QUILT INDEX RECORD

18-14-96

Essay:

This applique block of the Hungarian farm couple on the Hungarian Harvest Festival quilt was given to her daughter Elsie (and was later inherited by Elsie's daughter Linda). Another block was given to her younger brother George Mihalovits. These two applique blocks may have been trial pieces for the final quilt (#014), a quilt for which Gasperik created her own unique centerpiece. Gasperik also created a trial block of one of the peasant girls. She sent the block to Edith B. Crumb of The Detroit News, the director of its Quilt Club Corner and annual quilt show. That block is pictured and described in Edith's Detroit News October 22, 1938 quilt column (see page 11). It is not known what became of that block.

Where are the records for this quilt housed?

Mary Gasperik Legacy Project

Who documented this quilt?

Mary Gasperik Private Collection

Gasperik Legacy Project Number:

096

This is a:

Quilt blocks or pieces

Describe the item:

Embroidered block

Quilt's title:

Hungarian Couple Block

Owner's name for quilt:

Hungarian Couple (George)

Names for quilt's pattern in common use:

Hungarian Harvest Festival

Shape of edge:

Straight

Shape of corners:

Straight

Quilt's condition:

Unknown/Not Rated

Time period:

1930-1949

When was the quilt finished?

1930s late

Family/owner's date for quilt:

late 1930s

Who estimated the quilt's date?

Merikay Waldvogel

Further information concerning dates:

If this was, as is likely, a preliminary study for making quilt #014 (Hungarian Girls, which was exhibited at the May 1940 Detroit News quilt show), then it was probably made in 1939.

Describe the quilt's layout:

Pictorial

Subject of the quilt:

Hungarian Farm Couple

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 in the quilt binding:

Cotton

What kind of filling is used in the quilt?

No filling

How are the layers held together?

Not quilted

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

no

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

Salser believes these two figures were created by Gasperik from illustrations in a book (by Kathleen Mann) of European peasant costume. The body of the woman is a duplicate of the figures of other Hungarian girls, but Gasperik needed to create a different head for this figure, because she represents a wife. Gasperik's head does not sit quite perfectly on the figure's body. The proportions of the man's figure are more successfully rendered. More detailed information (and speculation) regarding Gasperik's design can be found under quilt #014. It is thought that the quilt given to her brother George (surviving only as a photograph), represents the first study, because it appears to be less detailed than this. The centerpiece of the actual quilt (#014) is likely to be Gasperik's final design.

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?

Other

Details about why the quilt was made:

This is probably a study Gasperik made in preparation for the final appearance of the Hungarian Couple on quilt #014.

The quilt was made to be used for:

Other

Was the quilt used for something other than what it is used for now?

Wall hanging in home of Gasperik's younger brother George Mihalovits

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?

Unknown

Where did the maker find their pattern?

Original to maker

Describe the source of the pattern:

Source may be a peasant costume book.

Commercial name of the pattern for the top:

Peasant Costume in Europe-Book 1, (1937) by Kathleen Mann.

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

For the central figures, Peasant Costume in Europe, Book 1, (1937) illustrated by Kathleen Mann may be the design source. Gasperik's daughter Elsie, who encouraged her to develop her own design ideas, gave her the book as a gift.

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:

Original photo (source of #096 and #096a) in Karen Finn, private collection.
A second b/w photograph taken at the same time and place shows Mary Gasperik and her two brothers, George and Alex Mihalovits (he changed his family name to Michael Lavitte) sitting on that same sofa, underneath the framed Hungarian couple hanging on the wall behind the sofa at George's house. This second photograph is part of the shared Gasperik family archive.

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

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?

unknown, family photo

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

Copyright holder:

Hank Finn

Details