Unfinished hexagonal pieced quilt top. 7 large hexagons (15.5-inch sides) with star-shaped patterns of small 1.25-inch-sided hexagons, 12 per side. One large hexagon is loose/ not yet sewn into the larger piece. Small hexagons were stitched around heavy paper forms cut from advertisements/ "Lancaster" is printed on one.All outer-edge small hexagons still have the paper forms in them. Central section shows was. Fascinating variety of cotton fabrics, plain & prints; shirtings. Dating from different periods, maybe late 1800's to late 1920's.
Year Range From
1890
Year Range To
1920
Storage Location
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, PA
Storage Room
DAC
Storage Wall
Island 4
Storage Cabinet
Unit 19
Storage Shelf
Shelf 4
Storage Container
Box 0047
Object Name
Quilt
Length (cm)
193.04
Length (ft)
6.3333333333
Length (in)
76
Width (cm)
172.72
Width (ft)
5.6666666667
Width (in)
68
Dimension Details
These measurements are not precise.
Condition
Good
Condition Date
2023-11-27
Condition Notes
Unfinished; cardboard/heavy paper patterns are still in outer edge hexagons.
Unfinished pieces 8-pointed star quilt top. Variety of brightly-colored cotton prints form 8-pointed stars with white muslin square centers. Machine-peiced, 5 blocks across and 7 blocks along lenght. Each star block is roughly 8 x 8 inches. A 2.5-inch border of a pink prints is sewn as the outer edge.
Quilt, pieced top of silk octagons, cotton batting, dark green velvet backing, tied (not quilted) with green yarns. Pieced top only was made by Marianna Gibbons while living at her farm, Beechdale, just north of Bird-in-Hand. Octagonal patches made Dec. 18, 1893 to March 17, 1894, except for final embroidered center patch. Quilt top likely completed soon after, during 1894. but definitely before her 1902 marriage to Oram David Brubaker (1862-1929), since she used intials MG instead of MGB.
Top has 25 blocks, each with 25 octagons. Each 8 1/2-inch block uses different silk fabrics; solids, prints and velvets. The 25 blocks are separated by an inner sash of dark green ribbed fabric, 1 1/2" wide. Only the squares at the intersections of the sashes are different, a midnight blue velvet (although many are worn off to show a black fabric backing). Outer border is dark green silk 4 1/2" wide and mitered at the corners. Center block containing alternating yellow and black octagons has the embroidered initials "MG" in center and the remaining yellow ones are embroidered with flowers.
Provenance
Provenance: Descent in Brubaker family to step-granddaughter Margaret Thompson Herr (donor's cousin). When Margaret died, donor acquired the quilt at the circa 1980 estate sale in Quarryville for ten dollars. Donor is also a step-granddaughter of maker.
Donor states that at some point before she bought the quilt, "church ladies" had put a pale green, quilted backing on it and secured it with ties. It had not been finished by Marianna Gibbons. Donor eventually replaced it during the 1980s with something more to her taste -- the present backing of dark green polyester velvet. It is secured at the corners of each of the 25 blocks with ties knotted at the back.
History: Donor reports that the Dr. Joseph and Phebe Earle Gibbons family were Quakers and their farm, Beechdale, was a primary station on the Underground Railroad. (The house itself is now gone, and the farm is now a horse farm.) Jack Brubaker (the Scribbler) owns the diaries of Marianna and her mother. The donor has worked on transcribing the diaries for years. Both women were well educated and accomplished. Marianna earned two degrees at Millersville Normal School in 1871 and 1872, was a writer, was well travelled and lectured with the temperance movement (W.C.T.U.). After Marianna completed the quilt, she married in 1902 a widower who was 14 years her junior, with 9 children aged 6 - 19. Oram David Brubaker & children came to live on his new wife's farm since she had a large farm and greater wealth. With trees and water, the 56-acre farm became a duck farm.
Generally very good. Some silk octagons are deteriorating and some velvet has lost its nap. The quilt had been finished by "church ladies" at some time while owned by Margaret T. Herr. Donor disliked it so replaced it with a polyester velvet in the 1980s. Small bleach spot on outer border.
Object ID
G.03.18.1
Place of Origin
Bird-in-Hand, East Lampeter Twp.
Role
Quiltmaker
Credit
Gift of Marian Brubaker, Heritage Center Collection
Lancaster Amish quilt, Center Square pattern, c. 1895. Machine assembled and hand-quilted.
Top: Twill-weave wool.
Back: Soft red twill-weave cotton.
Quilting: Dark-colored thread used in fine regular stitches. Inner square is filled with a large feather wreath with surrounding areas in waffle. Inner border has diamond quilting with a pumpkin seed flower within each. Outer border is filled with scrolling feathers and scalloping along its inner edge.
Blue 1" binding is machine sewn front and back.
Provenance
Esprit purchased from an unknown seller for $3.800 in April 1978.
Lancaster Amish quilt is a Center Square pattern, c. 1895. Machine joined; finely quilted with black thread.
Top: Twill-weave wools. Center is brown, 38" wide, pieced with one large piece and 5" strip at one side made of four smaller pieces. Inner border is medium blue, 4" wide. Outer border is dark olive green, 14" wide. Binding is medium blue, 1 1/2" wide, machine stitched to both back and front.
