National Quilt Collection - Introduction
"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.
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"National Quilt Collection - Introduction" showing 7 items.
1882 Sarah Streeper's Parlor Throw
- Description
- In the mid-1880s Sarah Paul Streeper carefully crafted this velvet parlor throw for her granddaughter, Kate Van Winkle’s, trousseau.
- Twenty 8 ½-inch blocks frame a center block, 18 1/2-inches square, on this throw. The blocks are joined with a 1 3/8-inch black velvet sashing. Sarah Streeper used applique, embroidery, and paint to decorate the velvet blocks. The center block has a combination of floral motifs that are also found on the smaller blocks.
- Crazy-patchwork is used for one block and other blocks have such motifs as a spider web, fan, and an owl-on-a-branch that were popular on Victorian throws. A letter “A” embroidered on one block may have been for Angeline, Sarah’s daughter and Kate’s mother. The blocks are edged with feather stitching. Stem, buttonhole, satin, couching, French knot and herringbone stitches were used for details. A dark red velvet 4-inch border completes this throw.
- Sarah Paul was born September 1813 in Pennsylvania. In 1837, she married Peter Streeper (1812-1876) and the couple had eight children. On the 1880 census, Sarah was living with her youngest daughter, Emily, in Philadelphia. Sarah died there on October 20,1902. She is buried at St. Peter's Lutheran Church, Barren Hill, Pa. Her tombstone is inscribed “Aged 89 years and 20 days / Call not back the dear departed / Anchored safe where storms are o’er . . . we left thee / Soon to meet and part no more.”
- Kate Van Winkle, for whose trousseau the parlor throw was made, was born about 1867 in Pennsylvania to Kline and Angeline Streeper Van Winkle. Angeline was Sarah’s eldest daughter. Kate married George F. Grieb in 1888. They had three children and also lived in Pennsylvania. Their granddaughter, Johannah Grieb, donated the elegant parlor throw to the Museum in 1953.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1882
- maker
- Streeper, Sarah P.
- ID Number
- TE*T11022
- accession number
- 198031
- catalog number
- T11022
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
1883 Sarah Henderson's Parlor Throw
- Description
- Sarah Elizabeth Smedley Henderson carefully crafted this silk parlor throw with a date of 1883. It was donated to the Collection in 1939 by her sister, Blanche Smedley-von Daur. Along with a third sister, Matilda Smedley, Sarah and Blanche were active in establishing the American National Institute in Paris.
- While living in Paris in the early 1890s, Matilda organized a successful program to assist young American women who were studying in France. She returned from France in the mid-1890s to expand this work. From modest beginnings, an Institute was established to aid struggling American art students in Paris. It was estimated in 1895 that over 3000 young women were studying in Paris. Matilda was the resident director of the Institute, which helped with living accomodations and provided a meeting place for the students. In 1908 bill was introduced in Congress to convert the New York-incorporated American National Institute to a Federal corporation, although the bill never became law.
- Plain-, pattern-woven, ribbed, watered and printed silks as well as velvet and plush fabrics, are found on this parlor throw. The crazy-patchwork frames a center square of pansies printed on velvet. Typical embroidered motifs, mainly floral, some painted motifs, and a Kate Greenaway printed vignette decorate the patches. The date, 1883, and a few initials are embroidered on the throw. Feather, straight, buttonhole, French knot, satin, stem, detached chain, chain, and herringbone stitches embellish the crazy-patchwork. It is lined with a printed wool fabric of plumed leaves and flowers in an imitation of a warp-print fabric. A dark red velvet 4-inch border completes the throw.
- Sarah born about 1866, and her sisters Blanche and Matilda were from Ireland. Sarah, according to the 1920 census, immigrated to the United States in 1886. Blanche and Matilda are shown on the passenger list of the ship Etruria that arrived in New York from England and Ireland in October 1886. Sarah married William Henderson about 1890. The couple had three children, William, James and Sarah Evelyn. It is not clear whether the date, 1883, that is found on the parlor throw is necessarily the date it was made, or a date significant for some other reason, as is sometimes the case.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1880-1890
- date
- 1883
- maker
- Henderson, Sarah Elizabeth Smedley
- ID Number
- TE*T08319
- accession number
- 152313
- catalog number
- T08319
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
1883 Vickery Sisters' Crazy-patch Parlor Throw
- Description
- This crazy-patched parlor throw was made by two sisters who lived in Fall River, Mass. The only information known about them is their last name, Vickery, and that neither sister married. A date of 1883 is embroidered on one silk patch.
