QUILT INDEX RECORD

18-14-32

DESCRIPTION:

This is one of two Apricot Morning Glory quilts made by Gasperik. The quilting on the two quilts is slightly different and there are fewer green leaves appliquéd into the wreath on this quilt. These details are discernible in a photograph album sent to Germany in 1947. The morning glory quilt pictured in that album is clearly this quilt (and not its twin, #062). That album page, which also includes a photo of Hungarian Harvest Festival Quilt (#014), is inscribed "Mary Gasperik's First two prize winning quilts." The aforementioned prize was a blue ribbon at an Illinois State Fair in 1941.

ESSAY:

The quickest way to distinguish the two Apricot Morning Glory quilts is to look at the leaves appliqued at the very top and bottom of the appliqued wreath. They are a duo on this quilt and a trio on quilt #062.

Where are the records for this quilt housed?

Mary Gasperik Legacy Project

Who documented this quilt?

Mary Gasperik Private Collection

CONTRIBUTING INSTITUTIONAL INVENTORY CONTROL NUMBERS: Enter the main control number for this item you are entering.

026

TYPE OF QUILT OBJECT: Choose the best description for the quilt being documented.

Finished quilt

QUILT'S TITLE, IF IT HAS ONE: Many quilts have no title, but contemporary quilters often give a name to their quilts.

Morning Glory

OWNER'S NAME FOR QUILT'S PATTERN: Enter the name given to the quilt by the owner. This can be the name the family used to refer to the quilt as it passed through different generations, e.g. "Aunt Susie's quilt" or a pattern name that the owner used.

Apricot Morning Glory (Linda)

ALTERNATE NAME(S) FOR QUILT'S PATTERN IN COMMON USE: This is the name of the quilt pattern that it is commonly used among quilt makers and historians. It may be different in different regions of the country.

Morning Glory Wreath

OVERALL WIDTH: Enter how wide the quilt is.

68 inches

OVERALL LENGTH: Enter how long the quilt is.

103 inches

SHAPE OF EDGE: Choose the best description for the edges of the quilt.

Scalloped

SHAPE OF CORNERS: Choose the best description for the corners of the quilt.

Scalloped

PREDOMINANT COLOR(S): Enter all colors that are found in the quilt.

Green; Orange; White

OVERALL COLOR SCHEME: Choose the best color scheme description for the quilt being documented.

Light or pastel colors

OVERALL CONDITION: Choose the best description for the quilt being documented.

Excellent/like new

OTHER TYPE(S) OF INSCRIPTION: If you chose Other, please describe the type of inscription here.

cloth exhibit label sewn to back

CONTENT OF INSCRIPTION(S): Enter the exact inscription here, including dates in the same form in which they appear on the quilt. Do not correct any spellings. If you are unsure of a letter or name, place a (?) to indicate uncertainty.

MARY GASPERIK 9314 Cottage Grove Ave. Chicago, Ill.

LOCATION OF INSCRIPTION: Enter where the inscription was found on the quilt.

on back

TIME PERIOD: Choose the time frame that best describes when the quilt was made. The date does not have to appear on the quilt to enter it in this field. This can be your best guess based on family stories or your own knowledge of quilts.

1930-1949

DATE FINISHED: Enter the date the quilt was finished.

1938-1945

OTHER EXTERNAL OR PROFESSIONAL DATE ESTIMATION: If the date was estimated by an antique dealer, quilt historian or appraiser, enter that date.

1938-1945

OTHER DATE ESTIMATION BY WHOM: Enter the name and/or title of the person who estimated the quilt's date for field 23d.

Merikay Waldvogel

FURTHER INFORMATION CONCERNING DATE(S): If you know anything else about the date the quilt was made, please tell the story.

Earliest estimated date is based on a 1938 packing slip for Bucilla kit #2005, Morning Glory.

LAYOUT FORMAT: Choose the best description for the layout (or set) of the quilt.

Medallion or framed center

NUMBER OF BORDERS: Borders are the strips of fabric that are added after the blocks (and sashings) are put together. They appear on the outside edges of the quilt. Quilts often have multiple borders. Enter the number of borders on the quilt.

3

BORDER DESCRIPTION: Describe the style of the borders (i.e. pieced, appliqued, stenciled) and the width of each border, from the inside to the outside.

Three wide borders echo the scalloped edge. Colors of border are shaded from dark apricot, through medium apricot to light apricot. Center panel is encircled with a morning glory vine. This border design element is part of the Bucilla kit #2005, Morning Glory.

