QUILT INDEX RECORD

18-14-74

Description:

In "Daisies Won't Tell" made in the mid 1940s, Gasperik transformed the oval daisy wreath quilt designed in 1936 by Mary McElwain, a well-respected quilt designer and authority in the Chicago area. A color photograph of McElwain's design, which she called "Daisy Chain" is featured as the cover of Romance of the Village Quilts, the catalog for the Mary McElwain Quilt Shop in Walworth, Wisconsin. In addition to transforming McElwain's oval wreath into a heart-shaped double chain of daisies, Gasperik also appliquéd romantic messages and motifs to her quilt. It is elaborately quilted. The Mary McElwain Quilt Shop sold finished quilts of its Daisy Chain quilt for $85. It is very simple design when compared with both the McElwain catalog cover illustration of Daisy Chain and the Gasperik quilt called Daisies Won't Tell.

Essay:

Mary McElwain was considered the quilt authority of the Chicago region. She owned a quilt shop in Walworth, WI, which was a popular destination for day trips from Chicago. At the shop, she sold quilt patterns and kits. Chicago department stores sought her out to exhibit quilts in their stores. In 1933, Sears Roebuck & Co. asked her to judge the final round of the 1933 Sears National Quilt Contest. It is interesting to note that the grand prize winning quilt of this contest, a feather star design submitted by Margaret Rogers Caden of Kentucky, featured an unusual fern leaf quiltING design. This pattern was offered in several quilt catalogs immediately following the exhibition of all of the prize winning quilts at Chicago's Century of Progress world's fair. Gasperik probably purchased one of those patterns. She evidently found the design so attractive and significant that she ended up quilting it into at least 20 of her quilts. Daisies Won't Tell is an excellent example. McElwain's designs reflect her admiration of Marie Webster's floral applique quilt designs, which she sold in her shop as kits. Webster's patterns are credited with changing 20th century quilts when she had several applique quilts published in Ladies Home Journal in 1911 and 1912. Mary Gasperik, too, was enamoured of Webster's designs. She owned a copy of Webster's book and used antique quilt photos in the book for quilts she made herself. Apropos to her grandmother's idea to apply the sentiment of the popular poem, Daisies Won't Tell to the McElwain daisy design, Salser points out that in the Ladies Home Journal of August 12, 1912 (p. 27) where Marie Webster presented (in color pictures!) her child's morning glory quilt (a quilt Salser believes may have inspired the 4 Gasperik morning glory wreath quilts) the Webster Daisies Quilt is featured along with the explanatory text: "With the quilt on the right teach the little one to tell the petals of the daisy - "loves me, loves me not" - and many happy moments will be spent in finding out whether the child or his mother loves the more.." This may have been Gasperik's introduction to the American saying, which she decided to apply to her own version of a daisies quilt. Apropos to her grandmother's exquisite applique and quilting evident in this quilt, Susan Salser shared the following quotation by Marie Webster in the August 1911 Ladies Home Journal: "The quilting should be done after the flowers are applied, and must not be carried over them, in order to keep their surfaces as smooth and natural as possible. There may be a temptation to the very ambitious worker, or one especially fond of ornamental effects, to apply these designs by outlining, buttonhole work, or couching with embroidery silks, but this desire should not for a moment be allowed even a trial. The charm and simplicity of this work lie in keeping to the real patchwork method."

This quilt is undated. It was awarded a blue ribbon at the August 1946 Illinois State, the first Illinois state fair to be held after the fair grounds began to be used for war purposes in 1941. Detroit, Gasperik's other favorite place to exhibit and compete with her quilts in the annual quilt show and contest sponsored by The Detroit News, also stopped holding its annual show. The final Detroit quilt show was held in May 1940. Unlike the Illinois State Fair, The Detroit News quilt show never resumed, and its Quilt Club Corner, of which Gasperik was an enthusiastic member, also ceased to be sponsored by The Detroit News. So at the time Mary McElwain died, in late August of 1943, Gasperik was probably looking for a new quilting project and still hoping to again compete in Springfield and in Detroit. She had already completed Colonial Quilting Bee intending to send it to Detroit and finally win its Grand Prize at the post-1940 contest which was never to be held. It is Salser's theory that Gasperik deliberately chose to design and make Daisies Won't Tell as a homage to Mary McElwain, who had been such a crucial figure in the quilting world at the time when Gasperik discovered quilts and set about to make them. Daisies Won't Tell is an example of Gasperik's finest quilting work, probably begun ten years after she began to make quilts.

