashing intersections. The 8-inch quilt border is appliquéd with three-lobed leaves on an undulating vine. Plain-weave white and red cottons and a roller-printed cotton of brown dots on a green ground were used for the quilt. Diagonal grid and line quilting, 10 stitches to the inch, provides a contrast to the quilted feathered leaves on the sashing. Two gradually curved S-shaped wooden templates, also donated to the Collection, were used for marking the quilting pattern.
Mary Ann Gotschall was born July 7, 1819. She married Hiram H. Bishop (1818-1897) on January 31, 1842, in Harrison County, Ohio. He received his medical training at Starling Medical College in Columbus, Ohio, in the late 1840s. Lyne Starling (1784-1848) was the founder of the hospital and medical school, a new concept at that time of providing medical education and patient care in one facility. During the Civil War, from June 1864 to March 1865, Hiram was contracted as an Acting Assistant Surgeon at the Totten General Hospital, Louisville, Kentucky. In March of 1865, when he left, the hospital had over 6,500 patients and fewer than 100 surgeons.
Mary and Hiram reared four children; John (b. 1843), Naomi (b. 1845), Mary (b. 1848), and Luie (b. 1860). Mary Ann died March 9, 1915, and is buried in the Wilkesville Cemetery. Mary Ann Bishop’s quilt in the “Wreath of Roses” pattern is one of three quilts in the collection that were donated to the Smithsonian by her granddaughter, Maude M. Fierce, in 1936 and 1937.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1840-1850
maker
Bishop, Mary Ann Gotschall
ID Number
TE.T07956
accession number
143694
catalog number
T07956
The “Carolina Lily” pattern, popular in the mid-19th century, was chosen for this example of an album quilt. Roller-printed red and blue-green cotton fabrics make up the pieced and appliquéd pattern.
Description
The “Carolina Lily” pattern, popular in the mid-19th century, was chosen for this example of an album quilt. Roller-printed red and blue-green cotton fabrics make up the pieced and appliquéd pattern. The “Carolina Lily” blocks, quilted in diagonal lines, alternate with plain white blocks each quilted with a different floral design. There is a 1-7/8-inch sawtooth band inside the 7-inch plain white border. The border is quilted with a scrolling feathered vine. The quilting is finely done at 12 stitches/inch.
Twenty-one of the “Carolina Lily” blocks have a signature along the stem. Six of the surnames are Crumbaker and six are Stoutsenberger, all born in Lovettsville, Virginia. These families are buried in the New Jerusalem Church Cemetery, the Saint James Reformed Cemetery, or the Lovettsville Union Cemetery. It is not known why or for whom the quilt was made, but the many signatures indicate the place where it was most likely made and used.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1840-1860
maker
unknown
ID Number
TE.T11176
accession number
205528
catalog number
T11176

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