Medallion quilt dated 1833 by antislavery activist
Lucretia Coffin Mott (1793-1880)
Collection of the Nantucket Historical Association
Wendy Coffin sent me a link to this great photo of a quilt by one of her relatives.
" 'Sep. 11 1833' is embroidered in blue thread at the top of the quilt, and next to it is a sewn-on cotton twill tape label from a later date on which is written 'Made by Lucretia Mott' in red ink."
The Nantucket Historical Association has recently conducted a cataloging project for their quilt and coverlet collection. Project specialist Jennifer Nieling examined about 75 pieces and their website now has photos and information about them.
http://civilwarquilts.blogspot.com/2016/09/lucretia-coffin-motts-quilt.html
See the record at the Nantucket Historical Association here:
https://www.nantuckethistoricalassociation.net/dbtw-wpd/exec/dbtwpub.dll?AC=PREV_RECORD&XC=/dbtw-wpd/exec/dbtwpub.dll&BU=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nantuckethistoricalassociation.net%2Fdbtw-wpd%2FCollectionsQuery.htm&GI=&TN=CollectionsWeb&SN=AUTO25806&SE=1935&RN=2&MR=20&TR=0&TX=1000&ES=0&XP=&RF=WebBrief&EF=&DF=WebFull&RL=0&EL=0&DL=0&NP=2&ID=&MF=&DT=&ST=0&IR=2791&NR=3&NB=0&SV=0&SS=0&BG=&FG=&QS=CollectionsQuery
"Quilt is made of various multicolored silks including plain, satin, and twill weaves, crepes, solids, brocades, woven checks and stripes, and ikat (warp printed) patterns. The quilt was likely made from scraps of old garments, and many of the silks are modest silks and drab colors that were frequently used in Quaker dress."I wrote a post in 2016 about this quilt with only this photo to go on. It's wonderful to see how complex the design is.
This sunflower hung over the bottom edge of the bed.
Lucretia was up on the latest quilt fashions in 1833. Check out
my Pinterest pages on quilts dated in the 1830s and note
how popularity of these circular pieced designs.
https://www.pinterest.com/materialculture/1831-1840-quilts-date-inscribed/See the record at the Nantucket Historical Association here:
https://www.nantuckethistoricalassociation.net/dbtw-wpd/exec/dbtwpub.dll?AC=PREV_RECORD&XC=/dbtw-wpd/exec/dbtwpub.dll&BU=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nantuckethistoricalassociation.net%2Fdbtw-wpd%2FCollectionsQuery.htm&GI=&TN=CollectionsWeb&SN=AUTO25806&SE=1935&RN=2&MR=20&TR=0&TX=1000&ES=0&XP=&RF=WebBrief&EF=&DF=WebFull&RL=0&EL=0&DL=0&NP=2&ID=&MF=&DT=&ST=0&IR=2791&NR=3&NB=0&SV=0&SS=0&BG=&FG=&QS=CollectionsQuery
Fascinating. I wonder if that field of triangles in the center medallion square serving as background is also a design feature of this era, c. 1830's. Mary Tayloe Key, wife of Francis Scott Key, made a quilt owned by the DAR Museum in Washington DC and exhibited about 3 years ago that also features triangle pieces of various colors about the same size as background.
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ReplyDeleteDoes the association publish books or catalogs of their collection or sell postcards or prints? Can you photograph the quilts if they are on display? Is there a way to have actual physical pictures of their quilts?
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