Quilt History Snippets May 2025

 
Kathy Moore

Quilt History Snippets May 2025


What:     Review of Uncoverings 1994, Volume 15 of the Research Papers of the American Quilt Study Group, edited by Virginia Gunn

Topic:      “Mildred Dickerson: A Quilt Pattern Collector of the 1960s and 1970s”

Author:    Merikay Waldvogel

 

In 1992 author Merikay Waldvogel purchased a vast collection of thousands of quilt patterns – “originals, copies, tracings, and photocopies” – all of which was collected and catalogued by Mildred Dickerson, nee Mildred Marie Blackerby, born in 1920 in Bessemer, Alabama. Included in the collection were “complete (or nearly complete) sets of most quilt pattern lines printed in the United States as well as magazine articles, newspaper clippings, catalogs, and books pertaining to quilts published between 1900 and 1990.” From this vast “thirty-year collection” that filled 120 file boxes” Waldvogel was able to gain “insight into the motivations, goals, and methods of quilt pattern collectors of the 1960s and 1970s.” As Waldvogel notes, it was “an era before quilt guilds, exhibits, and publications provided easy access to new patterns.” [pp. 44-45] This is a point that is very important for understanding the lead-up to the quilt revival and the field of quilt history scholarship most of us have been participating in ever since.

 

Waldvogel names the names of Dickerson’s contemporary collaborators and collectors. She describes the development of a dedicated network of collectors and their interests and motivations. There were many letters between these collectors that included personal information as well as hobby interests and ideas.

 

One aspect of her findings is included in her discussions of “round robins”. It was similar to chain letter clubs between members who joined and agreed to follow the rules and share “good patterns” they would mail to each other on a specific schedule. In a time when patterns and pattern books were not readily available, this was a way for dedicated quilt pattern collectors to increase their store of inspirational material. Or, as Louise Howey of Lincoln, Nebraska, is quoted as saying, “We were poor. We were just coming out of the Depression. We didn’t buy quilt books in those days. They weren’t available. The round robins were a cheap way of getting patterns.” [p. 55] Side note: I had the privilege of making Louise Howey’s acquaintance when I lived in Lincoln some years ago. She was still a lively and enthusiastic quiltmaker and supporter of quilt scholarship in the late 1990s and early 2000s. I can easily see her participating in this hobby.

 

The round robins were organized by an individual like Mildred, who collected a list of interested members by placing an advertisement in a magazine. “When she received sufficient names and addresses, she sent a pattern to the second person on the list. That person took out the pattern, made a copy, returned it to the envelope along with a pattern from her own collection, and mailed all to the third person on the list, who repeated the process. When the package returned to person number one (the sponsor), she removed her pattern, added new material, reviewed all the other entries making copies, if necessary, returned them to the envelope, and sent the packet on to person number two.” [p. 55] It sounds very time consuming and laborious, but that aspect speaks to the “market demand” for quilt patterns in those post-war years before the quilt revival and the development of the quilting industry that we now have. It is also important to note, as Claudine Moffatt reported, “in the 1960s copyrights were good for no more than twenty-eight years.” [p. 63] That was a benefit for a small group of enthusiasts who were publishing patterns and related information in their “hobby papers.” [p. 62] The development of quilting magazines and their publishers is well described, and names are dropped.

 

This report is full of interesting details and information about the quilt pattern collectors and their influence on the quilting revival of the late twentieth century that they helped fuel. And it is a gem and a treasure trove of information. Most notably, as Waldvogel notes, “The women who appear throughout Mildred Dickerson’s letters and files kept the embers of the quilt revival of the 1930s burning.” [p. 69]

 

I cannot recommend this article enough. Thank you, Merikay for sharing it with us.

Read it and enjoy.

