January 27 – 29, 2000
These restored messages come from the Quilt History List, an online forum where quilt historians, collectors, researchers, appraisers, and enthusiasts discussed antique quilts and related textiles. The archive dates from 1996 through approximately 2016 and is being restored gradually. Sign up in the form at the bottom of the page if you want to know when a new page is added. Original spelling, opinions, formatting, and inactive links may remain unchanged.
Primary topics of this QHL Digest:
- Oral History as a Primary Source — Members debate whether transcribed interviews and 19th-century slave narratives (William Still’s 1872 collection) qualify as reliable primary sources for quilt history research.
- Identifying a Pheasant-and-Tree Chintz — Several members compare notes on an antique pheasant/tree print chintz after a modern Fons & Porter reproduction sparks a detailed swap of fabric measurements and coloring.
- Quilt History Reading List — Members trade recommendations for costume-history books (Dressed for the Photographer; Victorian America) useful for researching 19th-century textiles and quilts.
- A Newcomer Pushes Back on Book Skepticism — A new member objects to the group’s criticism of a popular quilt history book, leading to a discussion of how oral tradition and disputed claims can be weighed.
- Seven Sisters Block Construction — A member asks about the history of the Seven Sisters/Seven Stars pattern after seeing a family quilt pieced with an unusual hexagon-and-triangle construction.
Date: Thu, 27 Jan 2000 17:46:33 +0000 | From: Bobbie Aug <qwltpro>
Hi All,
Since there have been some criticism about HGTV and how authors are treated, please let me share my/our experience.
Simply Quilts pays no expenses. However, my publisher does. When Sharon Newman and I went to California to do a Simply Quilts Show, we were to do a project out of our book, String Quilts With Style. The American Quilter’s Society had been in contact with SQ and agreed to pay all of our expenses for both of us to appear on their show. AQS regularly does this for the authors that SQ chooses.
Alex was WONDERFUL! So was the entire staff. It was a great experience. We were treated with respect even though I was a nervous wreck! Hopefully, when the other three books we have written are published, we’ll get to go again. Yea!
I also want to say that our publisher, AQS, edits our books to the point that they are error-free and grammatically correct. We have approval at several steps. We are the quiltmakers; they are the publisher. Although we do include historical information about the style, patterns, etc. of the subject of our books, ours are how-to books. If the treatment of our manuscripts differ from those of other publishers such as Doubleday, I would have no knowledge. All I know is that I adore the two editors that we have used at AQS and Schroeder Publishing (AQS) is great to work with.
Bobbie A. Aug in Colorful Colorado
P.S. Episode 545 will air February 4th if you want to see my chattering teeth!
Date: Thu, 27 Jan 2000 21:09:53 EST | From: Qltldy10
So, follow this closely and get out your magnifying glasses. You know the brownish pheasants and trees fabric from Benartex? It’s from the Savannah line, a Fons and Porter repro. Anybody know Fons and Porter?
Where did they get the original from? Anybody care to date the fabric, if it were original? Cyndi, stop laughing at me, I’m gonna go for it and admit all… In Chintz Quilts, Unfading Glory, (Bullard & Shiell. Serendipity Publishers, 1983) pg 23, lower left, is a good photo of the original. No date exactly, since the text is talking about the other fabric on the page. They make a ca 1815 reference, but again, I think they are generalizing to “phesants and trees” fabrics.
Now! Look at New Jersey Quilts 1777 to 1950 (Cochran,Erickson, Hart, Schaffer. American Quilter’s Society, 1992), page 50. You’ll need to turn the book sideways and get a magnifying glass. What do you think? Are the brown squares the same print? Get this, the quilt is dated! 1778! Okay, so fabric may be just a little older than 1778- or so I wish. Hear me swoon, Cyndi and I bought 90 inches of this stuff 2 weeks ago. Had to sell my children; actually, I announced I was going on a pasta diet to lose weight, but I have been able to afford raviolis on occasional days. This stuff would make any of you swoon, I am sure… and a date that is almost Revolutionary is wow! And sit down, it still has glaze, and two selvedges. But, I’ll let you bust my bubble- anybody seen it dated anywhere else? I think of the birds and trees stuff as tons printed, but for short time period. Maybe not though, and what we have is mid 1800’s. Don’t think it could be any later than that…
By the way, the original of the Floral Trails pillar can be seen on page
89 of Calico and Chintz.
