Quilt History Snippets for November 2025

 
Kathy Moore

What:      Review of Uncoverings 1995, Volume 16 of the Research Papers of the American Quilt Study Group, edited by Virginia Gunn

Topic:       “Ruth Finley and the Colonial Revival Era”

Author:     Ricky Clark

 

Clark’s abstract for this paper notes that Ruth Finley was born in Akron, Ohio, in 1884 and raised in Ohio’s Western Reserve. This region was originally a part of Connecticut’s 1662 charter that granted it land stretching west to the Pacific Ocean. After the Revolutionary War such land grant claims by Connecticut and other states were ceded to the U.S. federal government but Connecticut reserved a 120-mile strip of land in Ohio along Lake Erie as compensation. It was settled by New Englanders beginning in 1796 and the Reserve was incorporated into the state of Ohio upon statehood in 1803. [from Google search “Ohio’s western reserve” 10-25-25]

 

It is Clark’s thought that having been raised in the Western Reserve by a large family of New Englanders, many of whom remained in New England, but exchanged visits frequently over the years, gave Ruth Finley a unique perspective on the Colonial Revival movement. Clark believes Finley’s early experiences and background and family influences “shaped the pattern and depth of scholarship that resulted in her classic book, Old Patchwork Quilts and the Women Who Made Them, first published in 1929…” [p. 33]

 

Finley’s college career was short, only three semesters. In 1910 Finley became an investigative reporter for the Cleveland Press and made a name for herself investigating working conditions for Cleveland’s working class women. Into adulthood Finley followed the inclinations of her parents who had involved her in their own activities in national politics at an early age. She remained actively involved in Republican politics all her life, even editing the Women’s National Republican Club magazine, “the first national political review directed to women.” [p. 36]

 

Finley also married Emmet Finley in 1910. He was also a reporter at the Press. Interestingly, both Ruth and Emmet participated in some paranormal work with Ruth being the receiver of messages from the beyond and Emmet being her transcriber/note taker. This is something they kept to themselves until she revealed it in her autobiography begun in 1951. [p. 37]

 

Ricky Clark describes in great detail the professional and personal lives of Ruth and Emmet. She goes into particular detail about Ruth’s research and information-collecting practices as she began to delve into the Colonial Revival movement and quiltmaking. She had a strong preference for early quilt block patterns. She and a couple of family members and friends would take day trips “through the countryside looking at quilts airing on clotheslines, and buying some.” She also interviewed the women from whom she bought, probing for more information about quilt block names and stories about quiltmaking from earlier days. [p. 39]

 

Clark details the development of the Colonial Revival movement noting that “The term ‘colonial,’ never historically accurate, could be seen as a code word for anti- or non-Victorian, anti- or non-modern…also profoundly anti-urban.” [p. 41] There is discussion of Finley’s interest in architectural styles of the region. And there are extensive descriptions of Finley’s deep interest in collecting “personal stories of the history and traditions associated with quilts, especially “sentimental stories.” [p. 45-48]

 

Clark describes the family’s collection of letters, diaries, and artifacts from their earliest days in New England. These are the primary sources Finley was able to plumb for her scholarly research on Ruth Finley and there was much for her to plumb! The family was deeply interested in the lives of their ancestors, and they kept a lot of primary documents and artifacts. [p. 48-50] There is even reference to the fact that Ruth Finley owned Elizabeth Keckley’s Lincoln Quilt. It is a revealing story from which we get the cringe-worthy tale that well after Finley died, her grand-niece and -nephew took that quilt to their classroom show-and-tell. [p. 50]

 

There is so much more interesting information in this well-researched and -written article. Clark’s scholarship is commendable. I recommend it to you all.  And don’t fail to check out the Endnotes section. There are no less than 82 citations!

 

Best wishes as we begin the holiday season. Talk to you again in December.

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Quilt History Snippets for October 2025