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Quilt History Snippets June 2025

June 4, 2025
What: Review of Uncoverings 1994, Volume 15 of the Research Papers of the American Quilt Study Group , edited by Virginia Gunn Topic: “An Album of Baltimore Album Quilt Studies” Author: Jennifer F. Goldsborough As a participant in “planning the 1994 exhibition of its Baltimore album quilt collection,” Goldsborough we able to participate in and observe at the ground level the study and process leading up to the Lavish Legacies exhibition. Goldsborough’s paper “delineates the methodology of the study and the contributions of several sorts of historians, conservators and contemporary quilters as well as discussing the most important findings and conclusions.” [p. 73] Goldsborough spends some time describing Baltimore album quilts, their creative history, and their distinguishing characteristics. The details are specific and a good primer for newcomers to the story of Baltimore quilts. Dr. William Rush Dunton, Jr.’s contribution to the story of the revelation of Baltimore album quilts in the twentieth century is credited and an important point that cannot be dismissed. Likewise, Dena Katzenberg’s catalogue and exhibition of these quilts which traveled across the country between 1980 and 1982 is given its due. [p. 76] Goldsborough details her personal research process and activities which began when “the Maryland Historical Society committed to a study and exhibition of the Baltimore album quilts in its collection” for the 1994 exhibition season. [p. 77] This is well described and a good guide for all of us as we try to do our own quilt research. Central to her process was the ability to collate information from hundreds of Baltimore quilt images and sort them into groups which she then organized according to relative complexity and sophistication. [p. 77] From this process Goldsborough developed three conclusions which she describes on page 78. Goldsborough describes the work of previous scholarship in defining specific designers of Baltimore quilt blocks and their specific characteristics. She then begins to detail the questions the team sought to answer or clarify in their pre-exhibition research. It was a bit like peeling the layers of an onion from the nineteenth century and is very informative for us in our own research processes. Her insightful and thorough summary on page 105 is long, detailed, and multidisciplinary in its approach. Finally, Goldsborough’s observations of the creative process in the designing and making of a Baltimore Album raffle quilt provided her opportunities to compare and contrast her conclusions and assumptions about the making of the original Baltimore Album quilts. She identifies herself as an outside observer and her descriptions of this process are equally interesting and insightful. It is striking that she was “reinforced” in her “belief that it is risky to interpret a quilt’s symbolic and emotional content without a sure record of the maker’s own deepest thoughts and feelings.” That’s a lesson we all can take to heart as we do our own research and reporting. [p. 108] This is a valuable source and guide for anyone interested in quilt history and in researching a quilt or a group of quilts. The notes and references section should be a good guide for anyone wanting to do their own research on any quilt(s).

Quilt History Snippets - April 2025

April 9, 2025
What: Review of Uncoverings 1994, Volume 15 of the Research Papers of the American Quilt Study Group, edited by Virginia Gunn Topic: “Aesthetics and Ethnicity: Scotch-Irish Quilts in West Virginia” Author: Fawn Valentine

Quilt History Snippets - March 2025

By Kathy Moore • March 6, 2025
What: Review of Uncoverings 1993, Volume 14 of the Research Papers of the American Quilt Study Group, edited by Laurel Horton Topic: “Prizes from the Plains: Nebraska State Fair Award-Winning Quilts and Quiltmakers” Author: Mary Jane Furgason and Patricia Cox Crews You may recognize the name of one of these authors. During her academic career at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Patricia Cox Crews was a faculty member in the department of Textiles, Clothing and Design, was at the center of organizational events developing the International Quilt Study Center and Museum (IQSCM) – now known as the International Quilt Museum, and she served as the first Director of the IQSCM. Her scholarly work stands on the authority of her lifetime of scholarship in textile research and reporting. Additionally, Crews was a co-author of the book, Nebraska Quilts and Quiltmakers, based on the results of that state’s documentation project conducted from 1987 to 1989. This article presents the results of extensive analysis of the records of the Nebraska State Fair. Using a scholarly approach to the information they applied a material culture approach to data that was collected from Fair entries and premium offerings. The stated goal was to better understand the cultural impact of quiltmaking on the state. [p.188] The authors found that their study of the premiums offered at the State Fair “reflected economic and social changes within the state” with the rise and fall of premiums as well as “inequities based on gender.” [p.188] Combined with information from almost three thousand quilts documented by the state documentation project the authors were able to add information on the levels of education, economic status, aesthetic design preferences – even ethnic heritages of Nebraska quiltmakers. [p. 189] This very thorough report on Nebraska quiltmaking practices and those of the State Fair’s naming of categories and awarding of premiums, while it may not reveal unexpected surprises, validates economic and cultural changes over the decades in other areas of Nebraskan and American history from the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. For those interested in the growth and development as well and the influences of State Fairs this report and its extensive Endnotes section should be a source of authoritative scholarly information. If you don’t have a copy of this issue of Uncoverings, you can access it at https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/aqsg or on the Quilt Index database at the AQSG collection link.
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