My apologies to those of you without the books, I’m sure it is agony when we quote what you don’t have…
Beth in Maine
Date: Thu, 27 Jan 2000 22:26:46 -0500 | From: “John Cawley” <cawleygoeaston.net>
To: “QHL” <QHLcuenet.com>
Subject: Underground RR
Message-ID: <007601bf693f$844da380$ec9c453fz6x4o3>
Content-Type: multipart/alternative;
boundary=”—-=_NextPart_000_0073_01BF6915.98B82D60″ I know everybody is getting tired of this, but I would like to add something that I think is of real value to the discussion. Altho it is unlikely that escaping slaves kept written records at the time, in 1872 William Still published The Underground Railroad A Record. This is a collection of the first hand accounts of escaped slaves, in other words, a primary source. It contains hundreds of accounts narrated by the participants. Note the date of publication, only 7 years after the Civil War ended.
Cinda on the Eastern Shore
Date: Thu, 27 Jan 00 22:26:46 -0500 | From: “John Cawley” <cawleygoeaston.net>
I know everybody is getting tired of this, but I would like to add something that I think is of real value to the discussion. Altho it is unlikely that escaping slaves kept written records at the time, in 1872 William Still published The Underground Railroad A Record. This is a collection of the first hand accounts of escaped slaves, in other words, a primary source. It contains hundreds of accounts narrated by the participants. Note the date of publication, only 7 years after the Civil War ended.
Cinda on the Eastern Shore
Date: Sat, 29 Jan 2000 00:01:55 -0500 | From: “J. G. Row” <Judygrowblast.net>
Phyllis
Newbie Richardson put me on to the first book, and I don’t think 2 days has gone by that I haven’t picked it up for extra study.! Judy Roche led me to the second book and I’m almost finished. I think it has just what you are looking for.
I got the info from Amazon, where I bought both books (no affiliation, yadda yadda)
From: Amazon.com
Dressed for the Photographer Ordinary Americans and Fashion, 1840-1900 by Joan L. Severa, Nancy Rexford, Claudia Brush Kidwell List Price $60.00
Our Price $42.00
You Save $18.00 (30%)
Availability Usually ships within 24 hours.
Hardcover – 614 pages (March 1997)
Kent State Univ Pr; ISBN 0873385128 ; Dimensions (in inches) 1.64 x 11.26 x 8.73
Amazon.com Sales Rank 67,766
Avg. Customer Review 5 stars
Dressed for the Photographer Ordinary Americans and Fashion, 1840-1900 by Joan L. Severa, Nancy Rexford, Claudia Brush (We’ll set one up for you)
View my Wish List
Reviews
From: Book News, Inc. , March 1, 1996
Arranged by decades, the 272 photographs presented here show the clothing and hair-style details introduced during the last half of the 19th century for men, women, and children. The commentary by clothing historian Severa explores these details and also examines the material culture, expectations, and socioeconomic conditions that affected the clothing choices depicted.
An amazingly detailed and thorough reference. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.
Midwest Book Review
This history of ordinary American fashion begins in 1840 and ends in 1900, spanning a period of time in which changing economics dictated clothing trends. Letters, diaries, period photos and Severa’s own analysis provide in-depth and strong analysis of fashion trends and inconsistencies between class and fashion representation. read more
Ms. Severa’s thoughtful and articulate tour through approximately 60 years of American Fashion reads more like a novel than a fashion textbook, although it is certainly an excellent example of the latter. Her inclusion of a detailed historical preface to each decade studied, provides the reader with a good sense of the times these people lived in, their wants, hopes and backgrounds are all captured and rendered understandable to both the historian and the casual observer.