Back: Brown twill-weave wool with a narrow panel pieced at both sides of cinnamon brown sateen cotton.
Batting: Lightweight, either cotton or wool.
Quilting: Outer border filled with a gracefully curved scrolling feather. Inner border has 4-petal "pumpkin seed" flowers surrounded by a geometric diamond pattern. The 4 "pumpkin seed" shapes of these flowers slant sideways, creating a more dynamic feel. Center square has concentric feather rings with the center filled with a scallop-edged circle of waffle quilting. Outside corners are also filled with waffle quilting.
Provenance
Esprit purchased from Gaye N. Delling of Evergreen, CO in April of 1989 for $6,500.
Very dark liquid stains sprinkled mostly along one side of outer border; light liquid stains sprinkled elsewhere. Some liquid ate through fabric resulting in tiny holes mostly around outer border; cluster of holes near one corner of quilt has one larger hole of about 1/2" diameter.
Detailed 1989 condition report by conservator Linnea Davis in file: old repairs of holes and stains at outer border. Binding is faded with tack holes.
Lancaster Amish quilt is a Center Square pattern, c. 1895. Finely quilted w/ symmetry & precision. Assembled by machine and hand-quilted with brown cotton thread.
Top: Twill- and plain-weave wool. Center square of teal is 34 inches wide. Inner border (4 1/4" wide) is green and wide outer border (16" wide) is red. Faded blue binding is 1 1/4" wide.
Quilting: Same patterns, but differs slightly from the quilting of the previous two Center Square quilts. The large scrolls of the feather pattern of the outer border create compressed oval shapes rather than the conventional circular shapes. Scallops along the inner edge. Inner border has straight feather quilting. At one side of inner border is a significant gap between the feather ends, filled with a 5/8"-diameter ring. Center Square has a large, thin feather wreath. Waffle quilting fills inside and outside of wreath; scallops at both inside and outside edges of waffle quilting.
Provenance
Esprit purchased from Phyllis Haders of New York and Mystic, Conn., May 1984 for $9,000.
Overall fading. Outer border has multiple holes from about 1/2" x 1/4" big to 1/8" dia. that have been repaired by filling with similar twill fabric. Much of this border has pronounced discoloration/stains/soil and large areas are threadbare. Binding is significantly deteriorated with multiple breaks, fraying and small holes. Crepeline support added to bindings in 1985 and velcro on tape attached. Due to deterioration, removed velcro & crepeline in 1990, examined and replaced w/ new velcro on tape and some patches of crepeline. See condition reports in file.
Lone Star quilt of cotton prints. Large star of hand pieced diamonds (2" x 4") using 5 prints of pink, blue, red, green and yellow. Set on a ground of a blue print with white & dark blue flecks.
Extensive and elaborate hand quilting includes an undulating corded feather vine at all four sides, a small feather wreath in each corner and large feather wreaths with diamond grid centers fill in around star. Diagonal lines through each diamond of star.
Back is pieced w/ 2 blue calicoes, a floral and a foliate design over stripes.The pink calico binding,1/2" wide, is a print over narrow stripe background. Cotton batting.
Donor claimed maker was Amanda Metzger Rider (21 Jan 1860 - 21 Dec 1961) of Londonderry Twp., Dauphin County, a Mennonite woman who married John Brinser Rider (1885-1921), a farmer and butcher. Donor has since conceded this is doubtful. See Notes
Unknown -- Doubtful Amanda Metzger Rider was maker
Provenance
Quilt passed from Amanda M. Rider to daughter Fannie Metzger Rider Noll (1888-1973) to her daughter Ethel Rider Noll Albright (b.1910 - still living at St. John's Home in Columbia in 2003) to her daughter, donor Phyllis Ann Albright Hertz (1935- ).
Small cabinet photo of Amanda included with donation, depicts her as a young woman before she joined the Mennonite Church and dressed plain. Photo by Le Rue Lemer of Harrisburg. The Miller family genealogy owned by donor notes Amanda died of a stroke and was buried in Geyers Church Cemetery.
Generally very good but with several brown stains: a cluster of 3 about 15-18" from corner border and binding, one very dark. Another light brown stain in same border near opposite corner. One-inch-long dark liquid stain in one green diamond of inner circl. Blue background print has a regular pattern of light areas caused by original print run. Back has some small dark liquid stains and darkening along fold lines.
Object ID
G.03.32.01
Notes
Cousin of donor, Arlene Huss (Lititz, 717 569 3482) was surprised to see her grandmother's quilt during a quilt presentation 9 Nov 2017. Arlene confided later that her mother, Emma Rider Huss, told her that her mother, Amanda Metzger Rider, only made conforters with scraps of material. She did NOT make fancy quilt like this Lone Star. Arlene has another quilt that used the same fabrics as the Lone Star, but it was given by Amands to daughter Emma but not made by her. This information puts the identity of the maker in serious doubt, with the conclusion that the maker is unknown. She later called her cousin Phyllis, the donor, who conceded she was not certain Amanda made the Lone Star.
Crazy quilt constructed of primarily silk fabrics. No middle layer, Chain stitched using various colored threads. Backing made of Pillsbury Company flour bags. Made by Sarah Ann Huber and her daughter.