Mary Gasperik was fond of her Wonder Package of patterns, the source for the lettering on this quilt. Published in Chicago in 1933 by Donald F. Duncan, Inc., "Modern Hand Embroidery Patterns. The Wonder Package: Over 475 Initials, Various Styles and Sizes...," was the source for applique and quilting designs in seven Gasperik quilts. The same Japanese lettering on Daisies Won't Tell was used for appliqued names on children's quilts (#029, #040 and #059) and for quilting the word "Chicago" on Hosannah (#020). The moon faces on "Star Arcturus" (#048) and the large fish quilted 3 times on What Are Little Boys Made Of? (#058) are also from the Wonder Package. This last quilt was made in 1957. "Star Arcturus" is dated 1934. Obviously, this box of patterns was an important component of Mary's library of quilt resources.

Where are the records for this quilt housed?

Mary Gasperik Legacy Project

Who documented this quilt?

Mary Gasperik Private Collection

Gasperik Legacy Project Number:

047

This is a:

Finished quilt

Quilt's title:

Daisies Won't Tell

Owner's name for quilt:

Daisies Won't Tell

How wide is the quilt?

76 inches

How long is the quilt?

91 inches

Shape of edge:

Straight

Shape of corners:

Straight

What color is the quilt?

Coral; Green; White

Antique colors:

Nile Green

Overall color scheme:

Light or pastel colors

Quilt's condition:

Excellent/like new

Type of inscription:

Message

What is inscribed on the quilt?

Loves Me / Loves Me-Not Daisies Won't Tell

Method used to make the inscription:

Other

Describe the method used to inscribe the quilt:

Appliqued letters

Location of inscription:

other

Describe where the inscription was found:

Above and below the central heart-shaped wreath of daisies.

Time period:

1930-1949

When was the quilt started?

Not known

When was the quilt finished?

1940-1946

Family/owner's date for quilt:

1940-1946

Date estimated by an antique dealer, quilt historian or appraiser:

1940-1946

Who estimated the quilt's date?

Merikay Waldvogel

Further information concerning dates:

Overall quilt layout is similar to Mary A. McElwain quilt "Daisy Chain" which appeared on the cover of her 1936 booklet Romance of the Village Quilts. The quilt won a blue ribbon at the August 1946 Illinois State Fair.

Describe the quilt's layout:

Medallion or framed center

Subject of the quilt:

Daisies

Medallion size:

32" wide, 40" long heart-shaped wreath

Number of borders:

One

Describe the borders:

Straight narrow borders in a darker shade of green.

Fiber types used to make the quilt top:

Cotton; Other

Fabric types used to make the quilt top:

Broadcloth; Other

Fabric styles used in the quilt top:

Solid/plain

Describe the fibers or fabrics in the quilt top:

Non-cotton fabric used for the two appliqued hearts and six cornucopias.

Applique techniques used to make the quilt top:

Hand Applique

Can you feel or see paper on the quilt that was used as a construction aid?

no

Describe embellishment materials or techniques:

There is no embroidery, which is very unusual for a Gasperik quilt. Applique Japanese style lettering..

Materials used to make the back:

Cotton

What color is the back of the quilt?

Green

Number of pieces of fabric in the quilt back:

3

Width of pieces on the back:

14", 31", 32"

Describe the back:

Same fabric used throughout

Materials used in the quilt binding:

Cotton

Fabric structure of the binding:

Plain weave

How is the binding made?

Bias grain; Machine sewn

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

Thread type used for the quilting:

cotton

Color of thread used in the quilting:

cream

Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 1:

10

Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 2:

12

Width between quilting lines:

Inside the wreath 1/4 inch; outside the wreath 5/8 inch

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

no

Quilting designs used, overall motifs:

Grid diamond

Quilting designs used, decorative motifs:

Feathering; Other

Quilting designs used, background fills:

Grid/crosshatch

Describe the quilting designs used:

Fern-leaf quilting (3 versions): 5 leaflets to a branch; 3 leaflets; and a single leaflet.

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

With three small and ordinary applique patterns - a green leaf, a round yellow circle, and a simple white petal, Mary Gasperik created this floral profusion. It is elegantly simple, like a Marie Webster design. The 1/4-inch grid quilting, in the center of this quilt's wreath, is an excellent example of Gasperik quilting at its finest.

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

Tell the story of how the quilt was obtained:

Elsie Krueger gave this Daisies Quilt to her daughter Linda in about 1968. To another daughter, Susan, she gave the Pansies Quilt (#033). Because Linda was fond of pansies, the two sisters traded quilts. Susan Salser is the current owner.

Why was the quilt made?

Art or personal expression

The quilt was made to be used for:

Artwork/wall hanging

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?

Original to maker

Describe the source of the pattern:

Lettering is exactly like the Japanese lettering forms included in Modern Hand Embroidery Patterns. The Wonder Package. Over 475 Initials, Various Styles and Sizes . . ." (a boxed set of embroidery motifs), published in 1933 by Donald F. Duncan, Chicago.