As a newcomer to the study of dress, I found her ability to recognize and explain subtle details of clothing nuances extraordinary. Many of these were, at first glance barely visible in an aging photograph, but upon her outlining them they became so readily apparent as to cause the reader to wonder why they hadn’t seen it sooner! It is a lovely book, either for the professional costumer or historian, or the casual observer who might want a glimpse into the history of those who came before, and the role fashion played throughout the early history of America.
Victorian America: Transformations in Everyday Life, 1876-1915 (The Everyday Life in America Series, Vol. 4) by Thomas J. Schlereth. Paperback, 416 pages (July 1992), Harperperennial Library; ISBN 0060921609. Editorial description: an encyclopedic survey of commonplace objects, events, experiences, products, and tastes that comprised America’s Victorian culture, drawing on letters, diaries, and period photos, arranged by decades from 1876 to 1915. Reader review excerpt: praised for conveying a sense that the conveniences taken for granted today — grocery and department stores, electricity, the telephone, indoor plumbing — became prevalent during the period the book covers.
Date: Fri, 28 Jan 2000 07:18:44 -0400 | From: edwaintrepid.net
The fabric is mine. It was purchased from Mary Koval. She dated it at 1774. Benartex used it for the Savannah line. And yes, I believe it is an original piece. Still very good chintz glaze finish.
Holice Turnbow
Designer, Teacher, Quilt Judge http://www.quiltingstencils.com
Date: Fri, 28 Jan 2000 07:23:51 EST | From: aol.com
Two good novels set around the turn of the century Ragtime, E.L. Doctorow – a classic about three turn of the century families.
The movie isn’t all that good (although Howard Rollins is fabulous as Coalhouse Walker, Jr.), but it should be available. The costumes are pretty accurate.
The Alienist, Caleb Carr – a decent mystery set in 1890’s New York. Also, check out old copies of American Heritage in your library. They frequently run articles on late Victorian America.
Hope this helps.
Karen Evans
Date: Fri, 28 Jan 2000 09:42:55 EST | From: KareQuilt
Beth Donaldson said <<Maybe we can look at this as an opportunity to pursue better research and open dialogue on a topic that is proving to be of a great deal of interest. How about using this publicity to reach out to people to keep an eye out for primary sources of information about the underground railroad.>>
<< Kris Driessen. Maybe someone who has experience in researching original source material could contact Simply Quilts and offer to do a program on how historical quilt books are documented? NOT to trash HIPV, but just to explain to the average quilter what we look for. >>
Here, here, Beth and Kris.
This was definitely an act of very savvy marketing on Doubleday’s part. There is a VERY relative story in the latest issue of Brille (sp?)
magazine.
(Anyone heard of it?) My husband, being a professional editor, receives it.
I just picked up the latest issue off of his desk last week out of curiosity and, lo and behold, the very subject we have been discussing on this List (what publishers should and should not, can and cannot, be held accountable for) is the main subject of this issue! Fascinating reading because some in the media industry are really concerned about this issue. And as one QHL post pointed out, this is not a new issue in the publishing world. I meant to set the magazine aside and quote it to you all, but I think he took it with him on his latest business trip ’cause I can’t find it. Your local library may have it. I recommend taking the time to track it down. IMHO, since we can’t do anything about the fact that the book has been published, why not use the opportunity every chance we get to teach the public about what our kind of research and documentation is all about? It is an incredible opportunity simply because the book is so well known now. The fact that a second book is probably going to come out just gives us added incentive to get our ducks in a row before it does! Hey, we took on the Smithsonian, didn’t we? <g>
Karen Alexander
No. Virginia
Date: Fri, 28 Jan 2000 10:15:14 -0500 | From: Newbie Richardson <pastcrafts>
Fiona,
Thank you for your insights into the different criteria of various publishing houses. I looked over my library, and sure enough most of the “best” books are from certain key publishers or small never heard from again types. That is why I now buy the book when I see it. I have too may book on the decorative arts and material cultures issues that are now deemed “rare” because they only had one printing. I am only 47 so for half of my library to be considered “rare” is a bit absurd!
