QUILT INDEX RECORD

33-29-29

Description of quilt:

This quilt depicting a bird's eye view of the 1933 Chicago World's Fair was designed by a man. It did not win a prize.

Essay:

Leading up to the Patchwork Souvenirs exhibition and book, Brackman and Waldvogel were eager to find this quilt that they had seen only in a b/w photo in the Sears Archives. Using a microscope, they could easily read the entry tag attached to the bottom right corner of the quilt in the b/w photo. Waldvogel embarked on a genealogical search for any evidence of Mrs. Louise Rowley and her descendants--to no avail. So when it came time for the book to be written in 1993, they decided to use the quilt photo to illustrate the layout of the 1933 World's Fair (see page 13). They had never seen the quilt in color and they still believed that the quilt was made by Louise Rowley. 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. It's important to realize that this elaborate quilt with very detailed layered applique was designed, appliqued, and quilted in just four months. And it did not even receive a green merit ribbon. No newspaper accounts of the quilt were found. The b/w photo was probably taken in 1934 when Sears invited back the top ten quilt winners and put together a small exhibit of themed quilts that had been overlooked by judges. Five years after the book was published the actual quilt showed up an auction in North Georgia, a two-hour drive from Waldvogel's home. She wanted to see the quilt with her own eyes. It was a thrill to see the colors and detailed work up close. She bid on the quilt and won. The auctioneer gave her a hand-written note from a family member saying the quilt was not made by Mrs. Rowley, but by her son Richard Rowley who was an architectural draftsman in Chicago. The auctioneer did not tell her where the family lived. Many years of searching Chicago census records and City Directories ensued. She found a writing sample on Richard Rowley's Social Security Card application, which matched the handwriting on the contest entry form. This convinced her the story was probably true. She wanted a photo of Richard Rowley. She wanted to know more about him. In 2010, a friend helped her search online genealogy records. This time they checked Georgia vital records -- and there was Richard Rowley's death record in North Georgia. Eventually, she was able to talk with family members. And she returned to the antique auction house to see a photo album that had not yet been auctioned. Inside, she found several photos of Richard Rowley a few years before he made the quilt. Quite a story! Questions remain. The fact that he was a draftsman is evident in the architectural renderings. But could a man have designed and executed the intricate applique and quilting designs? Did he have help in finishing it?

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:

052

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

This is a:

Finished quilt

Quilt's title:

Bird's Eye View of the Chicago World's Fair

Names for quilt's pattern in common use:

A Century of Progress

How wide is the quilt?

77 inches

How long is the quilt?

86 inches

What color is the quilt?

Beige or Tan; Blue or Navy; Cream; Green; Lavender; Red; Yellow

Overall color scheme:

Bright or primary colors

Type of inscription:

Date; Message; Other

Describe the type of inscription:

Contest entry label filled out by the quiltmaker is attached to the bottom right corner.

What is inscribed on the quilt?

The official contest entry label includes contest entry information: Name of Maker. Pattern Name, When Quilt Was Made, Selling Price if willing to sell, Quilter's Name, Address, City and State, Sears Store Name/Number. Entry label also included the following statement: "I certify that this quilt is entirely of my own making, and that it has never been exhibited previously" to which the quilter signed her name. Name: MRS. LOUISE ROWLEY Pattern Name: A CENTURY OF PROGRESS When made: 1933 Willing to sell it? No Certify the quilt is entirely made by: Mrs. Louise Rowley. Address: 1333 THORNDALE AVE. CHICAGO ILLINOIS Entered at STATE STR Store

What is the date inscribed on the quilt?

1933

Method used to make the inscription:

Attached label; In the quilting

Describe where the inscription was found:

Quilted inscription at bottom of quilt

Time period:

1930-1949

When was the quilt started?

1933

When was the quilt finished?

1933

Describe the quilt's layout:

Pictorial

Subject of the quilt:

Site of the 1933 Century of Progress Exposition

Fiber types used to make the quilt top:

Cotton

Fabric styles used in the quilt top:

Floral; Geometric; Print; Solid/plain

Applique techniques used to make the quilt top:

Hand Applique

Embellishment techniques used to make the quilt top:

Embroidery

Describe the techniques used to make the quilt top:

The scallopped border both on the outer and inner edge is machine-sewn.

