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Philadelphia Pavements (Doris); Philadelphia Pavements #1; Trip Around the World

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QUILT INDEX RECORD

18-14-80

Description:

This is one of a pair of postage-stamp pieced cotton quilts Gasperik made in the Trip Around the World pattern. See also #037. Although it was pieced in the 1930s by Mary Gasperik, it was quilted by Amish quilters in Pennsylvania in 1971 after her death.

Essay:

Pieced patterns were not Mary Gasperik's favorite quilt style, but she might have been inspired when she saw the popularity of this pattern at Detroit News shows she attended in the 1930s. When Gasperik attended her first Detroit Quilt show, in October 1935, a quilt made by Mrs. Cordelia Reed received much acclaim and attention. Mrs. Reed had pieced a Trip Around the World quilt as blocks rather than as a single medallion. A photograph of that quilt, showing Mrs. Reed putting the finishing touches on its quilting, was published in the September 20 Detroit News, (page 41). At the Detroit News quilt show a month later there was so much discussion of the Reed quilt that its maker sent the following letter to The Detroit News, published in the December 21, 1935 newspaper on page 11. “MY DEAR MISS CRUMB AND ALL OF THE QUILT CLUB MEMBERS: I thought I would write as I feel I am quite far away from all of you. I am sure you will remember me. I am the white-haired old lady that stood by a quilt that had many thousand pieces in it and heard what many folks said about the person that would piece such a quilt. One would wonder who would do it and another would say that it was made by someone who has nothing else to do and another would say that someone who was crippled had pieced that one. Now I am telling you, dear ones, that I am not crippled and I do a lot of other work besides making quilts. Now I am piecing another one. I have missed my paper since I have been down here and am wondering how L.D. and Upsy are coming on. I am on top of Cain Creek Mountain and do not hear the program, but will be back home by Christmas. Mrs. Cordelia Reed, 23424 Easterling Ave., Hazel Park, Mich.” Edith Crumb’s published reply reads, in part, “…I know that she enjoyed making her quilt and that she is having lots of fun making another one. We had her picture in the paper on September 20, showing her taking a few finishing stitches on her Trip Around the World Quilt. It was made of very little blocks and arranged so that there were many trips in it instead of one large pattern.”

That is also the way Gasperik chose to piece her own two versions of Trip Around the World (#005 and #037). Salser believes this newspaper column explains why Gasperik designed her two Trip Around the World quilts as mini blocks: she used Mrs. Reed’s piecing idea because it had received attention and acclaim at the quilt show. Making a quilt of thousands of tiny square pieces was, Gasperik saw, much admired. It is no surprise that she would make her own version of this popular pattern. Although die-cut Trip Around the World quilt kits were offered by a number of needlework supply and pattern companies at this time, Gasperik appears to have selected, cut, and arranged her own fabric choices. The solid colors and surrounding border of color-coordinated print fabric in the center of each block are not unusual choices. But the next border, using a black on white print is a very unusual choice, as are the subsequent borders of color print on white, bright yellow print and solid green. These three borders are not color coordinated with the solid orange, yellow, green, blue, pink and lavender of the blocks' centers. Although Gasperik may have borrowed from the Reed quilt the idea to piece mini-blocks, she combined and arranged the border colors in her Trip Around the World in an original and striking way.

Where are the records for this quilt housed?

Mary Gasperik Legacy Project

Who documented this quilt?

Mary Gasperik Private Collection

Gasperik Legacy Project Number:

005

This is a:

Finished quilt

Quilt's title:

Philadelphia Pavements (Doris)

Owner's name for quilt:

Philadelphia Pavements #1

Names for quilt's pattern in common use:

Trip Around the World

How wide is the quilt?

76 inches

How long is the quilt?

89 inches

Shape of edge:

Straight

Shape of corners:

Straight

What color is the quilt?

Blue or Navy; Gold; Green; Lavender; Orange; Pink; White

Overall color scheme:

Multicolor

Quilt's condition:

Excellent/like new

Time period:

1930-1949

When was the quilt started?

1933

When was the quilt finished?

