“1896” was cleverly incorporated into the overall design of this Alphabet themed quilt top. The maker's name, Elva Smith, is appliqued across the top. Notably the “S” in her name and the “S” of the alphabet are both backward. Thirty 8-inch square white blocks with machine stitched appliqued letters of the alphabet and “1896” alternate with 20 dark colored print fabric square blocks, set on the diagonal. Dark print fabric triangles complete the 55-inch x 68-inch center. The center is framed by an 8-inch strip of light colored fabric with 20 stars appliqued on three sides and “ELVA SMITH” across the top. A 3-inch strip of dark-colored print fabric completes the border. It is turned under and sewn with a running stitch. There is no filling or lining.
Quilt making can be a teaching tool as well as a useful household item. Might this quilt top have been the result of a young girl’s early needlework efforts? Unfortunately there is no information on Elva Smith nor is it certain the quilt is from New York, although applique letters are most common in New York quilts.
An oblong pillow sham that matches the bedspread (.1) made of gathered half circles of rayon taffeta, machine sewn in patterns to a cotton ground. Colors are burgundy, purple, pink, brown, terra cotta, blue, teal. The center panel is patterned with a rosette of gathered hlaf circles. with four corner rosettes. The edges are finished with teal cording and blue medallions. The back is plain burgundy taffeta. 37.5" x 15.75" Made by Anna Glazer, Bronx, NY, in the 1940s-early 1950s. Her daughter remembered it taking her mother a LONG time to complete.
Unfinished quilt top. Twenty-five blocks (each approximately 11" x 11"); 13 pieced in a star pattern alternating with 12 one-piece printed fabric blocks. A note with quilt top and donor information states the quilt was "one pieced for babies [sic] crib . . .by the wives of the officials in George Washington's Cabinet." Sewing thread is 2-ply linen; no lining or filling.
Notes on quilt included with donation. "This quilt is reported to be one pieced by the wives of the officials in George Washington's Cabinet. L.G. Adams." Another: "The old old quilt among your mothers things is one pieced for a babies crib by the ladies of George Washington's Cabinet officials. Every piece is American weave and thread home-spun. Sister got it from Elder Query's wife at Benton [Illinois]. It has been handed down from family to family and Mrs. Query having no heirs gave it to your mother whom she loved dearly."
Joseph F. Bartak made these cardboard templates of bunny patterns. The white standing rabbit was used for the white applique and the running rabbit template for the quilting in the border. They are shown with a segment of the quilt his wife, Vera Crosier Bartok, made for their daughter. (2016.0051.01)
Named the “Bunny Carriage Quilt,” it was made for the donor (Patricia Bartak Armato) before she was born and was used by her for kindergarten nap time.
This Hawaiian appliqué quilt, in the “Nightblooming Cereus” pattern, belonged to Frances Kaleipapipi Clinton Akana Char. It was donated in her memory by her daughter-in-law, Elizabeth Akana. The quilt was given to Frances as her Hawaiian name, Kaleipapipi, means the "corral to hold cattle." The night-blooming-cereus plant ( Hylocereus undatus ) may have come from Mexico (or South America) and grows over corral walls. When the flowers bloom in the evening between June and October, it appears as though the corral is a lei of cereus flowers around the cattle. Frances Kaleipapipi Char enjoyed this Hawaiian quilt for many years. According to the donor, it was always atop her bed.
This quilt is an example of the Hawaiian appliqué technique, achieved through folding the fabric into eighths and then cutting the design. The quilting outlines the flower appliqué and radiates outward in an echo pattern, quilted 7 stitches per inch. The design was inspired by the night-blooming-cereus. It is said that originally the lava rock wall of the Punahou School in Honolulu was planted with this type of cactus by a Mrs. Bingham about 1836. The beautiful white flowers attracted many admirers who then took cuttings, such that now the species is established throughout the Hawaiian Islands.