FABRIC FIBER TYPES USED IN QUILT TOP: Choose all the types of fiber that are used to make the quilt top.

Cotton

FABRIC PATTERNS, STYLES, MOTIFS, OR PRINT CATEGORIES USED IN QUILT TOP: Choose all the types of prints that are used to make the quilt top.

Solid/plain

CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES USED IN QUILT TOP: APPLIQUE TECHNIQUES: Choose the applique method used to construct the quilt.

Hand Applique

CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES USED IN QUILT TOP: EMBELLISHMENT TECHNIQUES: Choose the embellishment technique used to make the quilt.

Embroidery

FABRIC FIBER TYPES USED IN QUILT BACK: Choose the fiber type used to make the quilt back.

Cotton

COLOR OF BACKING: Enter all colors that are found in the quilt backing.

White

DESCRIPTION OF BACK: Choose the best description for the back of the quilt.

Solid/plain

MATERIALS USED IN QUILT BINDING: Choose the fiber type used to make the quilt binding.

Cotton

CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES USED IN BINDING: Choose the construction technique used to make the quilt binding.

Bias grain

WIDTH OF QUILT BINDING: Choose the width (in inches) of the binding of the quilt. Measure from the front side only.

less than a half inch

MATERIAL USED FOR QUILT BATTING OR FILLING: Choose the fiber content that best describes the material used to fill the quilt.

Cotton

QUILTING TECHNIQUES USED: Choose the technique that best describes the way the quilt layers are held together.

Hand quilting

THREAD COLOR: Enter the color(s) of thread used to hold the quilt layers together.

white

QUILTING DESIGNS USED: MOTIFS/OVERALL PATTERNS: Choose the overall quilt design found on the quilt top.

Double parallel lines; Echo

QUILTING DESIGNS USED: DECORATIVE PATTERNS: Choose the decorative quilt design found on the quilt top.

Wreaths

QUILTING DESIGNS USED: BACKGROUND FILL PATTERNS: Choose the background quilt design found on the quilt top.

Grid/crosshatch; Parallel lines

ANY OTHER FEATURES OR NOTES ABOUT THE QUILT'S APPEARANCE, MATERIALS, OR CONSTRUCTION: Describe anything about the physical appearance of the quilt that wasn't already recorded in a previous field.

It is thought that this quilt was completed years before its similar-looking mate (#062). The major difference between the two quilts, other than the fact that #026 has fewer green leaves, lies in the quilting design. Both quilts have a double wreath filled with cross-hatching as their centerpiece; but the space between that quilted wreath and the applique wreath is handled differently on the two quilts. On quilt #026 double parallel lines of quilting meet in a flat chevron. On quilt #062 (thought to have been completed later) the dense lines of quilting criss-cross, creating the effect of three dimensional space. This experimentation is reminiscent of Gasperik's series of Indiana Wreath quilts (see #011, #032, #043 and #063). The quilting inside those wreaths also plays with different ways of creating a sense of three-dimensional space through quiltING alone.

QUILT TOP MADE BY: Enter the name of the person(s) who made the quilt top.

Gasperik, Mary

QUILTED BY: Enter the name of the person(s) who quilted the top.

Gasperik, Mary

CITY: Enter the name of the city where the quilt was made.

Chicago

COUNTY: Enter the name of the county where the quilt was made.

Cook County

STATE: Enter the name of the state where the quilt was made.

Illinois (IL)

COUNTRY: Enter the name of the country where the quilt was made.

United States

HOW WAS QUILT ACQUIRED BY OWNER: Choose the best description for how the owner acquired the quilt.

Inheritance

DETAILS ON HOW THE QUILT WAS ACQUIRED:

Selected by Elsie during a division of quilts (with her sister-in-law) after Gasperik died. When Elsie Krueger died in 1988 and her three daughters divided their mother's share of Gasperik quilts, this was Linda's pick.

QUILTMAKER'S REASONS FOR MAKING THE QUILT: If the quilt was made for a specific purpose, choose the reason from the list.

Personal enjoyment

QUILT WAS ORIGINALLY DESIGNED TO BE USED AS: Choose how the quilt was originally used.

Bedding, special occasion

QUILT IS PRESENTLY USED AS: Choose how the quilt is being used by the present owner.

Keepsake/memento

OTHER PRESENT USE(S) OF QUILT: If you chose Other, please explain the quilt's present use.

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

SOURCE OF QUILT'S MATERIALS: Choose how the quilt maker acquired the fabric for this quilt.

Purchased new

QUILT TOP PATTERN SOURCE: Choose where the quilt maker found the pattern for this quilt.

