QUILT INDEX RECORD

18-14-66

Essay:

Gasperik made seven child-size Indian Quilts in the 1940s. This one, thought to be the first made, was given to Karen Krueger. Each of the seven has slight differences. Gasperik's appliqué pattern source for her Indians quilts is as yet unknown. Her grand-daughter speculates that Mary developed her own pattern from an illustration in a child's book. No similar kit quilts or commercial patterns have yet turned up. The appliqué patterns and even their fabrics are identical on all seven. The same feather border design is quilted onto six of the seven Indians quilts (the quilt which was sent to Hungary, perhaps the earliest Indians quilt Gasperik made does not have the interlocking feather border), but some have additional quilted motifs. The quilted interlocking feather border pattern which appears on the 6 Indians quilts which Gasperik made for her grandchildren is pattern QB-421 from Aunt Mary Jacobs' Album of Favorite Quilting Designs (from Hubert Ver Mehren's Home Art Studios). The QB-401 interlocking feather border was also offered in several Home Art Studios quilt pattern catalogs entitled Colonial Quilts. Five elephants are quilted onto this quilt (three can be seen in the top and bottom of the central panel, and two are in the lower border).

Where are the records for this quilt housed?

Mary Gasperik Legacy Project

Who documented this quilt?

Mary Gasperik Private Collection

Gasperik Legacy Project Number:

056

This is a:

Finished quilt

Quilt's title:

Indians #1

Owner's name for quilt:

Indians #1 (Karen)

Names for quilt's pattern in common use:

Indian Boys, Seven Little Indians

How wide is the quilt?

52 inches

How long is the quilt?

66 inches

Shape of edge:

Straight

Shape of corners:

Straight

What color is the quilt?

Brown; Gold; Green; Lavender; Orange; Pink; Rust; White

Overall color scheme:

Multicolor; Bright or primary colors

Quilt's condition:

Very good/almost new

Time period:

1930-1949

When was the quilt finished?

1943-1944

Family/owner's date for quilt:

1943-1944

Who estimated the quilt's date?

Merikay Waldvogel

Further information concerning dates:

Date for quilt corresponds with date quilt was given to the child.

Describe the quilt's layout:

Medallion or framed center

Subject of the quilt:

Indian Boys At Play

Number of borders:

One

Describe the borders:

Wide gold border heavily quilted on four sides.

Fiber types used to make the quilt top:

Cotton

Fabric styles used in the quilt top:

Print; Solid/plain

Applique techniques used to make the quilt top:

Hand Applique

Embellishment techniques used to make the quilt top:

Embroidery

Materials used to make the back:

Cotton

Describe the back:

Solid/plain

Materials used in the quilt binding:

Cotton

Fabric structure of the binding:

Plain weave

How is the binding made?

Bias grain

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

less than a half inch

What kind of filling is used in the quilt?

Cotton

How are the layers held together?

Hand quilting

Color of thread used in the quilting:

white

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

no

Quilting designs used, overall motifs:

Grid diamond; Patches outlined/in the ditch; Single parallel lines

Quilting designs used, decorative motifs:

Cables; Feathering; Other

Quilting designs used, background fills:

Grid/crosshatch; Parallel lines

Describe the quilting designs used:

Five elephants are quilted into the background quilting of this quilt. Three can be found at the top and bottom of the white ground, and two are quilted into the bottom gold border.

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

How was this quilt acquired?

Gift

Why was the quilt made?

Gift or presentation

Details about why the quilt was made:

Presented to a grandchild.

The quilt was made to be used for:

Bedding, special occasion

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?

Unknown

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

Commercial pattern

What is the commercial name of the quilting design used for this quilt?

Design in border of white panel: see Needleart Guild's Original Master Quilting Patterns No. 33 on p 8.
Feathered quilting in outer border: see Colonial Quilts Home Art Studios/ QB421-9.

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

Gasperik made framed applique/embroidered Indian blocks for the same six grandchildren who received the quilts. The framed applique which went with this quilt is #091, dated 1944. It reproduces the lead Indian, the chief with the biggest head-dress. Appropriately, it went to the eldest Krueger girl.

Exhibitions where this quilt was displayed:

The Quilts of Mary Gasperik, Ravenswood Historic Site, Livermore, CA, March 14-15, 1992.

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:

Framed Indian Block (Collection of Karen Krueger Finn).

In an e-mail to Susan Salser (January 11, 2009) Elmer and Doris Gasperik’s daughter Kathy Jacob described to Susan her parents’ support of Mary Gasperik’s quilting and the appreciation for the quilts which they instilled in her. She wrote: “I know that my Mother took great care of our quilts. Dedicated to them as if her own mother had made them. It is from my mother that I learned to lovingly care for the quilts and appreciate the work that grandma had done. And I was told that my father made her the very quilting frame that she used to create these wonderful quilts. I was also told he would buy her batting and once a children’s book for the pictures perhaps for reference.” A children’s book illustration is possibly the genesis of this Gasperik quilt design.

Ownership of this quilt is:

Private

Quilt owner's name:

Karen Krueger Finn

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?

Don Gonzalez

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

Copyright holder:

Hank Finn

Details

• 
• Playtime Quilt, two Farm quilts (Linda and Karen) and the Tulip Basket." alt='img' class="battingWrappersHeader detail" src='https://kora.quiltindex.org/files/18-14-66/Indians18-14-66-What-Farm-Pigs-2.jpg'/>
• Linda and Karen) and the Tulip Basket." alt='img' class="battingWrappersHeader detail" src='https://kora.quiltindex.org/files/18-14-66/Indians18-14-67-Farm-Tulip-2.jpg'/>
• Playtime Quilt, two Farm quilts (Linda and Karen) and a Grandmothers Fan in the back row." alt='img' class="battingWrappersHeader detail" src='https://kora.quiltindex.org/files/18-14-66/Indians18-14-68-66-What-Farm.jpg'/>