This framed medallion quilt came from the Wallace and Stevenson families. The block-printed center motif is a tall basket of fruit surrounded by an irregular wreath of scrolls and fruit and 12 sprays of flowers, all cut from printed chintz fabrics. These pieces were arranged and appliquéd on a plain white cotton fabric to provide the central focus. Three different borders of floral block-printed fabrics frame the center. This technique utilized small pieces of expensive printed chintz cotton to provide the overall design for a much larger bedcover. Various quilting patterns were used for the center and each of the borders to complete this quilt, a type often found in the Carolinas.
Small “Nine-patch” blocks, mostly constructed of block-printed cottons, are set diagonally in 5-inch-wide vertical strips. These strips are further separated by narrower strips of dark brown cotton with printed flowers and beige and white striped cotton. Linen thread was used for the chevron pattern quilting (6 stitches per inch). The quilt is an example of early-19th-century fabrics and design.
“Inhibitions II,” as named by the artist, Francoise Barnes, is a quilted piece utilizing the “Log Cabin” pattern. Francoise was among the artists in the 1970s who established the Art Quilt movement in which artists use traditional and modern quilting techniques to create art. She, along with others, helped found the Quilt National, a venue for the exhibition of non-traditional quilts.
Nine 14-inch Log Cabin blocks of contrasting solid colors were assembled to create the center of this quilted piece. It is framed by a 5½-inch diagonally-pieced border. It is machine stitched and hand quilted. Vivid colors and the use of shading contribute to the overall dynamism of this 1970s example of an Art Quilt.
Machine pieced and appliqued quilt made up of twenty 12" blocks, each with a red and black Bible. Each Bible has "HOLY BIBLE" and a cross stenciled in gold ink on it. The blocks are set with a 3" black sashing, with red squares where the sashing meets. White cotton lining. Machine quilting. 6 stitches/inch hand quilting. Bound with 3/4" straight strip of red cotton folded over edge, whipped to front and back.
This quilt was possibly made for Reverend Long of Norman, Oklahma. in the late19th, early 20th century.
Achsah Goodwin Wilkins designed this appliquéd counterpane, which is similar to several that have been attributed to her skills. Written in ink in one corner of the lining is: “A. G. Wilkins 1820 / M. D. Davis 1890.” She gave many quilts and counterpanes to her daughters. These were later inherited by descendents. “M. D. Davis” is most likely Mary Dorsey Davis (1845-1939), daughter of Hester Ann Wilkins Davis, and granddaughter of Achsah Goodwin Wilkins.
A bouquet of appliquéd water lilies and roses, cut from different chintz fabrics, is the focus of this counterpane. It is surrounded by two undulating wreaths. Eight floral sprays, cut from another chintz fabric, are between the two wreaths. The ground for the appliqué resembles quilting, but is a fancy weaving of a white cotton double cloth called Marseilles. A wide 7¾-inch roller-printed floral strip borders three sides of the counterpane. It is the only area that is lined.
Achsah Goodwin, daughter of a wealthy merchant, William Goodwin of Lyde, was born in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1775. Achsah became a member of the Methodist Church at eighteen, although it caused difficulties with her Episcopal family. On August 5, 1794, she married William Wilkins Jr. (1767-1832), also a Methodist. In addition to rearing a family, she was active in mission work and the establishment of a Methodist church in Baltimore. Achsah died in 1854.
In William Rush Dunton’s Old Quilts, 1947, one of her granddaughters, Mary Dorsey Davis, provided notes from her mother, Hester Anne (Mrs. Allen Bowie Davis), detailing Achsah’s life. “My mother [Achsah] was a very superior woman, possessing strong sense, sound judgment, great dignity, remarkably self-possessed . . . . She suffered from cutaneous disease . . . most frequently [she] beguiled her weary hours of sickness by designing and laying out fancy spreads in which she displayed beautiful taste . . . . I, as well as many of her descendants, have choice specimens of her handiwork which we prize highly.” Achsah’s access to fine imported fabrics, attention to needlework details, and her design innovations are evident in this quilt, as well as others that are attributed to her. Her quilts are treasured additions to several quilt collections.