October 1, 2025
What: Review of Uncoverings 1995, Volume 16 of the Research Papers of the American Quilt Study Group, edited by Virginia Gunn Topic: “Origins and Traditions of Marseilles Needlework” Author: Kathryn W. Berenson Berenson consulted “commercial records, eighteenth-century paintings, inventories, textile artifacts, and written documents” to compile the research that resulted in this comprehensive overview of the history of Marseilles needlework. [p 7] It is a history that goes farther back into history than I imagined and includes influences from a wider range of cultures than I expected. Berenson places the earliest examples of Marseilles needlework in Provence in the Mediterranean at about 600 A.D. And, at the time of the Crusades records “show the presence of domestically produced or imported simple bedcovers stitched in diamond-grid motifs.” Furthermore, “by the end of the seventeenth century Marseilles needlework ateliers produced tens of thousands of domestic items stitched with delicate corded floral forms…” [p. 7] Despite such a rich and well established quilting industry Berenson notes that there is “no repository of information” on this tradition, “no dedicated literature, no museum with scholarly focus.” [pp. 7-8] Thus her reliance, as noted above, on other forms of documentation. Nevertheless, the results of her research are broad and broadly inclusive. Berenson details seventh century requests from the Pope for payment from “prelates in Marseilles and Arles to pay annual tribute in locally ‘worked cloth,’ not silver, so he could clothe his followers in Rome.” [p. 8] Merchant ships, crusading knights and pilgrims bought these textiles and clothing and dispersed them widely into Western Europe making the production and sale of these textiles a highly valued commodity, so much so that the Grand Council of Venice granted tax-free entrance to ships using “Marseilles-made sail canvas.” [p. 9] Berenson delves deeply into all of the influences upon the development of this needlework, the ways this needlework influenced events high and low, from kings to needleworkers all through the Mediterranean and Western Europe over hundreds of years. The effect of the shift from using silk to cotton by these needleworkers led to resistance from silk weavers in Lyon and that led to the use of these cottons being banned in France for some decades. The bans were flagrantly defied and eventually rescinded but many average people as well as nobles were affected in their everyday lives by these conflicts of interest. Berenson skillfully and succinctly describes all this. Most interestingly, she describes her sources and what they tell us. Her descriptions of supporting documents is like peeking behind the curtain of scholarship to watch a dedicated, maybe even obsessed, researcher at work. And it makes for page turning reading. There are several names for this kind of needlework that evolve over time and Berenson makes sure to describe them. Images help illustrate her descriptions. She also describes and discusses the published research of other scholars on this topic/, some of them former or current AQSG members. Finally, this report is richly supported by no fewer the 68 endnotes, some of which broaden the historical details in interesting ways. For example, note number 50 clarifies how the word boutis came to be applied to Marseilles needlework. Something I have wondered about. [p. 31] Read it all and enjoy. Best wishes for a great time at 2025 Seminar. See you there. If you see me stop me and let’s chat.

Quilt History Snippets September 2025

September 8, 2025
What: Review of Uncoverings 1994, Volume 15 of the Research Papers of the American Quilt Study Group, edited by Virginia Gunn Topic: “Weaving Cloth and Marketing Nostalgia Clinch Valley Blanket Mills, 1890-1950” Author: Kathleen Curtis Wilson While it is not about quilting, this article provides revealing background information on industrialized production of woven coverlets during the first half of the twentieth century. In particular, the use of clever marketing techniques and the influence of those techniques on the buying public. Interestingly enough, there is an unintended parallel, to some degree, to the later development of the fallacious but widespread belief system regarding quilts and the underground railroad which was established by the book Hidden in Plain View (HIPV). It makes for some very interesting reading. Wilson begins her report noting that the company, the Clinch Valley Blanket Mills, “served as model of clever marketing, crafts revival, and quality workmanship” and that its “story reveals an interesting aspect of the Arts and Crafts Revival in Southern Appalachia.” Notably, the owners, “the Goodwin family capitalized on the demand for colonial style textiles to successfully sell products in distinctly different markets, influencing the public’s attitude toward Appalachian weaving for over sixty years.” [p. 169] Wilson takes time to explain and describe economic and cultural conditions in the region during the time this company was functioning. It took place in an “extremely remote and rural” area of the American Southern Highlands. Communities were very small, oftentimes with fewer than 2,500 people. Education was minimal and good paying jobs were not commonly available. Hand quilting, spinning, dyeing, and weaving of most domestic textiles including woven coverlets were done at home. As Wilson notes, “Coverlet weaving was an art expression that took considerable time and talent to accomplish and Appalachian women never stopped weaving for their families, as did women in other parts of the country.” [p. 170; Wilson cites her sources of information and research funding with this statement.] By way of explaining why this weaving activity among Appalachian women was not commonly known and reported upon, Wilson posits that because weaving was not a social activity, editors of popular magazines and journals were not interested in publishing articles about coverlet weaving. [p. 171] Helpfully, Wilson also discusses the development of the Arts and Crafts movement in Appalachia. She drops names like “social reformers and surveyors…John C. and Edith Dame Campbell and Allen Eaton” who “worked for the Russell Sage Foundation, founded in 1909 and instrumental in supporting the development of an indigenous Arts and Crafts movement in Appalachia” which defined the mountain crafts revival and developed sales markets beyond the local level.” [p. 171] Wilson asserts that it was this activity that “generated interest in and sales of ‘Colonial Reproduction’ coverlets, products which became the foundation of the Clinch Valley Blanket Mills and the communities that supported and relied upon the mills for economic and social support for approximately sixty years. What follows is a fascinating tale of how the blanket mill became a remarkable success story using textile production expertise as well as perceptive and intuitive marketing prowess within a family which included father and four sons as well as sisters and wives. They did it all in a hands-on, hard-work manner working alongside their neighbors, friends, and employees during an international economic depression and world war. In the process they provided work for people who had very little else to rely upon. They supported their local communities in ways outsiders could not or would not. There is also note taken of fact that there was significant deception involved in their marketing, or as Wilson says, “…the mill’s marketing distracted the buying public.” [p. 194] Wilson explains and describes how this came about noting, “while marketing colonial-style coverlets was based on nostalgia, much of [what was marketed as hand] weaving had become factory production.” [p. 197] Where I believe Wilson’s thesis intersects with our more recent HIPV controversy is her statement that, “The Goodwin family members successfully sold their products in distinctly different markets and influenced the attitude many ‘outlanders’ still have toward Virginia mountain weavers. Their innate marketing skill was masterful and, at times, deceptive; but successful marketing, then and now, is based on perception.” So it was with codes in the quilts, a myth we are still trying to debunk. There are good black and white images to illustrate woven coverlet patterns and a generous endnotes section at the end of this report. I recommend it to everyone even if you have only a glancing interest in woven coverlets. Best wishes and safe travels. See y’all in Maine at Seminar.

