New here with an old quilt
05-26-2011, 11:52 AM
#25
Super Member
Join Date: Apr 2010
Posts: 4,345
Hello Rob, welcome and happy quilting from Germany!
You are very lucky to own this beautiful quilts! The name I have heard for the first one is "Rocky Mountain Road" and also "Crown of Thorns". There seem to be several names for this pattern. I am sure you will get more information on it when you contact Barbara Brackman.
You are very lucky to own this beautiful quilts! The name I have heard for the first one is "Rocky Mountain Road" and also "Crown of Thorns". There seem to be several names for this pattern. I am sure you will get more information on it when you contact Barbara Brackman.
05-26-2011, 04:55 PM
#26
Banned
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Midwest
Posts: 527
Rob, you have a couple of real treasures. Both are historical and my suggestion to you is to document what you know about the quilts and get them appraised for insurance purposes. When you hire an AQS certified appraiser, they will do a lot of research for you and include what they find in the appraisal.
My thoughts about the first one is that it is a variation of a New York Beauty, Rocky Mountain Road or Railroad Crossing. This design was being made as early as 1849. Where those quilts are made with triangles, yours is made with rectangles. This made the construction easier, but also gave it more of the Railroad look. The Railroad was very important in the history of the southern states, especially around the time that this quilt was made. There are many quilts named for the Railroad and the fact that this is the family name for the quilt is a very big part of its history.
I find no published pattern of the design, so I think it was an original variation of one shared with her or one she had seen. Even quilts made of the same design were named according to where the quilter lived and what was important to them or what was going on in local history.
Another thing that is hard to tell from the photo, but could be determined in person is that the fabric could be home dyed. I had a very old quilt from the south that was dyed using pecan or walnut shells for the brown. Most of the quilts of this design were red and green. Like I said, it is hard to tell from the photo, but closer inspection could tell if it was originally red and green or if it is close to its original colors.
Of interest to you might be a book on the quilt documentation project for the state of Mississippi called "Mississippi Quilts"
There is one of these books for almost every state now. I have the Florida, Georgia and Mississippi ones and all are very interesting concering southern quilts.
As far as contacting quilt historians, if the quilt was made in the Antebellum or Postbellum south, I would contact someone in your area, say at the Univeristy of Mississippi for more in depth research.
I would caution you to be careful when talking with quilt expert/authors and protect your rights to your quilt. I have had one of my antique quilts copied and the pattern published in a book for profit after I voluntarily shared it with a study group. It is sad that this happens and they should know better, but it is all about the money to some. So, just take note and be careful when sharing your wonderful quilts.
I would be very interested to hear what you learn and I really appreciate you sharing them.
My thoughts about the first one is that it is a variation of a New York Beauty, Rocky Mountain Road or Railroad Crossing. This design was being made as early as 1849. Where those quilts are made with triangles, yours is made with rectangles. This made the construction easier, but also gave it more of the Railroad look. The Railroad was very important in the history of the southern states, especially around the time that this quilt was made. There are many quilts named for the Railroad and the fact that this is the family name for the quilt is a very big part of its history.
I find no published pattern of the design, so I think it was an original variation of one shared with her or one she had seen. Even quilts made of the same design were named according to where the quilter lived and what was important to them or what was going on in local history.
Another thing that is hard to tell from the photo, but could be determined in person is that the fabric could be home dyed. I had a very old quilt from the south that was dyed using pecan or walnut shells for the brown. Most of the quilts of this design were red and green. Like I said, it is hard to tell from the photo, but closer inspection could tell if it was originally red and green or if it is close to its original colors.
Of interest to you might be a book on the quilt documentation project for the state of Mississippi called "Mississippi Quilts"
There is one of these books for almost every state now. I have the Florida, Georgia and Mississippi ones and all are very interesting concering southern quilts.
As far as contacting quilt historians, if the quilt was made in the Antebellum or Postbellum south, I would contact someone in your area, say at the Univeristy of Mississippi for more in depth research.
I would caution you to be careful when talking with quilt expert/authors and protect your rights to your quilt. I have had one of my antique quilts copied and the pattern published in a book for profit after I voluntarily shared it with a study group. It is sad that this happens and they should know better, but it is all about the money to some. So, just take note and be careful when sharing your wonderful quilts.
I would be very interested to hear what you learn and I really appreciate you sharing them.
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