In the early 1940s Welthea B. Thoday sent squares of white cotton fabric to friends, family members, and coworkers and asked that each make a block for a World War II quilt. Many of the blocks she collected contain significant dates and slogans that were popular during the period, such as “Keep em Flying” or “AMERICA IN THE AIR ON LAND ON SEA” or “Save Paper – Tin – Grease.” Other quilt blocks depict the Four Freedoms, flags, and other iconic symbols.
In a small booklet, “Record of World War II Historical Quilt,” Welthea Thoday identified and sketched each of the quilt square contributions and noted the significance and symbolism of the designs. The World War II Friendship Quilt was exhibited at several 1976 Bicentennial events.
The colors red, white, and blue dominate on this patriotic commemorative quilt. First planned in the early 1940s, the quilt was completed in the 1970s. Welthea made the central panel, copying the design from a three-cent postage stamp that was introduced on July 4, 1942. It depicts an American eagle with its wings outstretched to form a large “V” (for Victory). The eagle is surrounded by thirteen stars and a “Win the War” banner is unfurled across its breast. Around this central panel, Welthea arranged thirty-two of the pieced, appliquéd, and embroidered blocks that she had received from friends and family. Placement of the four red-and-white symbolic squares in the corners (the cross, feather, “V” and star) gives a sense of order to the other twenty-eight individually designed blocks.
Born in 1896 in Scituate, Massachusetts, Welthea B. Thoday began her career as a stenographer for a Boston automobile insurance company in 1914. In 1928 she entered the field of advertising and was one of the first women to do announcing and writing for a radio sales program. She retired at the age of 74, after twenty years as a textile editor for a Boston textile publishing company.
When Welthea was 100 years old, she was interviewed by her niece, Susan McKanna. In the taped interview, she discussed the original idea for the quilt, recalling the many government programs that were being promoted during World War II and the idea that it would be “nice to make a record of them.” In 1998, at the age of 102, Welthea Thoday died. Preserved in needle and thread, pen and ink, her World War II Friendship Quilt and the booklet “Record of World War II Historical Quilt,” together provide a vivid commentary on the period.
The popularity of the 1937 Walt Disney movie, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, based on a German fairy tale, inspired this quilt pattern. The movie has been re-released many times. In 1972 Lehman Brothers published a pattern, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves,” that is very similar to this quilt. It was advertised as “a perfect quilt for your favorite child. White bearded dwarves [sic] dressed in bright suits, and colorful trees and flowers surround Snow White and the cottage.”
From the early 20th century, kit quilts have been available in the market to save time and/or provide the quilter with assistance in design or color choices. This quilt was made from a kit as evidenced by stamped lines that are still visible along some edges.
The quilt is appliquéd with motifs that include a stylized cottage, trees, and dwarfs, and, of course, Snow White. All of the dwarfs have coral-colored caps and boots, blue tights, yellow shirts, green vests, and white beards. Details are embroidered with satin, outline, daisy, and French knot stitches. The figures are outlined in quilting stitches, 4 stitches per inch. The 7 ½-inch border is quilted with flowers and diagonal lines. The “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves” pattern, based on a well-known children’s story and animated movie, made a special quilt to brighten a child’s room.
Phoebe Pettit’s quilt has an elaborate quilting pattern imposed over a pieced pattern, an unusual technique at this period. Blue threads in the selvedges of the dotted pink fabric indicate that it was manufactured in England between 1774 and 1811. Diagonal quilting provides the background for the complex floral stuffed-work pattern in the center. The irregular scalloped border that cuts into the pieced pattern is a mystery.
Phoebe Beach was born August 5, 1770, in Albany, N.Y. She married Maj. Macijah Pettit, an officer in the Revolutionary Army, who fought with George Washington. After her death, the Major sent the quilt to her family in upstate New York. It was carefully preserved in the family until its donation in 1994.
Members of the Society of Friends, or Quakers, presented Hannah C. Nicholson with this album quilt made in 1843. She was 19 years old at the time and would shortly marry Howell Grave in 1845. A descendent wrote at the time of donation: “The quilt has been carefully tended since that time and regarded as an heirloom by our family.”
