A very nice hand made 100% cotton vintage historical themed quilt, c. apx. 1940's.
The patriotic design, crafted in gold on white ground, features the American Eagle
clutching the symbolic olive branches, with thirteen eight point stars above, in
recognition of the original 13 colonies. Urns of flowers, scrolls and a beautiful
swag border complete the decoration.
It is entirely hand quilted, with 7 -8 very evenly spaced, straight stitches per
inch.
All of the gold cotton appliqué work was applied separately and hand whipped on,
with very fine, precise stitches. Each appliqué was then quilted and further decorated
with highlighting Echo or Shadow stitches. This type of stitching is certainly not
found on all appliqué work, especially not large pieces such as a bed cover, and
is an indicator that the maker highly valued this quilt.
Quilt back is also completely hand stitched to front; both of same cotton.
Batting/wadding is fairly thin and light weight, as was typical of the period.
The quilt is in very good condition; fabric is strong, free of holes and wear, etc.
Quilting and appliqué stitches remain intact. The quilt was stored for many years
and there is some light yellowing along fold lines and minimally to a few edges.
This is most apparent on the completely white back, but also on front, to a lesser
degree. Speaking from years of experience with antique textiles this type of storage/age
related yellowing quite easily launders out, especially with pre-treatment, but since
I am not an expert on safely washing quilts I will leave this to someone more experienced.
Other than the aforementioned I see no rust, stains, etc.
There is a very small 1
& 1/2 inch opening to whip stitched seam at very bottom quilt edge, (where front
is attached to back) quickly resolved with a few whip stitches.
The plus side of the quilt being stored for many years is that the gold appears to
remain quite bright, with minimal lightening/fading. Also, apparent minimal use
contributes to the overall strong condition of fabric and stitching.
A really nice condition earlier quilt, with unusual extensive Shadow stitching, featuring
a strong patriotic Americana theme. Historically, patriotic quilts showed a resurgence
in popularity during and shortly after conflicts; World War II began 1939 & ended
1945, the Korean War 1950 - 53.
The only provenance I can provide is that the quilt
was found some time ago on historical Long Island, in New York.
NOTE: The first three
pictures were taking with flash, so the gold color in the quilt appears faded and
much lighter than actual. The last, larger close up image is more accurate, showing
more of the true color, although I believe it is still a little lighter than actual.
