QUILT INDEX RECORD

18-14-68

Description:

Gasperik made seven child-size Indian Quilts in the 1940s. This one was made for Susan Salser. Like the others, hers has the same fabrics and appliqué designs. The quilted Indian Chief appears only on Susan's and her sister Linda's quilts. It is Indian Head pattern #442-12 in printed on sheet 4 of a series of quilting designs offered by Hubert Ver Mehren's Home Art Studios in its catalog called Aunt Mary Jacobs' Album of Favorite Quilting Designs. A small sketch of Indian Head pattern #442-12 can be seen at the bottom center of page 3. In the upper left corner near the tent, Gasperik quilted what appears to be a buffalo or lion.

Where are the records for this quilt housed?

Mary Gasperik Legacy Project

Who documented this quilt?

Mary Gasperik Private Collection

Gasperik Legacy Project Number:

039

This is a:

Finished quilt

Quilt's title:

Indians #3

Owner's name for quilt:

Indians #3 (Susan)

Names for quilt's pattern in common use:

Seven Little Indians

How wide is the quilt?

53 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; Yellow

Overall color scheme:

Multicolor; Bright or primary colors

Quilt's condition:

Good/moderate use

Time period:

1930-1949

When was the quilt finished?

1944

Family/owner's date for quilt:

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

What color is the back of the quilt?

Yellow

Number of pieces of fabric in the quilt back:

3

Width of pieces on the back:

10", 32.5", 10.5"

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

Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 1:

11

Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 2:

10

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

no

Quilting designs used, overall motifs:

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

Quilting designs used, decorative motifs:

Cables; Feathering; Floral; Other

Quilting designs used, background fills:

Grid/crosshatch; Parallel lines

Describe the quilting designs used:

The Indian Head quilted at the center bottom of the white ground: Sheet No. 4 Aunt Mary's Quilting Album, #442-12 in Aunt Mary Jacob's Album of Favorite Quilting Designs (Home Art Studios, Des Moines, IA) circa 1932. In white panel upper corners, floral design Q400 from Colonial Quilts. QB421-9 Feather for border (also from Colonial Quilts) is quilted on three sides of the broad gold border. Fern feather pattern C5573 (as single branches, double branches and triple branches) from Aunt Martha's Answer to 'How Shall I Quilt It'? is quilted all over the white center panel of the quilt.

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

The trunk and leaves of the trees are appliqued using a very tiny buttonhole stitch in green and in brown thread, very unusual for Gasperik. This adds definition to the trees. The figures are very heavily and decoratively embroidered using many different thread colors. The level of detail of costume embroidery which appears on the Indians quilts suggests, to Susan, that Gasperik's design source may have been a book illustration rather than a quilt kit or commercial quilt pattern.

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

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

Made for grand-daughter Susan who asked to be the second Indian in line (lavender head-dress) in the framed applique picture which accompanied this quilt. On the framed applique (#090) Indian Susan requested that she be holding a bunch of balloons. Gasperik obliged.

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?

Original to maker

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

Aunt Mary Jacobs' Album of Favorite Quilting Designs and Colonial Quilts (Home Art Studios, Des Moines, IA), Aunt Martha's Answer to 'How Shall I Quilt It?'"

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.

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 applique/embroidered block (#090, in collection of Susan Salser). Salser has a color photograph of herself holding baby Cathy standing in front of this quilt on the wall of the Salser's apartment in Bernex, Switzerland in early 1967.

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:

Susan Krueger Salser

Quilt owner's country:

United States

Person filling out this form is:

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