Commercial/Published source: Book; Commercial/Published source: Newspaper; Commercial/Published source: Kit

COMMERCIAL SOURCE NAME(S): If you know the commercial name of the pattern used for this quilt, please enter it. This may include books, magazines, newsletters, pattern companies, computer software programs, and kits.

Probably Bucilla kit #2005, Morning Glory.

QUILTING DESIGN PATTERN SOURCE: Choose where the quilt maker found the pattern for the quilting design used in this quilt.

Kit

COMMERCIAL QUILTING DESIGN SOURCE NAME: If you know the commercial name of the quilting design used for this quilt, please enter it. This may include books, magazines, newsletters, pattern companies, etc.

Quilted oval feathered wreath may be adapted from quilting design #521 in Colonial Quilts, by Hubert Ver Mehren.

ANY ADDITIONAL NOTES OR STORIES ABOUT THE QUILT'S DESIGN OR MATERIALS SOURCE: Describe anything about the design of the quilt that wasn't already recorded in a previous field.

Bucilla Applique Bedspread Morning Glory Design No. 2005 kit at first glance appears too have been Gasperik's pattern source; but upon close examination Bucilla's flower appliqué pattern units and their arrangement on the overall quilt do not match the Gasperik Morning Glory quilts. The Bucilla kit #2005, Morning Glory. includes multicolored flowers, and their flower and leaf pattern shapes do not match the shapes on the Gasperik quilts. The soft tones of the two Gasperik Apricot Morning Glory quilts (#026 and #062) are quite different from the harsher oranges of the kit’s fabrics. Of the four Gasperik Morning Glory quilts (two in shades of apricot and two in shades of blue) three of them have symmetric arrangements of a trio of flowers and leaves centered in each of the four sides of the squared off wreath. One quilt, however, this one in particular, has an asymmetrical arrentment in each of these four locations. Instead of three leaves, there are only two in these four positions. Oddly, this same asymmetrical arrangement is found on a non-Gasperik quilt Susan Salser purchased on eBay, and also on a pair of Morning Glory Wreath quilts (probably made in the same period of time, the mid 1940s, in Minnesota) appraised by Karen Dever in 2020. There is clearly a shared commercial pattern source for these four quilts, although it cannot be said at this time exactly what that source was, only that is was NOT the Bucilla kit #2005, Morning Glory. It is likely that this Gasperik Morning Glory Wreath quilt is first of the series of four which Gasperik made, because it so faithfully follows the design patterns specified by the as-yet unidentified commercial pattern source. The blue pair of Gasperik Morning Glory Wreath quilts diverges the most, especially in its quiltING design, from the unknown pattern or kit source which was the likely source of this particular quilt's design.

EXHIBITIONS: List all known exhibits where this quilt has been displayed.

An exhibit tag which is separated from its quilt reads "Morning Glory Wreath First Prize in, Springfield Mrs. Mary Gasperik". This corresponds to a First Prize ribbon from the Illinois State Fair, 1941.

This is one of the 23 Mary Gasperik quilts exhibited in the Carnegie Room of the Marion Indiana Public Library July 16-17, 2021 in connection with the ceremony honoring the induction of Mary Gasperik into The Quilters Hall of Fame as their 2021 Legacy Quilter honoree. Mary Gasperik Quilters Hall of Fame Induction Exhibit.

CONTESTS ENTERED: List contest(s) entered.

Illinois State Fair, 1941, First Place ribbon

The caption in the 1947 photo album under a picture of this quilt indicates that it won a prize but doesn't specify where or when.

OTHER RELATED ITEMS: List other materials that exist about this quilt like oral histories, wills, diaries, or patterns.

Complete Bucilla kit #2005 Morning Glory (Susan Salser - private collection); Nancy Cabot newspaper illustration of Morning Glory; Marie Webster's color photo of child's quilt Morning Glory.

There was probably at least one other 1930s kit for making a Morning Glory Wreath quilt similar to the four made by Mary Gasperik. In 2006 Salser bought on ebay a similar-looking Morning Glory Wreath quilt executed in three shades of apricot. In its flower patterns and colors this quilt more resembles the two Gasperik apricot Morning Glory quilts than it does Bucilla kit #2005, Morning Glory. The seller was the niece of the maker, who was named Charlotte Louise Greene (1897-1993). When asked for information about the quilt-maker, the niece wrote: "I really don't know a lot about my Aunt's quilt making. She had a lot of interests - was very smart. (She studied ballet with Martha Graham and corresponded all her life with Norman Vincent Peale.) Kind of went from one interest to another. She was fired up about quilt making for a while and then dropped it for something else. She wasn't particularly artistic that I recall, so I suppose she didn't design her own quilts but probably may have bought designs from another source" (e-mail to Susan Salser from Anne Botto, 2/24/2006).

