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Dating Game Answers

Quilt 8-01 The wool top is dated 1897 which fits neatly into the 1890-1920 period when these quilts were quite fashionable, especially with young women. Note the maker's age of 16 years.

I don't have room on the webpage to show photos of the earlier Dating Game examples so you can download PDF files with questions and answers by clicking here.
#8-01 to 8-04 Quilts in Question
#8-01 to 8-04 Answers

Quilt 8-05. The date 1858 is prominently displayed in numbers that resemble the cross stitch alphabet. Red and green applique quilts like this tend to date from 1840-1900 and the fanciest ones with the best quilting and more intricate borders tend to be from 1840 to 1865--- so 1858 is towards the end of that period. Sharon Waddell writes to say she bought that quilt from the dealer where I found the photo. She is collecting information about that particular pattern and has 16 examples. My guess---based on those that I have seen---it's a regional pattern often found in New York. The date and initials are also a New York style. Sharon notes that the inscription, which looks to be pieced, is actually appliqued. See a similar quilt with another New York regionalism, a pieced tree border, from the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago by clicking here.
Art Institute of Chicago

Quilt 8-06. These floral appliques of solid-colored fabric are among the easiest quilts to date. The general period is 1925-1960 with the 1930s and '40s being the most common decades. This one is embroidered in a circle with a signature and the date February 4, 1937.
Quilt 8-07. It's obvious from the multi-colored prints and the solid pastel background that this is a quilt from the 1925-1950 period, but differences between quilts from the 1930s and quilts from the 1940s are more subtle. This fan quilt has more intense colors in the scraps, more reds, more bright blues than a '30s quilt. It's embroidered '42.
Quilt 8-08. You don't have much to work with here but this is often the case with online auctions. It seems to be a 19th-century blue & white quilt, an appliqued version of the hickory leaf design that was popular mid-century with a rather complex border. And is that inscription cross-stitched in red thread? The best clue is probably the border. Quilters after 1880 didn't often bother with appliqued borders. The large-scale of the blue and white print seems early as does the cross stitched inscription. Maybe 1840-1870. The actual date is 1847, a very nice find.

Spencer Museum Quilt Exhibit July 13-October 12 2008

Quilts: Flora Botanica

I have put together an exhibit of floral quilts from the collection of the Spencer Museum of Art at the University of Kansas for an exhibit that is up until October 12, 2008. Spencer has a fabulous quilt collection and I've picked 25 of their best. Quilts include:
*2 Rose Kretsinger quilts
*A British quilt from about 1810 covered with three-dimensional figures dressed in Jane-Austen-era clothing
*A spectacular, stumpwork Garden of Eden quilt with stuffed figures of Adam & Eve in the center
*A variety of excellent appliqués in red and green
*2 quirky appliqués by Indiana artist Christina Malcolm
*1 pieced quilt from about 1790 with two great floral trail prints
*Plus 6 reproduction quilts by members of the Kaw Valley Quilters Guild. We have been copying Spencer's antique quilts (particularly those in poor condition) in updated fabrics.

They do allow photographs---with no flash. So bring your camera and a tripod.

Art critic Alice Thorson at the Kansas City Star has written a review of the show. To read it online click here: Kansas City Star.

The Museum, near the football stadium on campus in Lawrence, Kansas, is free (donations welcome) and open every day but Monday. Hours: Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday 10-5; Thursday 10-9; Sunday 12-5

Spencer Museum of Art
1301 Mississippi Street
Lawrence, KS 66045-7500
785.864.4710
Click here for Spencer Museum webpage

Quilt Minutiae #1
18th-Century American Patchwork

Quilt historians love to make lists. Here's one I have been compiling about American quilts with a date before 1800 actually inscribed on them. These earliest quilts show us how style and pattern evolved. Note: I haven't included wholecloth or embroidered quilts without any patchwork design.
15 quilts as of September 2008. I realized the Mary Jones quilt was listed twice.