1971

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

1935

Who estimated the quilt's date?

Merikay Waldvogel

Further information concerning dates:

Based on quilt fabrics and pattern--typical 1930s.

Describe the quilt's layout:

Block pattern

Number of quilt blocks:

42

Arrangement of quilt blocks:

Straight

What is the shape of the quilt blocks?

Squares

Number of borders:

One

Describe the borders:

One gold border on all four sides.

Fiber types used to make the quilt top:

Cotton

Fabric styles used in the quilt top:

Print; Solid/plain

Piecing techniques used to make the quilt top:

Hand Piecing

Materials used to make the back:

Cotton or polyester blend

What color is the back of the quilt?

Gold

Describe the back:

Solid/plain

Materials used in the quilt binding:

Cotton or polyester blend

Fabric structure of the binding:

Plain weave

How is the binding made?

Back turned to front

What is the width of the binding (measure on the top only)?

half inch - one inch

What kind of filling is used in the quilt?

Polyester

How are the layers held together?

Hand quilting

Color of thread used in the quilting:

gold

Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 1:

7

Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 2:

8

Quilting designs used, overall motifs:

Patches outlined/in the ditch

Quilting designs used, decorative motifs:

Cables

Describe the quilting designs used:

The pieced top is appliqued to the gold border. Note: The binding, backing and quiltING were not done by Gasperik but by residents of the E. M. Home in Souderton PA in 1971-2, several years after Gasperik died. This (and quilt #037 - its twin) are the only surviving Gasperik quilts which were NOT quilted by their maker. Gasperik's daughter Elsie thought this the best way to preserve the two completed tops.

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

When placed side by side with Philadelphia Pavements #2, the opposing directions of the diagonal sweep of each quilt creates a chevron design.

Note: the quilt's binding, backing and quiltING were not done by Gasperik, but by outside quilters after her death.

Quilt top made by:

Gasperik, Mary

Quilted by:

Amish, Quilters

Where the quilt was made, city:

Chicago

Where the quilt was made, county:

Cook County

Where the quilt was made, state:

Illinois (IL)

Where the quilt was made, country:

United States

How was this quilt acquired?

Inheritance

Tell the story of how the quilt was obtained:

Selected by Doris Gasperik during a division of Gasperik quilts after Mary died.

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

Maker's daughter, Elsie Krueger, arranged to have two Philadelphia Pavements quilt tops made by her mother quilted after Gasperik's death. Elsie decided to do this because her mother's piecing was complete, and the quilting was likely to be simple and straightforward. Selected by daughter Elsie during a division of quilts after Gasperik died in 1969 and after the Pennsylvania quilters completed the two tops. This probably happened in 1972. Elsie's sister-in-law Doris Gasperik selected the second Pennsylvania-completed Gasperik quilt.

Why was the quilt made?

Home decoration

The quilt was made to be used for:

Bedding, daily use

Quilt is presently used as:

Keepsake/memento

Describe present uses of the quilt:

Mary's grandchildren regard her quilts as a unique collection to be preserved and appreciated.

Where did the maker get their materials?

Purchased new

Where did the maker find their pattern?

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

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

Unknown

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

Trip Around the World (also known as Postage Stamp) quilts were popular at the time. She might have been inspired by a quilt she saw possibly at the Detroit News quilt show.

Exhibitions where this quilt was displayed:

Note: this quilt was not exhibited in The Quilts of Mary Gasperik at the Ravenswood Historic Site, Livermore, California March 14-15, 1992.

Contests entered:

Even though this quilt remained a quilt top in Gasperik's lifetime, it could have been entered in a Detroit show. The show's director, Edith B. Crumb, encouraged Detroit Quilt Club Corner members to enter quilt TOPS in its shows. In theory, #037 and its mate #005 might have hung in the very first such contest Gasperik participated in (October 1935), but it is more likely they would have been exhibited during Gasperik's second visit to Detroit (April 1937).

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

Merikay Waldvogel and Barbara Brackman. Patchwork Souvenirs of the 1933 Chicago World's Fair, (Nashville, TN: Rutledge Hill Press, 1993)102-103.

