1900-1909

Janet E. Finley Collection of Quilt History Photographs

Osage, Iowa, United States

Cabinet Card c. 1902
Photographer: H.R. Montgomery, Osage, Iowa
Size: 4.25" x 6.5"

Lined up in stair-step precision, Harold, Hazel, and Lyman (names written on the card's verso), sit with folded hands and in perfect obedience for their photograph, taken in the family's parlor. Genealogy research reveals that the photographer was the children's father, Herbert (b. July 1870 in Wisconsin), who, in the 1900 census, was listed as a cream gatherer, so photography was a secondary income stream. Their mother was Elizabeth. All three children were born in Osage, Iowa. The Crazy quilt found on the Victorian day couch was typical for the time period. The quilt's cottons and wools look more utilitarian and functional than the more elaborate Crazies of the 1870-1880s, which were made with silks, velvets, and detailed silk embroideries.

-- With permission of the publisher, excerpted from Janet E. Finley, Quilts in EveryDay Life 1855-1955 (Schiffer Publishing, 2012).