QUILT INDEX RECORD

2-33-45

Where are the records for this quilt housed?

Signature Quilt Pilot Project

Who documented this quilt?

Signature Quilt Project Public Submission

This is a:

Finished quilt

Quilt's title:

1888 Redwork Signature Quilt

Names for quilt's pattern in common use:

Signature

How wide is the quilt?

65 inches

How long is the quilt?

77 inches

What color is the quilt?

Red; White

Type of inscription:

Date; Multiple Names; Place; Other

Describe the type of inscription:

Some descriptions of military service and the church officials

What is inscribed on the quilt?

This section will be updated as time permits. In the meantime, the full list of names can be found at ancestry.com under Montgomery Co. in Indiana if you search for "quilt" in the archives. BLOCK 1A

What is the date inscribed on the quilt?

1888

Method used to make the inscription:

Embroidery

Location of inscription:

on block

Time period:

1876-1900

Date estimated by an antique dealer, quilt historian or appraiser:

1888

Further information concerning dates:

Inscribed on several blocks; Block 2A has a complete date of June 20, 1988.

Describe the quilt's layout:

Block pattern

Fiber types used to make the quilt top:

Cotton

Fabric styles used in the quilt top:

Solid/plain

Piecing techniques used to make the quilt top:

Other Piecing

Embellishment techniques used to make the quilt top:

Embroidery

Features or notes about the quilt's appearance, materials, or construction:

Appears to have been constructed in a quilt-as-you-go manner. The redwork outline of each block's design goes through to the back of the quilt. The signatures, also done in red embroidery, do not appear on the back.

Quilt top made by:

Unknown, Quiltmaker

Describe anything about the history of the quilt that wasn't already recorded in a previous field:

Purchased from a dealer because of potential family connection. How the quilt came to be made and how it came to be in the marketplace are not known. The quilt had been partially researched online prior to my purchase of it. (See ancestry.com's archives for Montgomery Co., Indiana.) I have spent much time on it since then but have not yet uncovered its story.

Why was the quilt made?

Unknown

Describe the source of the pattern:

Unknown

Describe anything about the design of the quilt that wasn't already recorded in a previous field:

The primary research questions: 1. Who made this quilt? 2. Was the quilt a fundraiser and, if so, for what cause? If not, why was it made? The quilt has binding that is quite frayed and some of the embroidery is broken. This condition begs the question of its ownership over the past 120 years or so.

Quilt owner's name:

Patricia Essex

Quilt owner's city:

Bowling Green

Quilt owner's country:

United States

Description of quilt:

Some 840 names appear on this 42-block quilt. No central focus block appears. The quilt seems to have originated in central Indiana with some names coming from Kansas, Illinois, and Ohio.

Who photographed this quilt?

Patricia Essex

Access and copyright information:

Restricted