QUILT INDEX RECORD

33-29-62

Description of quilt:

Atlanta Regional First Prize Winner

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 by Susie Combs of Beattyville, KY won first place in the Atlanta region with a Star of France pattern designed by Hubert Ver Mehren of Des Moines, Iowa. A year before the contest was announced Ver Mehren put out a booklet named Colonial Quilts which contained a number of large center medallion pieced quilt patterns. They were also available as kits. Judges were dazzled by the color shadings and the intricate designs. The first placed winning quilt in the Philadelphia was also a Hubert Ver Mehren design.

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:

012

Person filling out this form is:

Niece of quiltmaker

When was the form filled out?

February 1992

Choose the best description of the source to the quilt:

Other

Who helped you fill out the form?

Barbara Brackman

This is a:

Finished quilt

Quilt's title:

Star of France

How long is the quilt?

What color is the quilt?

Cream; Gold; Yellow

Overall color scheme:

Bright or primary colors

Time period:

1930-1949

When was the quilt finished?

1933

Further information concerning dates:

Pattern first appeared in 1932.

Describe the quilt's layout:

Medallion or framed center

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:

Hand Piecing

How are the layers held together?

Hand quilting

Quilting designs used, overall motifs:

Grid diamond; Outline

Quilting designs used, decorative motifs:

Wreaths

Quilting designs used, background fills:

Grid/crosshatch

Quilt top made by:

Combs, Susie

Quilted by:

Combs, Susie

Where the quilt was made, city:

Pebworth

Where the quilt was made, state:

Kentucky (KY)

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:

According to the quiltmaker's niece, the quilt went for $250 two or three years after the Fair. Since it was made from the same fabrics and with the same shades of yellow and gold, this Star of France quilt by Susie Combs would be hard to distinguish from other Star of France quilts made in the 1930s.

Why was the quilt made?

Challenge or Contest entry

Quilt is presently used as:

Unknown

Where did the maker get their materials?

Purchased new

Where did the maker find their pattern?

Commercial/Published source: Pattern; Commercial/Published source: Kit

Commercial name of the pattern for the top:

Home Art Co. pattern by Hubert Ver Mehren

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:

Susie Combs probably used the kit and maybe the perforated quilting design. It is impossible to tell from the b/w photos of the quilt on display in 1934. Here is the description of the quilt in Colonial Quilts booklet: Beautiful Star of France Quilt This beautiful quilt originated as a reproduction of the Military Decoration of France, from which it takes its name. It is a full size quilt measuring 84" x 84", when completed. It is worked up in four shades of yellow or may be worked up in four shades of orchid, blue or pink. Order: No. 151. All materials for top of quilt stamped, ready to cut and join together. Best quality sateen in four shades of yellow, blue, pink or orchid. $5.95. State color wanted. Complete Cutting Guide, perforated quilting design, stamping power and color chart. Order: No. 151A $1.00. The quilt was also illustrated in newspapers nationwide when the booklet was advertised in late 1932 and early 1933. Here is the description which varies only slightly from the text in the Colonial Quilts booklet: Star of France Quilt Pattern This gorgeous quilt received its inception from the military decoration that Napoleon pinned on the breast of the heroes of France. This is a full-sized quilt measuring when completed, 84 by 84 inches and is usually made up in four shades of yellow sateen with a cream colored backgorund. This pattern can also be made up in four shades of orchid, blue or pink. A true cutting guide gives you full directions as to the color scheme and the number of pieces to cut for each color. Seams are allowed on all patterns. Quilting design No. 151Q known as the Royal French Peasant design, is recommended for use with the Star of France quilt. The pattern stamped for tracing, 10 cents each, or a perforated pattern, 50 cents. The border quilting design, No. 151QB, tracing pattern, 10 cents, perforated pattern, 20 cents. A 32-page book, showing in colors a variety of designs for quilts, patch work, embroidery, etc., is available to readers. The two patterns, or any other published in [newspaper name] will be sent free with the booklet, which is 25 cents. Single patterns are 10 cents each, three for 25 cents. Inclose clipping of design wanted when ordering. Send letter and coin to [newspaper name] Needle Art Department, 609 South Paulina Street, Chicago, Ill.

Exhibitions where this quilt was displayed:

Atlanta Regional Round, Sears National Quilt Contest in mid May 1933. Exhibited at the Sears Pavilion at the Chicago World's Fair in Summer 1933. Exhibited at the Sears Pavilion at the Chicago World's Fair in Summer 1934.

Contests entered:

Sears Quilt Contest, 1933 Chicago World's Fair.

Publications (including web sites) where this quilt or maker was featured:

Merikay Waldvogel and Barbara Brackman. Patchwork Souvenirs of the 1933 World's Fair (Nashville, TN: Rutledge Hill Press, 1993), 42., 57, 58, 97, 108, 110.

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

A b/w photo of the quilt on display at the Sears Pavilion in Summer 1934 is on pg. 97. See Colonial Quilts booklet, p See 1982 Quilt Engagement Calendar, Plate 36 for a color photo of a quilt in the same pattern although it is mis-identified as "Desert Star."

Quilt owner's country:

United States

Quiltmaker's maiden name:

Jackson

Quiltmaker's gender:

Female

Quiltmaker's birth date:

1904

In which kind of environment did the quiltmaker live?

Rural

Quiltmaker's spouse's/spouses' and /or partner's/partners' name(s):

Combs, Dale

Quiltmaker's city:

Pebworth

Quiltmaker's state:

Kentucky (KY)

Quiltmaker's country:

United States

Estimated number of quilts made by this quiltmaker:

20-50 quilts

Does/did the quiltmaker sell quilts?

yes

Access and copyright information:

Restricted