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

Published material

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

"Aunt Martha's Answer to 'How Shall I Quilt It?'" pattern C5573 "Fern quilting design"

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

Salser has identified two possible sources of Gasperik's quilted fern-leaf pattern. One is found in a booklet distributed by Sears Roebuck and Co. in 1933, which was called Sears Century of Progress in Quilt Making. On the last page of the booklet, under the title "Feathered Star Now Available - This famous design and complete outfit for making quilt tops", two patterns to be available from Sears are listed: "25A5799 - Complete Quilt $3.25" and "25A47201 - Perforated Quilting Pattern for above 25 cents".

The second source, which looks to be exactly the same fern leaf quilting design, appeared in an Aunt Martha catalog brochure called The Quilt Fair Comes to You as pattern C5573 for 30 cents. Either of these could have been Gasperik's source. Both are associated with the Century of Progress world's fair and the famously publicized Sears quilt contest of 1933. These were the seminal events in Gasperik's quilting career. The fact that Caden's prize winning quilt was presented to first lady Eleanor Roosevelt must have added to its significance in Gasperik's eyes. This presentation was memorialized in newspaper press photos of the time. One of the 1933 photographs can be see as Library of Congress Call Number LC-H21-C-257 [P&P] and Reproduction Number LC-DIG-hec-46978 (digital file from original negative). The fern leaf quilting design can be seen in remarkable detail in this photograph.

Exhibitions where this quilt was displayed:

1941, Indiana State Fair, 2nd prize.

1946 Illinois State Fair, Springfield, Illinois, August, 1st prize.

1949 Tuley Park Quilt Show, Chicago, IL.

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

Displayed at reception for The Alliance for American Quilts, San Francisco, CA, Aug 16, 2007.

Exhibited at Traditions, June-September 2014, an exhibit sponsored by the Wisconsin Museum of Quilts & Fiber Arts in Cedarburg, WI. This quilt show was organized to celebrate the life and work of quilt entrepreneur Mary McElwain

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:

1941, Indiana State Fair, 2nd prize.

1946 Illinois State Fair, 1st Prize, Best Cotton Quilt.
Mary won a Second Prize, 1946 Illinois State Fair, Best Quilting ribbon that we can't verify, but it might be for this quilt.

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:

Booklet: Quilts by Boag, (Elgin, IL, circa 1933).

Sears Century of Progress in Quilt Making, published by Sears, Roebuck & Co. 1934.

The Quilt Fair Comes To You, 1933 handwritten date on pamphlet in collection of Merikay Waldvogel.

Batting Wrapper Pattern: Wreath of Daisies Rock River Cotton Co. (Janesville, WI, 1934).

Booklet: Romance of the Village Quilts (Walworth, WI: Mary MacElwain, 1936) cover photo.

Blue version, 99" x 78", of the McElwain Daisies kit made by unknown quilter, purchased on eBay in 2007, in private collection of Susan Salser.

Letter from Mrs. Ferne Thompson of Springfield, Illinois to Mary Gasperik dated August 16, 1946 reading "First of all, may I congratulate you on your prize winning quilt "Daisies Won't Tell" now on exhibit at the Illinois State Fair? I admired your quilt very much and would greatly appreciate it if you would be so kind as to tell me where the pattern may be purchased for the quilt..."

Letter from Miss Veronica Gavin to Mary Gasperik, dated Aug 17, 1946 reading "In my visit of the sewing building at State Fair yesterday I couldn't forget the two beautiful quilts which belonged to you. I especially like the "daisies won't tell" pattern and also the wedding design, so if it wouldn't be too much trouble & asking too much of you I would appreciate having both the wedding pattern and the daisy one."

Handwritten exhibit tag "Daisy Quilt First Prize at Springfield--Second Prize at Indiana State Fair by Mrs. Mary Gasperik".

Exhibit Catalog LinkThe Quilts of Mary Gasperik, Ann Anastasio, Curator, Ravenswood Historic Site/Livermore (CA) Area Recreation & Park District, March 14-15, 1992.

Video by Jeffrey Finn (March 15, 1992) showing Gasperik quilts on display (but we neglected to include this one!) at the Ravenswood show.

Member newsletter "A Very Special Presentation: Mary Gasperik's Quilts" The Alliance for American Quilts, Aug 30, 2007.

Yellow paper exhibit tag reading "Daisy Quilt First Prize at Springfield Second Prize at Indiana State Fair by Mrs. Mary Gasperik" in penciled handwriting. Added in ink by Elsie 'to Susan m1963'[perhaps meaning that at one time Elsie thought this quilt was a wedding gift to Susan, who was married in 1963]. Such paper exhibit tags were probably pinned to Gasperik quilts which appeared in Tuley Park quilt shows. It is true that Susan was married in 1963, but her official wedding present was (in 1963) a heavy yellow linen cutwork tablecloth which won a blue ribbon at the Illnois State Fair (Susan Salser has that tablecloth with its pinned ribbon and cardboard Illinois tag). She was later given an Indiana Wreath quilt as a wedding present from her grandmother in 1968.

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:

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.

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:

Susan Salser

Details

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