- Their needlework is an example of the crazy-patch work that was very popular in the United States from 1870 to 1900.
- This type of quilt was not necessarily made for bedding, and more often was a project designed to be displayed over a chair or sofa in the parlor. The crazy-patchwork throws were constructed of pieces of silk, satin, velvets, and ribbon, and enhanced with fancy embroidery stitches. A wide range of appliquéd, embroidered, or painted motifs provided additional interest.
- This parlor throw consists of many crazy-patched and embroidered parallelograms that were assembled into ten 4 ½-inch vertical strips. The strips were joined and framed by a 2 ½-inch black velvet ribbon border with 1 ¾-inch gold satin ribbon tabs, imposing order on disorderly crazy-patches. Felted appliquéd motifs of flowers and birds adorn several patches. Other patches contain motifs such as fans, butterflies, horseshoes, or spider webs, all frequently found on crazy-patchwork. “Kate Greenaway” figures, another popular motif of the era, are embroidered on several patches. Kate Greenaway (1846-1901) was a popular writer and illustrator of children’s books. Her distinctive style for drawing children was widely copied and appears on various decorative arts of the time.
- Commemorative ribbons were often saved and then used for crazy-patchwork. A silk ribbon souvenir bookmark with an image of Lincoln and the inscription: “THE LATE LAMENTED PRESIDENT LINCOLN” (“T. Stevens Coventry” on the back) is prominent on this parlor throw. It is a modified version of a ribbon the Thomas Stevens Company of Coventry, U.K., made for Lincoln’s second inauguration in 1865.
- Thomas Stevens revitalized silk ribbon weaving in Coventry by adapting the jacquard weaving process to produce woven pictures. Custom-designed ribbons, badges, bookmarks, etc., might have portraits, text, or local scenes incorporated in the weave. The term “Stevengraph” is often used to describe the products. These were marketed at the time as “Stevens’ Patent Illuminated Book Markers.” Although only part of the ribbon is visible on this throw, similar ribbons are further inscribed: “ASSASSINATED AT WASHINGTON / 14 APRIL 1865 I HAVE SAID NOTHING BUT WHAT I AM WILLING TO LIVE BY, AND IF IT BE THE PLEASURE OF ALMIGHTY GOD, TO DIE BY. (A. LINCOLN)”
- While there is little information about the Vickery sisters at this time, their needlework project contains many items of interest. It is a worthwhile contribution to the Collection.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1883
- maker
- Vickery Sisters
- ID Number
- TE*T14434
- catalog number
- T14434
- accession number
- 274324
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
1883 Fidelia Dickinson's Parlor Throw
- Description
- In 1883,Fidelia Dickinson created this parlor throw, a veritable textile sampler of silk fabrics from 1783 to 1883. She made it as a wedding present for her daughter Anna, who married Isaac Newton Knapp on December 5,1883. Not only did Fidelia collect all the fabrics, but she made a key to the origins of each.
- In 1931 her grandson, Arthur, wrote: “I have recently inherited a patchwork quilt made in 1883. I believe that it is an exceptional example of the quilt work of the time. It is in a perfect state of preservation and the exact history has been preserved of some forty pieces in it. The oldest piece is dated 1783. . . . I would be pleased to give this quilt to the National Museum for preservation, if you are interested.”
- Twenty-eight 8 ½-inch crazy-patched blocks are set off by a 5 ½-inch red velvet strip at the top and bottom. Four corner blocks are pieced in fan patterns, a motif often found on throws of the period. In addition there are embroidered motifs of a butterfly, spider web, and flowers. One badge or ribbon was worn by John Northend, Fidelia's son-in-law, on Connecticut’s “Battle Flag Day” in 1879. “Lovers Delight” is stamped on another patch.The throw is lined with a machine-quilted dark red silk and tied every 4 ½ inches with small silk ribbon bows.