Merikay Waldvogel "One American Dream Comes True", Quilters Newsletter Magazine, March 2008, 46-49.

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

Sept. 28, 1971 letter and receipt from Mrs. Lizzie Yothers regarding Elsie Gasperik Krueger hiring Souderton, PA, E.M. Home quilters to finish and quilt the Gasperik top. For one top the charge was $75 (Binding $6, Lining $11, Dacron $8 and quilting $50). The second Philadelphia Pavements top was completed by the same quilting group later in 1971 (or early in 1972).

The Detroit News, December 12, 1935, p. 12 letter to Quilt Club Corner from Mrs. Cordelia Reed, regarding the Trip Around the World quilt she exhibited at the October quilt show, and Edith B. Crumb's reply to that letter.

Ownership of this quilt is:

Private

Quilt owner's name:

Elmer Gasperik heirs - Kathy Jacob contact

Quilt owner's country:

United States

Person filling out this form is:

Relative of quiltmaker; Author/researcher

If you are a relative of the quiltmaker, how are you related? The quiltmaker is my:

Grandmother

Describe the relationship to the quilt's maker:

Grand-daughter Susan Salser began this research effort in 1991, after she and her two sisters divided up the quilts which belonged to their mother (Elsie Gasperik Krueger) who died in 1988. Her ongoing research has been fruitful and interesting.

Quiltmaker's maiden name:

Mihalovits, Maria

Quiltmaker's gender:

Female

Quiltmaker's birth date:

01/25/1888

Quiltmaker's birthplace, country:

Hungary

Quiltmaker's date of death:

05/25/1969

Quiltmaker's ethnic background/tribal affiliation:

Hungarian

Quiltmaker's educational background:

Elementary School

In which kind of environment did the quiltmaker live?

Rural

Quiltmaker's city:

Chicago

Quiltmaker's county:

Cook

Quiltmaker's state:

Illinois (IL)

Quiltmaker's country:

United States

Quiltmaker's father's name:

Mihalovits, Istvan

Quiltmaker's father's birthplace:

Hungary

Quiltmaker's father's ethnic/tribal background:

Hungarian

Quiltmaker's mother's name:

Mihalovits, Vidoszava

Quiltmaker's mother's birthplace:

Hungary

Quiltmaker's mother's ethnic/tribal background:

Hungarian

Quiltmaker's spouse's/spouses' and/or partner's/partners' ethnic/tribal background:

Hungarian

Quiltmaker's spouse's/spouses' and/or partner's/partners' occupation:

Milk Dealer/Grocery Store Owner/Butcher

Number of children:

3

How many of the quiltmaker's children were girls?

1 (Elsie 1909-1988)

How many of the quiltmaker's children were boys?

2 (Elmer and Stephen)

How did the quiltmaker learn to quilt?

From guild or club member; Self-Taught

When did the quiltmaker learn to quilt?

Age 40-49

Why does the quiltmaker quilt?

Pleasure; Other

Other notes on how the quiltmaker learned, and how and why they quilt:

Mary Gasperik made quilts because it was her life passion and greatest talent. As opportunities arose, she entered contests and exhibited them publicly. She also made special quilts for her family.

Does/did the quiltmaker belong to a group? Name of the group?

Tuley Park Quilt Club and Detroit News Quilt Club

Does/did the quiltmaker belong to a group?

Chicago IL and Detroit MI

What are the main activities of the group?

Chicago group met to quilt and held periodic quilt shows; Detroit group held national exhibits and contests.

Estimated number of quilts made by this quiltmaker:

more than 50

Does/did the quiltmaker sell quilts?

no

Does/did the quiltmaker teach quilting?

no

Who photographed this quilt?

Don Gonzalez

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

Copyright holder:

Hank Finn

Cite this Quilt

Gasperik, Mar. Philadelphia Pavements (Doris). 1971. From Mary Gasperik Legacy Project, Mary Gasperik Private Collection. Published in The Quilt Index, https://quiltindex.org/view/?type=fullrec&kid=18-14-80. Accessed: 03/29/24

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