Quilt History Snippets August 2025

August 13, 2025
What: Review of Uncoverings 1994, Volume 15 of the Research Papers of the American Quilt Study Group, edited by Virginia Gunn Topic: “Kit Quilts in Perspective” Author: Anne Copeland and Beverly Dunivent Copeland and Dunivent, from the outset, declare their intent to dispel the “negative images” imposed upon the role of kit quilts in the history of American quiltmaking. Indeed, they declare, “Documented examples illustrate that kit quilts have never lost their appeal to quiltmakers and quilt viewers.” Furthermore, they claim that “kits seem to have played a more instrumental role in the entire quilt revival and the continued interest in quiltmaking than has been previously recognized.” [p. 141] And, they suggest the evidence suggests that kits “have been in existence since the turn of the century.” [p. 142] Their source for this declaration is Quilters Hall of Fame inductee, Cuesta Benberry. Given that information they then note that in the 1920s and 1930s the characteristics of kit quilts that most of us are familiar with became standardized. There follows descriptions of the range of styles, materials, and markings commonly found in manufactured kits. These included stamped fabrics representing the various parts and pieces, die-cut parts and pieces, embroidered kits, and trapunto-style whole-cloth kits. [p. 142-144] Some commentators are quoted declaring the “uncreative aspects of quilt kits.” [p. 145-147] Among these were contemporary art historians Penny McMorris and Michael Kile, and New York quilt dealers Thomas K. Woodard and Blanche Greenstein. The involvement of Dorothymae and Harold Groves, “prominent” Kansas City, MO, dealers” and publishers of quilt patterns and quilt show organizers, is briefly mentioned. [p. 147] The Groves’s involvement over many years of our contemporary quilt revival deserves more research and reporting. It was significant, particularly in the geographic and culturally broad middle America. One aspect of the popularity of kit quilts I’d not thought about is that the production of the kits “represented twentieth-century technology during a time in our culture when the assembly line was popular and there was little prejudice against repetitiveness.” Furthermore, some kit quilt patterns were described and published in commercial print materials like the book Great American Quilts and popular magazines. [p. 148] Designers and sources of quilt patterns and materials are listed and described in detail along with dates, locations, and their company histories. There are names you will recognize and some you may not have known about. Also, there is discussion about how kit quilts served as a training ground for beginner quilters. This would have been a previously unacknowledged, but significant contribution to the continuation of the quilt-making activities among American women across all classes into and through the twentieth century. It seems possible that quilt kits contributed significantly to the democratization of quilt-making in America in an era when nineteenth century practices were fading or being lost to modern women for whom homemaking was no longer the primary focus of their daily lives, especially during and after WWII in mid-century. This is a thought-provoking and resource rich article that should be on all reference lists for quilt historians. I hope you enjoy reading it and learning as much from it as I did.
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