Photo album sent by Stephen and Mary Gasperik to the family of their future daughter-in-law in Germany, 1947 includes photos of quilt #026 and #014, captioned "Mary Gasperik's first two prize-winning quilts".

AVAILABLE SOURCES FOR QUILTMAKER: List other source materials about this quiltmaker such as photos, oral histories, book or newspaper publications, fame for some other reason or event.

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.

OWNERSHIP OF THIS QUILT IS:

Private

NAME OF QUILT OWNER:

Linda Krueger MacLachlan

QUILT OWNER'S COUNTRY:

United States

AUTHOR/INTERVIEWEE'S RELATION TO THE QUILT:

Author/researcher; Blood relative of quiltmaker

OTHER RELATIONSHIP TO SOURCE: If you chose Other, for the relationship to the source, describe the relationship here.

Grand-daughter

OTHER INFORMATION ON SOURCE PERSON TO QUILT:

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

DEATH DATE OF THE QUILTMAKER, IF APPLICABLE:

05/25/1969

QUILTMAKER'S ETHNIC BACKGROUND:

Hungarian

QUILTMAKER'S EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND:

Elementary School

QUILTMAKER'S COUNTRY OF BIRTH:

Hungary

IN WHICH KIND OF ENVIRONMENT DID THE QUILTMAKER GROW UP?

Rural

CITY WHERE THE QUILTMAKER LIVES/LIVED:

Chicago

COUNTY WHERE THE QUILTMAKER LIVES/LIVED:

Cook

STATE WHERE THE QUILTMAKER LIVES/LIVED:

Illinois (IL)

COUNTRY WHERE THE QUILTMAKER LIVES/LIVED:

United States

QUILTMAKER'S FATHER'S NAME:

Mihalovits, Istvan

FATHER'S BIRTHPLACE:

Hungary

FATHER'S ETHNIC BACKGROUND:

Hungarian

QUILTMAKER'S MOTHER'S NAME:

Mihalovits, Vidoszava

MOTHER'S BIRTHPLACE:

Hungary

MOTHER'S ETHNIC BACKGROUND:

Hungarian

SPOUSE'S ETHNIC BACKGROUND:

Hungarian

SPOUSE'S OCCUPATION:

Milk Dealer/Grocery Store Owner/Butcher

NUMBER OF CHILDREN:

3

NUMBER OF FEMALE CHILDREN:

1 (Elsie 1909-1988)

NUMBER OF MALE CHILDREN:

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/DID THE QUILTMAKER QUILT:

Pleasure; Other

OTHER, WHY THE QUILTMAKER QUILTS:

To exhibit in shows held by her Tuley Park quilt club in Chicago, the Detroit News quilt show in Detroit, many Illinois State Fairs, at least one Indiana State Fair. She entered quilts in at least 2 Chicago department store contests. She made at least one quilt and one quilt top specifically for the 1939 New York Worlds Fair quilt contest. She also made children's quilts specifically for grandchildren and great-grandchildren; and wedding and wedding anniversary quilts for her son Elmer and grand-daughter Karen. Primarily, she wanted to make quilts because it was her life passion and her greatest talent. The occasions and venues to show them presented themselves. It should be noted that prior to Mary's emigration to America in late 1904, at age 16, she was an apprenticed needleworker in her native Hungary. The intricate and colorful floral embroideries traditional to Hungary lend themselves especially well to applique, the quilt style Mary preferred.

NAME OF QUILTING GROUP: If the quilt maker belonged to a group, enter the name of the group.

Tuley Park Quilt Club and Detroit News Quilt Club

LOCATION OF GROUP:

Southside Chicago and Detroit MI

SPECIALIZED ACTIVITIES/EVENTS OF QUILTING GROUP: Enter activities the group participated in.

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

ESTIMATED NUMBER OF QUILTS MADE BY THIS QUILTER:

more than 50

DID THE QUILTMAKER SELL QUILTS?

no

DOES/DID QUILTMAKER TEACH QUILTING: Is the quilt maker also a quilt teacher?

no

PHOTO CREDIT:

Don Gonzalez

ACCESS AND COPYRIGHT IS:

Restricted

HOLDER OF COPYRIGHT:

Hank Finn

Details