QUILT INDEX RECORD

31-27-387

Who documented this quilt?

South Africa Quilt History Project; South African Quilters' Guild - National Quilt Search; Transvaal Museum Services

Where are the records for this quilt housed?

South Africa Quilt History Project

South Africa Quilt History Project Number:

06/7320

How wide is the quilt?

2.20m

How long is the quilt?

2.20m

Predominate colors:

Blue or Navy; Pink

Time period:

1850-1875

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

1850s

Describe the quilt's layout:

Block pattern

Fiber types used to make the quilt top:

Cotton

Fabric styles used in the quilt top:

Floral; Print

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

Squares and triangles in different sizes. Pieced, single seam. Copy of the original letter of the donor Mary W. Killick I believe the quilt was made by my great great grandmother, Mary Harrison (1798-1868) who was born in Giggleswick, Yorkshire, for the marriage-bed of her daughter Jane (d.1921) on the occasion of her marriage with William Hodgson (1823-1902) and who lived in Settle for sometime. It passed into the hands of Jane's daughter, Mary Hannah (1864-1946) my grandmother and I have a distant recollection of the quilt being in constant use when my grandparents lived in surrey and later in London. Eventually, it passed to my aunt, Dorothy Taylor, nee Mallinson (1899-1963), who although having two daughters of her own, decided that it should be handed on to me as the third Mary and the eldest grandchild. My mother took charge of the quilt in 1948 pending my visit to England from East Africa where I joined my Colonial Service husband in 1945. On my return to Nairobi in 1950, I brought the quilt with me and for several years it was used constantly as a bed cover. In 1965 my husband and I left East Africa and settled in Durban and later moved to the south coast of Natal. All these years the quilt was in constant use as a bed cover. In the early 1970s a change of home and a rearrangement of furniture made it impossible to use the quilt and in addition it was beginning to get rather frail and I felt another washing might cause its complete disintegration. Since those days it has been stored in a camphor wood chest and despite there being a fourth Mary, my niece, I feel that its conditions precludes it ever being used again as a 'working' bed cover and it gives me pleasure to hand it to the Transvaal Museum Services in the hope that it maybe possible to repair the damage caused by my mother's spayed Siamese queen who decided that it was an ideal thing on which to give birth to her phantom family, and that the quilt will become part of the furnishings of the house 'Bellhaven' in Barberton. signed Mary W. Killick The quilt is on a bed in the Stopforth house in Barberton.

Quilt top made by:

Harrison, Mary

Where the quilt was made, city:

Giggleswick, Yorkshire

Where the quilt was made, country:

United Kingdom

How was this quilt acquired?

Gift

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

Squares and triangles in different sizes. Pieced, single seam. Copy of the original letter of the donor Mary W. Killick I believe the quilt was made by my great great grandmother, Mary Harrison (1798-1868) who was born in Giggleswick, Yorkshire, for the marriage-bed of her daughter Jane (d.1921) on the occasion of her marriage with William Hodgson (1823-1902) and who lived in Settle for sometime. It passed into the hands of Jane's daughter, Mary Hannah (1864-1946) my grandmother and I have a distant recollection of the quilt being in constant use when my grandparents lived in surrey and later in London. Eventually, it passed to my aunt, Dorothy Taylor, nee Mallinson (1899-1963), who although having two daughters of her own, decided that it should be handed on to me as the third Mary and the eldest grandchild. My mother took charge of the quilt in 1948 pending my visit to England from East Africa where I joined my Colonial Service husband in 1945. On my return to Nairobi in 1950, I brought the quilt with me and for several years it was used constantly as a bed cover. In 1965 my husband and I left East Africa and settled in Durban and later moved to the south coast of Natal. All these years the quilt was in constant use as a bed cover. In the early 1970s a change of home and a rearrangement of furniture made it impossible to use the quilt and in addition it was beginning to get rather frail and I felt another washing might cause its complete disintegration. Since those days it has been stored in a camphor wood chest and despite there being a fourth Mary, my niece, I feel that its conditions precludes it ever being used again as a 'working' bed cover and it gives me pleasure to hand it to the Transvaal Museum Services in the hope that it maybe possible to repair the damage caused by my mother's spayed Siamese queen who decided that it was an ideal thing on which to give birth to her phantom family, and that the quilt will become part of the furnishings of the house 'Bellhaven' in Barberton. signed Mary W. Killick The quilt is on a bed in the Stopforth house in Barberton.

Why was the quilt made?

Wedding

Ownership of this quilt is:

Public Museum, Library or Institution

Quilt owner's name:

Transvaal Museum Services

Quilt owner's city:

Barberton

Quilt owner's country:

South Africa

Quiltmaker's maiden name:

Harrison

Quiltmaker's gender:

Female

Quiltmaker's birth date:

1798

Quiltmaker's date and place of death:

1868

Quiltmaker's city:

Giggleswick, Yorkshire

Quiltmaker's country:

United Kingdom

Details

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