Best,
Newbie Richardson
Date: Fri, 28 Jan 2000 10:29:01 -0500 | From: Newbie Richardson <pastcrafts>
Phyllis,
I have three well written, and readable books on the subject of life in the 1890’s from a material cultures/ social history point of view. All are available at ahe major stores Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Borders, etc.
Barbara Tuchman’s The Proud Tower a portrait of the world before the war, 1890 – 1914, in paper back – probably available at the public library.
Thomas J. Schlereth’s Victorian America 1876-1915 part of the Every day Life series published by Harper Perennial (some of this series is out of print, unfortunately) also a paper back.
Ellen Plante’s Women At Home in Victorian America – a social history. Part of a collection called Facts On File. They supposedly have a Web site www.factsonfile.com Mine is hard back.
Hope these are useful.
Newbie
PS How much snow did you get? we got 14″ in my backyard in Alexandria!
Date: Fri, 28 Jan 2000 12:23:39 EST | From: QuiltFixer
Many thanks to those members who have taken the time to give us sources for information about life in the US in the 1890s. I, for one, am very interested in this time frame of history. While you are searching your book shelves and minds, would you help me out as well? I am compiling a list of books and web sites in which Redwork has appeared (text or photos) as an information source for myself and others. Once I have compiled enough information, the list will appear on my web site. I never cease to marvel at the wonderful talent and historical information we have available on this list! Nothing is ever static, and as we grow and change, we often have to “agree to disagree.” Fortunately, we always have a core of thinking and caring members contributing steadily to our knowledge and growth. I really do not think we have lost the thread of why we belong or what the purpose of this list is!
Toni Baumgard
QuiltFixeraol.com
The Redwork Lady redworkldyaol www.redworklady.com
Date: Fri, 28 Jan 2000 15:35:05 -0600 | From: Kathleen <iweaveradiks.net>
Today I found a tile quilt with 30’s (ish) fabrics, double size, in reasonable condition, some shattering on some fabrics, but quite charming. I’m not sure about the price. Does $250 sound like a fair price, too high, (or too low)? I’d appreciate any input since I’m not savvy on prices. Thanks in advance.
Kathleen French
Date: Fri, 28 Jan 2000 16:13:59 -0600 | From: Laura Hobby Syler <texas_quilt.comail.airmail.net>
Newbie,
My husband has been working for a small printing company here in Dallas. They print books, mainly, and most of them are from small to med size publishing houses but mostly from self publishers. Many of the special interest books that we as quilt historians look for are passed over by the big publishers because they consider the market too narrow. Two of my fellow AQS appraisers have had a manuscript on Kit Quilts for several years and cannot find a publishing house willing to take it on. They are considering self publishing. I too snatch up books when I find them because like so many pieces of fabric, they may only print once! A few of the publishers have decided to take a chance on our narrow market and seem to be doing well. At least we know that they are listening to our requests. Now if we can get places like Barnes & Noble and Borders to put the quilt history books in the same section from week to week we’ll be on the right road!
Laura
Date: Fri, 28 Jan 2000 19:46:24 EST | From: aol.com
I think that’s true of most fields. In religion, my graduate field, there are certain publishers that can be counted on for sound books (Paulist, Abbeville, Westminster John Knox, Zondervan, Eerdmans, HarperCollins, Beacon,
Yale, Oxford, a few others). There are others (Shambala for Eastern religions) that have a more mixed record, and still others that are completely out of left field (Hartford Seminary’s collection includes a large, splendidly weird book self-published by and about the Unarius flying saucer cult. It seems to have been checked out mainly by sociology of religion students). Eventually I learned which publisher specialized in which sort of book, and checked out materials for papers accordingly. On the other hand, sometimes a small or obscure press is the only way to publish a very specialized book. Most of the pre-1970’s Sufi works in the collection, for instance, were either self-published by various Sufi schools, or were less than perfect translations of older works, done by eager students in hopes of sharing their sheik’s wisdom. For all their flaws, they were often the only way English speakers could learn about Sufism without learning
Arabic first.