1769 Central Kerchief. Noah Webster Foundation, West Hartford, CT. Printed center panel dated 1769, broken dishes field. Caption in Orlofsky, Quilts in America (Abbeville, 1992) 2nd ed., frontispiece says 1769 stitched on quilt (or is it a typo? It's so early.)
177_ R Porter. American Museum in Bath. Shiela Betterton, Quilts and Coverlets from the American Museum in Britain (Bath, England: The American Museum, 1978), page 51. Block, pieced Star, applique dogtooth, swag & basket border.
1783 Deborah Wilson. Daughters of the American Revolution Museum #60.56. Central focus but block style with variety of pieced and appliqued stars. See it by clicking here Quilt Index
1785"Anna Tuel, by her mother". Wadsworth Atheneum. Central focus with pieced wheel center, appliqued hearts, broken dishes borders. Variety of fabrics including pink glazed wool border.See the photo below.
1786 Elizabeth Bowman Nace, Heritage Center Museum/Lancaster Co. Block, 9 Patch, strip border.
1787 Rachel Mackey. 1988 Sotheby Auction. Medallion, crewel embroidered center, pieced star, sawtooth border.
1789 Memphis Museum ??? This was on a list of quilts Sally Garoutte shared. I couldn't check.
1793 Mary Johnston. Winterthur Museum. In Patsy and Myron Orlofsky, Quilts in America (New York: McGraw Hill,1974) Fig 34. Medallion applique tree/ life center, pieced geese, applique bow knot/swag borders.
1795 Jane Warwick Gatewood, in Fawn Valentine, West Virginia Quilts and Quiltmakers, page 20. Medallion, cut out chintz center, diamond stars, bowknot borders.
1795 M. Campbell. Smithsonian Institution. Medallion reverse applique w/ pieced borders. See it by clicking here Smithsonian Institution
1795 Mary Jones. In Quilt Engagement Calendar, 1988, plate 52.Medallion with crewel embroidered center , broken dishes borders.Now in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago #1994.293.To see it click here: Art Institute of Chicago.
1796 E W(ebster). In Gloria Seaman Allen, "Bed Coverings: Kent County Maryland, 1710-1820," Uncoverings 1985 (Mill Valley, CA: American Quilt Study Group, 1986) page 25. Medallion, plain fabric center, squares and rectangles in borders.
1797 Hannah John. In Ladies Circle Patchwork Quilts. Maine issue. Medallion, applique center with stars and dogtooth borders.
1798 Ann Taylor. In Gloria Seaman Allen, First Flowerings: Early Virginia Quilts.(Washington DC: D.A.R. Museum, 1987). Page 30. Medallion, crewel embroidered center, stars and melon shaped blocks in borders.
1798 Magdellan Howell Davis, Maumee Valley Historical Society, Maumee, Ohio.Pictured in Quilts at Meadowbrook Hall catalog. Medallion Star Center, pieced sawtooth and chained square borders.

EXHIBIT Kansas City, Missouri
Belger Arts Center. Inspiration: African-American Quilts from the Collection of Maude Wahlman through October 3, 2008. Christina Wahlman has collected 14 of Dr. Wahlman's vintage quilts. Also on exhibit: Interpretation: Silver Screen Quilts by Sun Smith-Foret. Click here for information: Belger Arts Center

EXHIBIT Charleston, South Carolina
The Charleston Museum is exhibiting 11 quilts with a floral theme including at least one of the Broderie Perse quilts for which the city is known. Through December 31st, 2008. Click here for more information: Charleston Museum.

EXHIBIT Des Moines, Iowa
State Historical Society of Iowa. Patterns for Learning: the Mary Barton Quilt Research Collection through October 19th. Fabric collector extraordinaire Mary Barton created panels of antique fabrics & quilt fragments highlighting style, color, dyes etc. She stitched fabrics from 1840 to 1940 to lengths of muslin as teaching tools. Quilts from her collection will also be hung throughout the State of Iowa Historical Building. Click here for more information: State Historical Society of Iowa, 600 E. Locust

EXHIBIT Folsom, California
The Folsom History Museum is showing its Annual Antique Quilt and Vintage Clothing Exhibit, featuring crazy quilts, in August and September. The Museum is located in the Wells Fargo & Co. Assay Office at 823 Sutter Street in Old Folsom. Click here for more information: Folsom History Museum.

