QUILT INDEX RECORD

18-14-108

Description:

This is an Aunt Martha pattern Gasperik made to take to the Quilt Club Corner at a Detroit News Quilt Show. She attended her first such show in October 1935 and returned for every one held thereafter. A special corner was set up in the exhibition hall, with chairs and tables where quilters gathered to meet, visit, and exchange patches. The Club's director, Edith B. Crumb, shared names, addresses and news from club members in her chatty quilt columns published in The Detroit News. The pattern is called "The Cottage Behind the Hill" and can be found in the Aunt Martha catalog Prize Winning Designs: Many Quilt Patterns Never Before Published, on page 4.

Where are the records for this quilt housed?

Mary Gasperik Legacy Project

Who documented this quilt?

Mary Gasperik Private Collection

Gasperik Legacy Project Number:

086

This is a:

Quilt blocks or pieces

Quilt's title:

Cottage Behind the Hill

Names for quilt's pattern in common use:

House Behind the Hill

Brackman # or other source & #:

58.18

How wide is the quilt?

inches

How long is the quilt?

inches

What color is the quilt?

Green; Pink; White

Overall color scheme:

Multicolor

Quilt's condition:

Excellent/like new

Type of inscription:

Date; Single

What is inscribed on the quilt?

Mary- Gasperik. Chcago' -Ill 1936. [Note- the mis-spelling of the word Chicago is Gasperik's own, reflecting her difficulty with English]

What is the date inscribed on the quilt?

1936

Method used to make the inscription:

Embroidery

Time period:

1930-1949

When was the quilt finished?

1936

Family/owner's date for quilt:

1936

Who estimated the quilt's date?

Merikay Waldvogel

Fiber types used to make the quilt top:

Cotton

Fabric styles used in the quilt top:

Print; Solid/plain

Embellishment techniques used to make the quilt top:

Embroidery

Materials used to make the back:

Cotton

Materials used in the quilt binding:

Cotton

How are the layers held together?

Hand quilting

Can you see any knots on the front or back of the quilt?

no

Quilt top made by:

Gasperik, Mary

Quilted by:

Gasperik, Mary

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

Describe present uses of the quilt:

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

Commercial name of the pattern for the top:

#365 12 The Cottage Behind the Hill. By Mrs. F. L. Anderson, Kearney, Neb., page 4 Prize Winning Designs: Many Quilt Patterns Never Before Published (from Aunt Martha).

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

“Cottage Behind the Hill” was also offered as a 14” appliqué pillow pattern C365 on page 30 of Aunt Martha Favorites Old and New - A New Book of 35 Quilt and Quilting Patterns (1932).

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:

Aunt Martha's Prize Winning Designs, ~1933.

Favorites Old and New a New Book of 35 Quilt and Quilting Patterns (1932).

October 22, 1935 Detroit News (p23) describes Gasperik's first visit to a Detroit News Quilt Show "I asked Mrs. S. Gasperick [sic] who came over from Chicago just for the Quilt Show, how she happened to become interested in the Quilt Club Corner and she said that when the Tigers played one of the World Series games in Chicago someone dropped a Detroit News and when she picked it up it was opened at the Quilt Club Corner page and she immediately wrote to us and sent us several quilts for the exhibit. Of course I did not expect that she would attend, but about 6 o'clock Saturday evening she arrived and said that she came over on the bus and intended to stay until the 5 o'clock bus left on Sunday afternoon. She brought a big supply of patches to exchange and I hope that she had a fine time." Detroit News Sept 27, 1936, p11 "Friday, Oct. 9 is to be a special get-together day for all of us Quilt Clubbers in the brand new assembly room in the brand new WWJ Studio building of The Detroit News. It is going to look just like the Quilt Club Corner which we always have at our quilt shows. We are going to have tables, shears, pencils, paper, and that is all any crowd of quilters needs to get a good start. From then on, the afternoon is yours to do with as you wish. I know just what will happen. There will be snipping, clipping, exchanging of patches, patterns and oh! - but won't it be fun?"

Mary Gasperik wrote a letter inviting Detroit News Quilt Club members to exchange friendship blocks.

Ownership of this quilt is:

Private

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 marriage date(s):

11/18/1906

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' name(s):

Gasperik, Stephen

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?

Hank Finn

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

Copyright holder:

Karen Finn

Details

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