- The distinguishing feature of this parlor throw is an embroidered number found on various patches. These numbers correspond to a detailed explanation of their source that was included with the donation. Thirty-six of the forty numbered pieces are from items worn on the occasion of their own weddings by relatives and friends of the bride or groom. Some examples are: “Wedding dress of Fidelia S. Hall (who made this quilt). Married Abner Wolcott Dickinson. February 28, 1844.” “Wedding vest of Abner Wolcott Dickinson.” “Wedding dress of Mary Elizabeth Dickinson. Married John Northend, May 6 [22], 1877. A sister.”
- The oldest piece was from a “Wedding dress of Eunice Hills. Married Timothy Hall, M.D. April 3 1783 in East Hartford, Connecticut.” There was even a piece of Anna’s gown described as “Wedding dress of Anna Dickinson. Married Isaac Newton Knapp. December 5, 1883. Afterwards part of the wedding trousseau of Bessie Knapp Pierce [their daughter] in 1909.” Items from parents, grandparents, siblings, aunts, cousins, and friends are included. The wedding present that Fidelia crafted for her daughter is a textile version of a family tree.
- Fidelia S. Hall was born July 12, 1824, in East Glastonbury, Hartford, Conn. She was the daughter of Betsy Wells (1802-) and Austin Hall (1798-1851). Fidelia married Abner Wolcott Dickinson (1820-1903) on February 28, 1844. They lived in Connecticut and raised nine children. Daughter Sarah Anna (referred to as Anna), was born February 18, 1854. Anna taught school before her marriage to Isaac Newton Dickinson (1851-1930) in 1883. They had five children and lived in Nebraska, Pennsylvania, and Washington, D.C. Fidelia died March 20, 1909, and is buried in the Wassuc Cemetery, New Britain, Hartford, Conn. Anna died August 15, 1931, in Paris, France, and is buried in Washington, D.C.
- Fidelia fashioned her wedding present to her daughter not only as a lovely item for Anna's home, but also as a very personal textile document connecting Anna to her family and friends.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1883
- maker
- Dickinson, Fidelia S. Hall
- ID Number
- TE*T06963
- accession number
- 116760
- catalog number
- T06963
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
1886 J.A.L.'s Crazy-patch Parlor Throw
- Description
- “Pleasant dreams to you my friends J.A.L.” is embroidered on a diamond prominently placed near the center of this throw. Sentiments such as this suggest that these throws are often called slumber throws as well as parlor throws. In general, throws were made to display fancy needlework skills and serve as ornament rather than as bedding.
- Often they were made in the crazy-patch style that became fashionable in the last part of the 19th century. This throw utilizes crazy-patched and embroidered plain silk diamonds for the “Tumbling Blocks” pattern, creating an intriguing optical illusion.
- The center, pieced in the “Tumbling Blocks” or “Cubework” pattern, is framed by a 5 ½-inch crazy-patch border edged on each side by a 1 ¾-inch blue satin band. The lining is pink silk with a 1 ¼-inch blue silk band decorated with feather and herringbone stitches around all four edges. Silk, tinsel and chenille embroidery threads were used for the buttonhole, feather, French knot, herringbone double cross, running, stem, detached chain, and satin stitches that embellish this throw.
- An embroidered patch in the border contains a name, “C. D. Whittier,” and date, “1886.” Another has American flag motifs with the dates “1776-1886.” A moose head and an elephant with “Jumbo” embroidered on it are prominent among the flowers, hearts, horseshoes, birds, fans, web, broom and other motifs typically found on patchwork of the period. “Kate Greenaway” figures are embroidered on several patches. Kate Greenaway (1846-1901) was a popular writer and illustrator of children’s books. Her distinctive style for drawing children was widely copied and appears on various decorative arts of the time.
- Several painted diamond patches are signed “Agnes R. Hodgson” or “ARH 86.” One patch with that signature has a palette and brushes. Could she have been an artist who provided patches for crazy-patch work? A friend who had her own particular technique? Or was she the maker of the throw?