Dressed Picture, a detail from the British quilt from about 1810 at the Spencer Museum exhibit (see above.) The flat paper dolls are dressed in actual fabric and attached to the bedcover.

EXHIBIT Hartford, Connecticut
Wadsworth Atheneum. Who Was Anna Tuels? Quilt Stories 1750-1900 August 30, 2008 through January 25, 2009. The museum is exhibiting quilts from their collection focusing on the 1785 quilt by Anna Tuel's mother (see the photo) and organizing them by age and materials. Eighteenth- and nineteenth-century wool and cotton quilts will contrast with silk quilts from the second half of the nineteenth-century. Click here for information: Wadsworth Atheneum

EXHIBIT Walnut Creek, California
Untold Stories: Early American Quilts at the Bedford Gallery, this East Bay city's art center, features 30 vintage quilts from the collection of Susan Brooks. September 14-November 23, 2008. Click here for more information: Bedford Gallery Upcoming Exhibits.

EXHIBITS & AQSG SEMINAR Ohio
Quilts of the Midwest: Creations of Art & Utility The American Quilt Study Group's annual seminar is in Columbus, Ohio October 2-6th. Organizers have coordinated a series of nine exhibits, some of which will be up only during the Seminar and others of which will be up all fall. Check the special website for dates and places in Ohio by clicking here: Quilts of the Midwest: Creations of Art & Utility
For more about the AQSG Seminar click here: American Quilt Study Group

EXHIBITS Dallas, Texas
Quilt Mania II is a collaboration of area museum exhibits from September 26 through April 1, 2009. For more information click here: Quilt Mania II

Exhibits with a focus on antique quilts include:
Dallas Heritage Village at Old City Park, No Hand Idle: Domestic Arts in the 19th CenturyFeb. 16, 2009 - June 14, 2009
Dallas Historical Society Hall of State in Fair Park, Quilts of the Unsung Heroines of North Texas Sept. 26, 2008 - Apr. 1, 2009
The Women's Museum. Partisan Pieces: Quilts of Political and Patriotic Persuasion November 6, 2008 - April 1, 2009. Traveling exhibit of 19th and 20th century quilts from the International Quilt Study Center, curated by Kathy Moore. Shelly Zegart will give a lecture Political Quilts: A Woman's Voice November 12 at 6 p.m. Click here for information: Women's Museum
Farmers Branch, Texas: Farmers Branch Historical Park, A Stitch Back in Time: Farmers Branch Quilts September 26-April 1, 2009

EXHIBITS Lincoln, Nebraska

The International Quilt Study Center maintains a schedule of exhibits from their excellent collection. Click on their website to see what's current and coming. International Quilt Study Center.
Visual Systems: The Quilter's Eye at the Eisentrager Howard Gallery through September 25, 2008, has gotten rave reviews. Curated by graduate student Peggy Derrick, the show features a selection of historical and contemporary quilts from the collection.
Chintz Applique: From Imitation to Icon is scheduled for November 22 - May 24, 2009
Inspired by Red and Green: Selections from the 2008 American Quilt Study Group Study Quilt Project. These reproduction quilts echoing 19th examples will be up from November 14 - January 11, 2009.

