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Contest Kit Quilt

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QUILT INDEX RECORD

33-29-61

Description of quilt:

Chicago World's Fair kit (one of two)

Essay:

The 1933 Sears National Quilt Contest was announced in January 1933 with a deadline of May 15, 1933. Over 24,000 quilts were entered at local Sears stores or sent to one of 10 regional mail order houses. Quilts were judged at each site with the top three winners moving onto the next round. Finally just 30 quilts reached the final judging held at the Sears Pavilion on the 1933 Chicago World's Fair site. This quilt was not entered in the contest. Instead, it was made AFTER the contest with a quilt kit purchased at the 1933 Fair. See #066 and for another quilt made from the same kit. This quilt top came directly from the collection of Sandra Mitchell, an Ohio Quilt Dealer who passed away in 2000. Other quilts in this kit surely will show up. It is interesting to note that the only official quilt souvenir of the 1933 Chicago World's Fair that we know of is this kit. Cora Tussing (#066) reported buying the quilt kit at the Fair, not necessarily at the Sears Pavilion. The symbolism represented in this quilt design-- At the center is Fort Dearborn, below the fort is the Chicago skyline, hovering over the fort is an eagle and seal; in the upper left is a log cabin and in the bottom right is the Travel & Transport Building, the first pavilion built on the Fair site. In the upper right is a covered wagon and team; in the bottom left is an airplane. Represented are the changes in architecture over 100 years and the advances in transportation.

Where are the records for this quilt housed?

Merikay Waldvogel Legacy Project

Who documented this quilt?

Merikay Waldvogel Legacy Project; Sears Quilt Contest 1933 Chicago World's Fair

Merikay Waldvogel Legacy Project Number:

211

Person filling out this form is:

Quilt owner

Choose the best description of the source to the quilt:

Quilt owner

If you are the quilt owner, how did you acquire this quilt?

Purchased the quilt

Describe the relationship to the quilt's maker:

See www.illinoisqulithistory.com

Who helped you fill out the form?

Waldvogel

This is a:

Quilt top with unfinished edge

Quilt's title:

Contest Kit Quilt

How wide is the quilt?

88 inches

How long is the quilt?

96 inches

What color is the quilt?

Blue or Navy; Brown; Green; White; Yellow

Overall color scheme:

Bright or primary colors

Type of inscription:

Date

What is inscribed on the quilt?

1833 to 1933

Method used to make the inscription:

Other

Describe the method used to inscribe the quilt:

Applique

Time period:

1930-1949

When was the quilt started?

1933

Further information concerning dates:

This quilt could only have been made after the summer of 1933.

Describe the quilt's layout:

Medallion or framed center

Subject of the quilt:

Century of Progress

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:

Machine Piecing

Applique techniques used to make the quilt top:

Hand Applique

Embellishment techniques used to make the quilt top:

Embroidery

Describe the quilting designs used:

This piece is not quilted.

Where the quilt was made, country:

United States

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

Quilt top came directly from the Collection of Sandra Mitchell Ohio Quilt Dealer and Folk Art Collector who passed away in 2000. The quilt owner, Susan Wildemuth, purchased it from Barbara Lemme of sign of the Whale Antiques, Glen Ellyn, Illinois.

Describe the sources of the quilt's materials:

Kit included the fabrics

Where did the maker find their pattern?

Commercial/Published source: Kit

Commercial name of the pattern for the top:

No information on the manufacturer of the kit

Where did the quiltmaker find the pattern for the quilting design on the quilt?

Kit

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

The manufacturer of this quilt kit remains a mystery. However, the owner found in between a seam on the back side of this quilt top--the following words stamped in orange ink: "No. 3320 Century of Progress Quilt." According to the owner, there is more writing after that, but it is barely visible. This quilt kit could be Wurzburg, Buettner, Virginia Snow Studios or an unknown manufacturer. If you recognize this quilt kit and/or its manufacturer please notify the Quilt Index staff.

Related items such as diaries, obituaries, wills, household inventories, or pictures of the quiltmaker:

Two other quilt kits in this same design are in museum collections: American Museum of Folk Art (see Glorious American Quilts, p. 107) and the Western Heritage Museum (formerly the Gene Autry Museum) in Riverside, CA. Another one is in a private collection.

Ownership of this quilt is:

Private

Quilt owner's country:

United States

Quiltmaker's country:

United States

Who photographed this quilt?

Susan Wildemuth

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

Copyright holder:

Susan Wildemuth

Cite this Quilt

Contest Kit Quilt. 1930-1949. From Merikay Waldvogel Legacy Project, Merikay Waldvogel Legacy Project; Sears Quilt Contest 1933 Chicago World's Fair. Published in The Quilt Index, https://quiltindex.org/view/?type=fullrec&kid=33-29-61. Accessed: 03/29/24

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