Saturday, April 22, 2023

Quilts in a Philadelphia Hospital

 

Free Library Company of Philadelphia collection

Doctor, patients and a visiting woman in what was known
as the Union Volunteer Refreshment Saloon & Hospital
in Philadelphia during the Civil War.

The three visible beds seem to be covered with patchwork quilts.

Free Library Company of Philadelphia collection

The saloon with it's eagle sculpture did not serve alcoholic
beverages but rather prepared meals and refreshments for
soldiers and sailors moving through Philadelphia.

Plenty of festive and patriotic decorations if no comfortable chairs.

Was the hospital store room full of Sanitary Commission quilts?
The artist here might have upgraded the bedding to appear as if
everybody had a chintz medallion.

See more interior shots from the Free Library Company of Philadelphia's collection
at this link:

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