Personally I’d love to read a book about kit quilts. If it ever does come out from a small press, let me know – one of my grandmothers made a quilt (which I can’t locate right now, alas) that sure looked like it came from a kit, and I’d at least like to know the pattern….)
Karen Evans
Date: Sun, 06 Jan 1980 20:07:50 -0500 | From: Alan Kelchner <quiltfixmail.jax.>
Beth,
I have to say “thank you” to you. Because of you, I finally figured out what the *()&* I did with my “Encyclopedia of Pieced Patterns” <lol>. I buried it under my stash of linens ……. But on to why I found it. You were discussing the Fons and Porter reproduction, the one of partridges and trees. I have some of it in the green colorway. But when you started talking about the real piece you found, a bell went off in my head and I ran for the studio and started digging in the linens for the bottom of the box. Why? Because I knew I had some chintz left from a restoration of a c.1800 broderie perse I did once. So I grabbed it out and compared the two. Aside from the mirror-image of the Fons and Porter (the original faces right, the repro left), they are basically the same design! They are not exactly alike, but the F&P is definitely copied from this original. The original is printed in brown outlines with tan and red colors.
Thought you’d like to know.
Alan
Date: Fri, 28 Jan 2000 20:16:38 -0600 | From: Jocelyn <Jocelynmdelphi.com>
I know everybody is getting tired of this, but I would like to add something that I think is of real value to the discussion. Altho it is unlikely that escaping slaves kept written records at the time, in 1872 William Still published The Underground Railroad A Record. This is a collection of the first hand accounts of escaped slaves, in other words, a primary source. It contains hundreds of accounts narrated by the participants. Note the date of publication, only 7 years after the Civil War ended.
Cinda on the Eastern Shore
Cinda,
Are you familiar with this source? I’m curious if it could really be considered a primary source. During that time, ‘recreationist history’ was not unknown- especially if it proved a point the author wanted to make. The prime example was Rev. Weems and the story of George Washington and the cherry tree. How a man of the cloth could convince himself that it was OK to make up a story about a well-known person, to teach children it is wrong to lie, boggles my mind- but so he did! Have the accounts been ‘cleaned up’ grammatically and dialectically? Seven years after the war ended, would scarcely be enough time to transform the average ex-slave into a fluent speaker of educated English. As a qualitative researcher myself, I know that whenever you ‘clean up’ a source, you lose nuances- and even more you lose them if you don’t know what you’re looking for. I could see a tremendous potential for a white person to misinterpret words and idioms, not to mention the extreme difficulty of taking accurate notes. I find out fairly often, when I listen to the tape of an interview, that I remember something being said that isn’t on the tape. <g> If the accounts are polished literate English, then they’d not be primary sources any more, but secondary sources- a white person’s account of the account of an ex-slave.
Date: Fri, 28 Jan 2000 20:16:33 -0800 | From: Audrey Waite <awquiltr@>
I have a piece of the original from 1800s — I would guess about 1840 — and then a piece of the “first” repro from probably 1940. So, of course, I had to buy a quantity of the 90″ wide version from Fons and Porter ala 1999. It’s too wonderful to pass having in the stash.
Audrey Waite in sunny Sedona, AZ
Date: Fri, 28 Jan 2000 22:19:12 -0500 | From: “The Fousts” <mpfh73@>
I signed up for this Quilt History mailing list about a week ago. I am going to be helping with the newsletter for our quilt guild and want to put historical information in the newsletter. But so far, all I have read for the last week is everyone arguing over Simply Quilts and the book “In Plain Sight”. Are you ever going to discuss quilt history that you believe is factual, or should I look somewhere else? I haven’t read the book, but don’t be so quick to discredit it. Historical facts have been passed verbally from generation to generation in many cultures over the centuries. You all sound like you really don’t want any of the book to be true.