- The only Agnes R. Hodgson that was found appears on the 1860-1880 censuses. Agnes was born in Oregon City, Oregon, in 1859 to Francis D. and Mary Hodgson. In 1870 they were living in Seneca Falls, N. Y. By 1880 she was living in Milo, Yates County, N. Y., with her parents and five younger siblings. Agnes died in April 1888 at Horseheads, N. Y., of spinal disease (probably meningitis). She is buried in the Mt. Hope Cemetery in Rochester, N.Y. No information on the maker or origins of this throw was provided at the time of donation to the Collection in 1961.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1886
- maker
- unknown
- ID Number
- TE*T12726
- accession number
- 239740
- catalog number
- T12726
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
1888 Prohibition Amendment Parlor Throw
- Description
- “Memorial to the Constitutional Prohibition Amendment 1888” is this quilt's painted inscription, found on a red satin triangle on a corner of the lining. In 1888 the Prohibition Party was beginning to achieve national strength in the presidential elections.
- Founded in 1869, for the purpose of prohibiting the sale and manufacture of liquor, the Prohibition Party finally achieved the goal in 1919 with the ratification of the 18th Amendment. The 18th Amendment was repealed in 1933 by the 21st Amendment. Although the party still exists, it does not have the following it had in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This parlor throw was made at the height of the Prohibition Party’s popularity.
- A 14-inch center block of red velvet with painted water lilies is framed by two rows of painted or embroidered 7-inch satin blocks. The use of three colors (amber, blue and black), set alternately, provides a balanced overall aesthetic. An 8 ¼-inch red velvet border completes the throw. The lining is red satin, machine-quilted in a triple diagonal grid. Five of the black satin squares have painted religious inscriptions: “Hope;” a Bible with “Tried and Proved;” “Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him;” Be of the same mind one toward another;” and, a cross with “Et Teneo et Teneor.” The last, meaning "I hold and am held," may have referred to the motto of a Baptist college founded by Charles Haddon Spurgeon in the 1860s. The floral and bird motifs, the spider web, and others are similar to those found on crazy patchwork of the late 19th century.
- Although the maker is not known, the sentiments expressed are indicative of the types of inscriptions on decorative items that might be found in many homes during that era.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1888
- maker
- unknown
- ID Number
- TE*T11462
- accession number
- 211904
- catalog number
- T11462
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
1888 Stevens Family Silk Crazy Quilt
- Description
- In 1945, when Gertrude O. S. (Cleveland) White donated this parlor throw, she wrote: “The silk crazy quilt [parlor throw] was made here at Intervale Manor [Quinebaug, Conn. / Dudley, Mass.] just previous to the year 1888. My initials and the year are on one corner of the lining. My mother, my sister and myself made it.” Eben Stevens, the donor’s father, was a founder of Intervale Textile Mills in Quinebaug.
- Intervale Manor was a large private home in the late 19th century when the two sisters and their mother made this parlor throw. In the 1940s Intervale Manor became a tearoom, operated by a family member and known for its hospitality, exceptionally fine food, spacious grounds, and comfortable accommodations. Presently, what remains of the Intervale Manor estate has been converted to small apartments.
- Twelve 14 ½-inch heavily embroidered blocks are framed by a 7 ½-inch border. Set off by a gold silk cord and dark red velvet sashing, each of the crazy-patched blocks is given focus and order. Among the embroidered motifs are birds, dragonflies, cats, a ladder, a shooting star, anchors, butterflies, flowers, and geometric motifs. Various initials are embroidered, including “G.O.S. 1888” on the lining and “C.S.” for the two sisters, Gertrude and Celia. An embroidered “A Merry Xmas” may have indicated the deadline for finishing the parlor throw. The crazy patch blocks are embellished with cross, feather, buttonhole, chain, herringbone, outline, running, satin, and couching stitches. The lining is tan glazed cotton.
- Gertrude Olney was born May 1850 and married Eben S. Stevens in 1873. They lived in Dudley, Worchester County, Mass. One daughter, also Gertrude, was born in November 1873. She married Clarence Cleveland in 1894. Another daughter, Celia, who also worked on the parlor throw was born in 1874. In 1887 and 1888 the two teenagers and their mother created a neat and orderly version of the crazy-patchwork that was quite popular at the time.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1888
- maker
- Stevens, Gertrude Olney
- Stevens, Celia
- ID Number
- TE*T09127
- accession number
- 169638
- catalog number
- T09127
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center