In the mid-nineteenth century, album quilts with inscriptions and signatures were often made to celebrate an important event, and provide a textile record of friends and family. The forty-one appliquéd blocks and one inked block on this quilt are inscribed with names, dates, and places. Names of Hannah’s paternal relatives, Nicholson, Miller, Biddle, and Parrish, predominate.
The quilt’s inscriptions indicate that some blocks were contributed by women in the name of relatives or young children, e.g. “for her brother” or “for her daughter.” When the block was for a son or daughter, the age was also added. The dates are given in the style of month, date and year with many of them just “8 Mo 1843.” Most of the places inked on the blocks are from the Philadelphia area, with a few from New Jersey (Woodbury, Bordentown, Pleasant Hill, and Salem). Although Hannah was born and lived in Indiana, her father was from New Jersey.
The quilt is composed of forty-nine pieced and appliquéd blocks. The blocks are made with glazed, unglazed, and roller-printed cottons. These were joined by a 2 ½-inch glazed printed-stripe sashing. The same printed cotton is used for the border, providing a cohesive grid-like framework for the blocks. The quilting pattern is an overall diagonal grid, quilted 8 or 9 stitches per inch.
Hannah C. Nicholson was born in Indiana on November 19, 1824, to John and Esther Nicholson. On August 14, 1845 Hannah married Howell Grave (1818-1894) in Wayne County, Indiana. Howell’s ancestors were among the earliest settlers of Indiana. His parents and grandparents arrived in the same year Indiana achieved statehood, 1816, and he was born there in 1818.
Howell and Hannah farmed in Wayne County and raised four children, three girls (Esther, Emma, and Josephine) and a son (Vernon). In the early 1860s they moved to Richmond, Indiana, where for twenty years Howell was one of the principal iron merchants in the city. By the mid-1880s he was in the insurance and real estate businesses. Two of their daughters are listed as teachers on the 1870 census, while Vernon continued to farm. After Hannah was widowed in 1894, she lived with her daughter and son-in-law in Wayne, Indiana. She died there on February 13, 1912, and is buried in the Earlham Cemetery Richmond, Indiana.
Mary Dickson Watson, quilted and corded the pink silk crepe pillow cover to match a baby carriage cover (1989.0268.02) that she made for her granddaughter, Mary Dickson Wilson, born in 1900. The quilting in the center quatrefoil depicts two rabbits with a butterfly and flowers. Each corner has a square outlined by corded quilting containing a flower.
Mary Way Dickson was born about 1840. She married Alexander Watson in 1859. Their daughter, Mary Dickson Watson, was born about 1865 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She married Adam Wilson in 1897 and it was for their daughter, Mary Dickson Wilson, that the pillow and carriage cover were made. In the 1900 census, Mary Dickson Watson, was living with them in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The recipient of the silk carriage and pillow cover later married Joseph Phipps. The items remained in the family until they were donated to the Collection in 1989.
Found in Londonderry, Vermont, in a house dated about 1850, this quilt was purchased by the donor in the 1980s. The many cotton fabrics used to construct this quilt give it value.
Ten-inch blocks of red-and-white floral printed fabric alternate with “Sixteen-Patch” blocks composed of many block- and roller-printed fabrics. Ten “Eight-pointed Star” blocks of block-printed red-and-white fabric are set near the outer edge. Three quilting patterns are utilized for the three different types of blocks, quilted 6-7 stitches per inch. Blue cotton triangles on the outer edges complete the well-planned quilt.
Jewett Washington Curtis, a career soldier in the U.S. Army, pieced this brilliantly-colored wool bedcover. Its geometric design incorporates the dates “1889” and “1893.” Each corner has a 44-star flag. The central focus, a star, is flanked by five borders on each side and two mirror-image borders at the top and bottom. The entire quilt is pieced of 7/8-inch diamonds consisting of plain- and twill-weave wool. The still-vibrant colors contribute to the overall effect. Needlework was encouraged in the military as an activity for either relieving boredom in lonely postings or as part of physical therapy during hospital stays.