Ann in Florida
Date: Fri, 28 Jan 2000 19:35:51 -0800 | From: Fiona Galvin <fiona101>
Dear Jocelyn and All,
With regard to oral history and recorded narratives, Jocelyn’s point is well taken, but even when dialect is recorded (as with the WPA narratives) the voice is not just the ex-slave’s.
The WPA compilations are the case in point on this issue. The WPA hired mostly white people in the South to go around collecting the memories of the ex-slaves, who were getting quite ancient and whose memories would otherwise die. The problem with this, as lots of authors pointed out when they began using them in black history, is that the ex-slaves were not likely to be completely candid with the children or grandchildren of their former masters. Plus, those white people’s ability to really understand and record the dialect of their subjects is questionable.
Whenever list members mention getting calls about the “civil war” quilt which turns out to be a 30’s quilt, I think about the problems with oral traditions. They can be wonderful sources, but I really think it takes a lot of thought and a careful approach to use them well. I think that given the strong oral element to a lot of family quilt history, oral history and its challenges would be a useful subject for the list.
On a slightly different note, the comments made by Dave (I think that was the name) about “self-proclaimed experts” really disturbed me. I am not an expert on anything at this point, but I don’t think that one should have to be to express an opinion. Plus, I have learned so much from everyone on this list that it’s astounding. I have found everyone completely helpful and friendly, and I really think that the list is a great resource for information, research assistance, and just quilty fellowship. Although I value the contributions of people who are recognized for their achievements in quilt history and preservation, I have learned from everyone here, and I wouldn’t want to see people silenced because they think that you have to be Dave’s idea of an “expert” to qualify for an opinion.
Not that that looks likely.
Fiona Galvin
No snow in SoCal, but my mother’s freezing in Connecticut.
Date: Fri, 28 Jan 2000 22:40:46 EST | From: AlineMcK
In a message dated 1/28/00 92307 PM, mpfh73adelphia.net writes
>You all sound like you really don’t want any of the book to be true. Ann in Florida
I would *love* the book to be true. But the warts are indeed there. Just wanting a romantic tale to be true isn’t a strong enough reason to overlook some very weak evidence. And I agree with the POV presented earlier maybe there’s stuff not included in the book, but the book is what people are going by.
Date: Fri, 28 Jan 2000 23:01:44 -0400 | From: edwaintrepid.net
It was a deliberate action to mirror image the birds in the reproduction print of this fabric. since it was repro it was felt that it will be more quilty/friendly in it’s use.
Holice Turnbow
Designer, Teacher, Quilt Judge http://www.quiltingstencils.com
Date: Sat, 29 Jan 2000 15:28:22 +1100 | From: Lorraine Olsson <svenpnc.com.au>
Message-ID: <38926B9E.567pnc.com.au>
Date: Sat, 29 Jan 2000 15:25:03 +1100 | From: Lorraine Olsson <svenpnc.com.au>
Reply-To: Svenpnc.com.au
X-Mailer: Mozilla 3.0Gold (Win95; I)
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To: The Fousts <mpfh73adelphia.net>
Subject: Re QHL Quilt History
References <00a601bf6a07$9e343480$2e1e3118adelphia.net> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
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Ann,
The best way to start a discussion is to put forward a topic.
What would you like to talk about?
Cheers and welcome,
Lorraine in Oz
The Fousts wrote
> I signed up for this Quilt History mailing list about a week ago. I am going to be helping with the newsletter for our quilt guild and want to put Historical information in the newsletter. But so far, all I have read for the last week is everyone argueing over Simply Quilts and the book “In Plain Sight”. Are you ever going to discuss quilt history that you believe is factual or should I look somewhere else. I haven’t read the book but don’t be so quick to discredit it. Historical facts have been passed verbally from generation to generation in many cultures over the centuries. You all sound like you really don’t want any of the book to be true. Ann in Florida
Date: Sat, 29 Jan 2000 20:48:59 +0400 | From: Xenia Cord <xecordnetusa1.net>
It took me a while to put it all together, but I also have a piece of early chintz with paired pheasants and plum tree. It is a large remnant from a bed hanging or curtain swag, complete with miniscule hand stitching in the very narrow hems. Colors are caramel brown, drab teal, drab red, browns. On my piece, the major bird (the one whose full body shows) is facing to the right.