What color is the back of the quilt?

Blue or Navy

Describe the back:

Machine sewn; Same fabric used throughout; Solid/plain

How are the layers held together?

Hand quilting

Quilting designs used, overall motifs:

Outline; Other

Quilting designs used, decorative motifs:

Other

Quilting designs used, background fills:

Other

Describe the quilting designs used:

The background quilting design over the wide blue expanse is slowly undulating horizontal lines. Architectural lines are quilted in. Across the lower bottom section there is a quilted message that is not easy to read. It says: "A Century of Progress 1833 Chicago 1933" in quilting.

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

According to a note that came with the quilt, "Quilt made by Richard H. Rowley from an aerial photograph taken of the grounds of the Chicago World's Fair before it opened. Entered as an exhibit at the Fair in the name of Mary (?) Rowley, his mother. Design is registered as an original pattern. All buildings are depicted to scale and correct perspective." (Collection of Merikay Waldvogel).

Quilt top made by:

Rowley, Richard Henry

Quilted by:

Rowley, Richard Henry

Where the quilt was made, city:

Chicago

Where the quilt was made, county:

Cook

Where the quilt was made, state:

Illinois (IL)

Where the quilt was made, country:

United States

How was this quilt acquired?

Purchase

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

Quilt remained with the quiltmaker through at least two moves (from Chicago to California in the 1940s; and from California to N. Georgia in the 1960s). Quilt was offered to a local auction house in N. Georgia. The auction including a photo of this quilt was advertised in the Maine Antique Digest in late 1997. Waldvogel was alerted to the auction, inquired if the entry label was still attached--it was! She then decided to attend the auction to see the quilt with her own eyes. As the bidding progressed, she decided to bid and eventually got the quilt. When she went to pay for the quilt, the auctioneer gave her a hand-written note from the family saying the quilt was not made by Mrs. Rowley, but instead by her son, Richard Rowley. That news opened up a new avenue of investigation.

Why was the quilt made?

Challenge or Contest entry

Quilt is presently used as:

Exhibit

Describe present uses of the quilt:

Owner uses the quilt when lecturing about the 1933 contest.

Where did the maker get their materials?

Purchased new

Where did the maker find their pattern?

Original to maker

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

Original to maker

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

Quilting adds to the visual impact of the design. Details such as a wake following the sailboat are quilted into the blue expanse of the lake. Architectural features are highlighted through quilting.

Exhibitions where this quilt was displayed:

Spring Quilt Festival, Rosemont, Illinois. "Designing Tomorrow: America's World's Fairs of the 1930's" National Building Museum, Washington, DC, October 2, 2010 through March 31, 2011. Exhibit lasted through July 10, 2011.

Contests entered:

Sears National 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), pg 13.

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

Photo scrapbook compiled by Richard Rowley in about 1930 shows his life and work in New York City working for an architectural firm. (Collection of Merikay Waldvogel).

Ownership of this quilt is:

Private

Quilt owner's name:

Merikay Waldvogel

Quilt owner's city:

Knoxville

Quilt owner's state:

Tennessee (TN)

Quilt owner's country:

United States

Quiltmaker's gender:

Male

Quiltmaker's birth date:

04-04-1893

Quiltmaker's date and place of death:

11-1968

In which kind of environment did the quiltmaker live?

Urban

Quiltmaker's country:

United States

Any other notes or stories about the quiltmaker:

In 1917, he was an architectural draftsman with the Illinois Central Railroad. [Draft Registration 1917]. In 1933, he was a draftsman for the Chicago architectural firm Quinn and Christiansen. In 1936, he was living in Monee, IL and employed by Walgreens Inc. (no job title noted) when he applied for a Social Security number. In 1950s, he is listed in Davis, CA telephone directories. According to his son, he was employed as an architect by the State of California and worked on several design projects for buildings on the UCLA campus. The Social Security Death Index has his last residence as California. He died in 1968, but he had retired to N. Georgia prior to his death and probably had not updated his address.

Who photographed this quilt?

Gary Heatherly

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

Copyright holder:

Merikay Waldvogel