FUTURE EXHIBIT Kansas City, Missouri
FUTURE EXHIBIT Kansas City, Missouri
Toy & Miniature Museum. Pieced with Love: Girls and Doll Quilts of the Victorian Age, November 5, 2008 through March 29, 2009. Quilts from collector Mary Ghormley's collection will be shown in their 19th-century context. Events include a lecture "Childhood Treasures: Doll Quilts By and For Children" by Merikay Waldvogel and Mary Ghormley on November 8th at 10:30 a.m., a childrens' quilt workshop on November 15th, and a lecture "Behind the Scenes: Curatorial Quilt Preservation" by Museum Curator Kristie Dobbins on Jan 24th.
Click here for information about the museum: Toy & Miniature Museum

Click here for information about a related book by Waldvogel: Childhood Treasures: Doll Quilts By and For Children. http://www.goodbooks.com/titlepage.asp?ISBN=1561485993 Good Books

FUTURE EXHIBIT Lowell, Massachusetts
New England Quilt Museum. Gifts From the Heart: New Acquisitions from the Binney & Weinberg Collections, November 5, 2008 through January 10, 2009. Thirteen antique quilts donated last year by Gail Binney Stern and Shirley Weinberg will be featured in the main gallery; quilts from the collection will be displayed in their period rooms. Click here for information: NEQM

Civil War Crossings
The pink quilt in the photo is the kit quilt for "Civil War Crossings", my new fabric collection from Moda. Sales of the kit will benefit the Alliance for American Quilts. Click here for information about the Alliance. Center for the Quilt.

FUTURE EXHIBIT New York City
American Folk Art Museum. Recycling & Resourcefulness: Quilts of the 1930s, October 21, 2008 through March 15, 2009. The museum's Lincoln Square Branch is exhibiting Depression-era quilts from the International Quilt Study Center's collection, focusing on recycled fabrics and adding quilts and other crafts from their own collection including tramp art, rugs and bottle cap figures. Click here for information: Folk Art Museum

FUTURE EXHIBIT Weaverville, California

Autumn in the Alps Quilt Show, a one-day event featuring a quarter mile of quilts on Main Street with exhibits of antique quilts at the local museum. October 4, 2008.

The Underground Railroad Quilt Code

The controversy about the Underground Railroad Quilt Code seems to have died down in the quilting community if not the internet, primarily because historians have convincingly established that we have no evidence of any such secret codes in quilt patterns.
On January 23, 2007 reporter Noam Cohen in the New York Times described plans for a $15.5 million monument to Frederick Douglass featuring a plaza of a granite quilt, a sampler of patterns "each supposedly part of a secret code sewn into family quilt and used along the Underground Railroad." Cohen interviewed numerous historians (including me) who presented both sides of the controversy about whether coded quilts actually existed. John Reddick, a supporter of the sculpture, described the book Hidden in Plain View by Jacqueline Tobin and Raymond Dobard as a "touchstone to creative people." He likened the quilt tale to coded imagery in old spirituals like "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot." Christopher Moore, the project's volunteer historical consultant, told Cohen " 'it was a mistake' to include the text explaining the codes."

Ten days later historian Fergus M. Bordewich wrote an Op-Ed piece about "faked history," pointing out that the theory of coded text in old Spirituals is as bogus a legend as the coded quilt patterns. He mentioned research into the song "Follow the Drinking Gourd," as an 'artifact' of the Underground Railroad, when in fact the song was first published in 1928 and revised in 1947. I mention this because I completely bought the idea of Spirituals (something I know NOTHING about) as a legitimate "code." If you own a first printing of my book Facts and Fabrications turn to page 75 and cross out the first sentence in the caption under the quilt that I naively named Follow the Drinking Gourd. The song is neither an old spiritual, nor something Harriet Tubman ever heard.For more see Joel Bresler's website by clicking here Follow the Drinking Gourd.org.

Resources For UGRR Quilt Code
Read the NYT articles and more of the controversy at the following links. Leigh Fellner has developed an extensive web page. If you'd like to see the New York Times stories, do a search for New York Times in her search box. Visit her site.

Kimberly Wulfert's quilt history web page has an comprehensive section. Antique Quilt Dating

Librarian Deborah Foley has written a paper summarizing the problems. Read her "Young Readers at Risk: Quilt Patterns and the Underground Railroad."