Jewett Washington Curtis was born in Vermont, on March 7, 1847. In 1862, at the age of 14, he enlisted as a musician in Company K, 104th Regiment New York Infantry for a term of three years. He was hospitalized for a short time at Gettysburg in July 1863. He returned to his unit and was discharged in 1865 near Petersburg, Virginia. About five years later, in 1870, he re-enlisted at age 23 in Company B, 11th Regiment U.S. Infantry. Other than a few years between 1886 and 1889, Jewett served in the U.S. military with various units until his retirement in 1899. He died on March 20, 1927 in Walcott, New York.
In a 1922 letter from the State Soldiers Home in Orting, Washington, where Jewett was then living, he summarized his military career. “I enlisted on 8th of March 1862 was assigned to Co K 104th Voll. Infantry as a drummer. Served 3 years was discharged on the 8th day of March 1865 at Pellerburg [Petersburg], Va. I enlisted in the Regular ? Army in 1870 served 24 years was retired from the regular ? Army in 1899 my retired pay as a sergeant is 46 50/100 a month. I am not allowed a pension while on the retired list. Will you please inform me what I will have to do (?) that I may be entitled to a Civil War pension . . . . I have been in two Indian engagements The Souix [Sioux] War in 1877 and the Nes [Nez] Perce War of the same year.” He was unable to apply for a pension based on Civil War service while he was on the retired list.
On June 16, 1895, while he was still serving in the military, Jewett married Mary Putnam (1876-1904) in Mill Plain, Washington. Clark Edward Curtis was born on March 22, 1896, two other children died young. According to the family, after his mother died in 1904, Clark lived with various relatives and wasn’t close to his father. He too at the age of 14 set out on his own and eventually joined the army in World War I. Clark didn’t keep in touch with his father, but when Jewett died he received a trunk with his father's things. This quilt was among the belongings in the trunk. It was assumed by the family that the quilt was made in Skagway, Alaska, one of the places that Jewett was stationed during his career. According to military records, Jewett spent several months in 1885 and 1891 in hospital for rheumatism, and 1892-1893 recovering from a finger amputation. He may have learned needlework skills while convalescing.
At the time of donation, Clark E. Curtis wrote: “It is a eight foot by eight foot blanket . . . . My father Mr. Jewett W. Curtis made it; on the top of the blanket is the date he started 1889, and at the other end is the date he finished 1893. It is all hand stitched with over 400,000 stitches in it . . . . This blanket has been in several state fairs and won many ribbons. . . . I do remember, however, the Portland [Oregon, 1905 Louis and Clark Centennial Exposition] and Seattle [Washington, Alaska-Yukon Pacific Exposition] World Fairs, where it won first place ribbons, at which time I was just a very small child. . . . I would like to get my father’s hand made blanket where it belongs, in an institution for all to enjoy.” Jewett Washington’s precisely pieced and prize-winning bedcover is a stunning example of needlework done by a man.
Mary Dickson Watson, quilted and corded the pink silk crepe baby carriage cover to match a pillow cover (1989.0268.03) that she made for her granddaughter, Mary Dickson Wilson, born in 1900. The quilting in the center quatrefoil depicts two rabbits with a butterfly and flowers. Surrounding the center are squares outlined by corded quilting, some containing a flower, some empty. Additionally, a narrow pink silk ribbon is used as a tie in eight places.
Mary Way Dickson was born about 1840. She married Alexander Watson in 1859. Their daughter, Mary Dickson Watson, was born about 1865 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She married Adam Wilson in 1897 and it was for their daughter, Mary Dickson Wilson, that the pillow and baby carriage cover were made. On the 1900 census, Mary Dickson Watson, was living with them in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The recipient of the silk carriage and pillow cover later married Joseph Phipps. The items remained in the family until they were donated to the Collection in 1989.
Names for quilt pattern blocks change over time, by region and as variations on traditional or classical block patterns develop. On this quilt blocks pieced in the “Robbing Peter to Pay Paul” chain pattern alternate with plain blocks quilted in a variety of floral patterns, 9 stitches per inch. Executed in white and a green floral print cotton, the “chain” effectively surrounds each quilted block. A 6½-inch border, using the same fabrics, frames the pieced center.