I also have in inventory a huge quilt with a pieced diamond star center, chintz bird appliques in the half and full setting squares, and a wide border of the pleasants/plum tree design. The glazing and most of the bright colors are gone, leaving a monochrome print in light browns, and the major bird is facing to the LEFT. The colors used in the center star suggest that the border chintz must have been red, teal, and brown. I have dated the quilt 1830-40, based on the other fabrics used. Montgomery, in Printed Textiles, English and American Cottons and Linens 1700-1850, on page 160, shows a version of this print, again with the major bird facing right. She dates the fabric to 1815. Holice says the original fabric from which Benartex printed the Fons & Porter print (purposely reversed) came from Mary Koval, who dated it 1774. While I don’t know her reference for this, Mary has a LOT of experience with vintage fabrics, and I wouldn’t second-guess her. How do we deal with this variety of dates?
I think we have to consider that unlike today, when you’d better buy as much of a fabric as you need and then some (because it will be gone when you go back for more), printed textiles of the late 18th and early 19th centuries had a longer period of popularity. Schoeser and Rufey, in English and American Textiles from 1790 to the present, say (p. 57, notes for illustration 40) that following the War of 1812, it is likely that quantities of English chintzes were dumped on the American market in an attempt to stifle American textile production.
Some things to consider –
Xenia
Date: Sat, 29 Jan 2000 06:29:59 PST | From: “Ann-Louise Beaumont” <albeaumont>
While browsing through the Toronto Star newspaper online yesterday (Jan.28), there was an article that I wish I had printed out about Buxton, Ontario. It was a black settlement that became a terminal for the underground railroad. A school there is going to be preserved because education was a primary focus of the community and graduates went on to accomplish great things. If I were in Ontario, I could get a back copy of the paper. My point is that it would be interesting to see if there are any family stories passed down or written by the people who actually arrived in Canada, and whether quilts figure at all in them. My memory of this article is pretty vague, and it could have been the Globe and Mail newspaper online, but perhaps someone in Ontario would be interested in picking up the ball.
Best Wishes,
Ann-Louise Beaumont in Campbell River, BC
______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
Date: Sat, 29 Jan 2000 11:54:54 EST | From: Midnitelaptop
What a fun website this is.
http://quilting.about.com/hobbies/quilting/library/weekly/aa100497.htm Iris
Date: Sat, 29 Jan 2000 13:47:02 -0500 | From: “Jan Drechsler” <quiltdocsover.net>
Just a thank you to everyone for coming up with a great booklist for winter reading. My library will be kept busy finding these books for me. Cinda, I was wondering if you have read or have access to the 1872 book you mentioned re the Underground RR A record. It sounds like a fascinating book to read, whether it has any reference to quilts or not. It also sounds like a book that one must find in a University or historical library, but I will check the web. It is funny that the more I learn about old quilts, the more I learn and want to know about their era. That hadn’t occurred to me as a quilt history by product. I love it!!!
–
Jan Drechsler in Vermont with 18 inches of snow and below zero temps Quilt Restoration; Quilting teacher http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/bobmills/jan.html
Date: Sat, 29 Jan 2000 14:40:18 EST | From: Cml791
I’m interested in learning more about the pattern “seven sisters” or “seven stars”. I recently was shown a quilt with this pattern but the stars were not made like #241 in Brackman’s encyclopedia. They are pieced with a hexagon in the center and triangles pieced to each side to make the 6 points. Does this make sense? If you know of a published example like this please let me know.
This quilt was passed down in the man’s family and was supposedly made by the aunt of President Andrew Johnson. I have read that this pattern was made to symbolize the first seven states to secede from the Union . Can anyone comment on any other history of the pattern?
Thanks,
Carolyn Miller
Date: Sat, 29 Jan 2000 12:04:59 -0800 | From: Nancy Cameron Armstrong <nca-1>
Another MUST HAVE winner … the “must have” may be difficult with a 1988 copyright!
Motz, Marilyn Ferris & Pat Browne, editors. MAKING THE AMERICAN HOME Middle-Class Women & Domestic Material Culture 1840-1940. (Bowling Green, OH Bowling Green State University Popular Press, 1988) ISBN 0-87972-434-X paperback also available hardback. Ten articles/papers, especially pertinent outstanding work “Quilt Documentation A Case
Study” by Ricky Clark (one of the Ohio Quilt Research Project team members and authors of QUILTS IN COMMUNITY Ohio’s Traditions). I too wrote a book which I did not get published … long story; however, briefly and to the point of publishers being concerned our market is too narrow. Had a beautiful letter from Cyril L. Nelson, Senior Editor at Penguin praising my book and then explaining why he would not publish it. Expect most of you are familiar with SHARED THREADS Quilting Together – Past and Present by Jacqueline Marx Atkins. Original price $24.95 in paperback. Shows up regularly on Edward R. Hamilton’s catalogue … at a very reduced price, despite its excellence of publication values, writing, research, etc. Not surprising, as Mr. Nelson said they lost a great deal of money publishing it. Every time the Hamilton catalogue arrives I marvel at the titles included and wonder how publishers ever manage to sell ANY books at list price.
Date: Sat, 29 Jan 2000 15:37:31 EST | From: Qltldy10
Hello friends!
Many thanks to Holice, Alan, Audrey and Xenia for help in identifying the fabric I bought. For others who asked I purchased it at a local antique mall here in Maine. I saw it one day, came home and did math with checkbook in hand to see if I could afford it, e-mailed a friend who also purchases, got an agreement. This took overnight, so I phoned the next morning and they held it for me until I got there the following day. I learned to do this after doing the math thing over a large piece of the ‘Joan of Arc’ toile (the one that shows her burning at the stake) which had all 5 views on it. I waited three days, went back, and it was gone. this mall has four floors and at least 3 textile vendors, but you do have to ask to get the glass cases unlocked, and get down on your knees. the brown pheasants was folded up on the bottom of the case… and the rest is history.
The piece was 90 inches long, but has since been cut in half. It is 24 inches wide, icluding selvedges. There are two sets of birds across, offset a little, and both sets looking to the right as I look at the fabric. The Benartex repro has bird sets looking either right or left, that what alan and Holice meanst by “mirror” images. My piece is quite dark brown on the tree/birds section, a lighter brown down the middle. This could be fading, or just the print/dye of the trees. There is no teal that I can see, but the same red color of the repro in the trunks and flowers. Xenias may be different, or just done with different colors. I don’t have the Montgomery book to check.
Again, many thanks for sharing what other pieces there are out there!
Beth in Maine
Date: Sat, 29 Jan 00 18:00:38 -0600 | From: woodford <woodford@>
Oh help!
At a recent auction, there was an all-white coverlet dated “1831” and with initials. It had fringe all around and was embroidered in very heavy thread that went from the front to the back in a floral pattern with a border of leaves. The background fabric was an unusual weave. Since I couldn’t go, I sent my husband to bid up to $500 on it. He bid up to $1200 and stopped and it sold for $1400.
While he was gone, I poured through the books and decided it was a genuine hand embroidered candlewick counterpane. Should I be in great pain that we didn’t bid further? Is this an item that is tremendously rare? I have never seen one before, of course. Did I let one get away?, or was I lucky we didn’t end up owning a $2400 non-seller? Any comments will be appreciated, even if they cause that twinge in my tummy.
Barbara Woodford
