Needle case with needle threader, two pieces, a long metal tubular case of bronzed metal. Most of the object is the hollow tubular handle, 2.75" in length, with one rounded end and male-shaped "cap" fitting into opposite end. Handle has bery fine ribs running lengthwise on exterior. Cap end is very short with a smooth exterior. It has one rounded end while opposite end - that fits into handle - is fitted with a fine wire loop used to thread needles. The loop is mounted into red-painted wood which is in turn set into cap's hollow end. To use tool, cap is removed, reversed end for end, and reinserted into hollow handle.
On side of cap is stamped "GERMANY."
Provenance
Collected by Lillian Hollings Kiker, born to Scottish Americans who lived in New Jersey. Born (1912) and lived in New Jersey, last of Egg Harbor, she was active with quilting, sewing, knitting & crocheting. Collection inherited by donor when her mother passed away.
Sewing kit, rectangular box shape consists of folding exterior of black-brown leather that wraps around an inner box of rigid leather covered sides that has a flap lid with snap closure. Inner box and outer wrap both covered with the same pliable black-brown leather with pink satin lining. Wrap has stitched compartments inside as well as three graduated size rectangular flaps of fabric for holding pins & needles. Top flap embroidered with pink floral design.
Box inside has empty interior except for a corner loop for holding a 1) thimble of non-ferrous, darkened metal (long oblique crack on side continues along nearly-flat top; flattened shape) and 2) an inexpensive ferrous metal scissors having stamped scrolls on handles.
Inscriptions: Paper label found in case w/ leather residue on reverse says "Shaker Chrome Leather." This was likely the name of the leather finish of this case.
Provenance
Collected by Lillian Hollings Kiker, born to Scottish Americans who lived in New Jersey. Born (1912) and lived in New Jersey, last of Egg Harbor, she was active with quilting, sewing, knitting & crocheting. Collection inherited by donor when her mother passed away.
Needle and thread case, heart shape. Folded paper form creating six flat sections appears to be a geometric heart when closed with top strap fitted with snap closure. Exterior covered with dark blue silk with white polka dots. Interior lined with dark blue silk. Efge embroidered with button hole stitch in red.
Interior fitted with six straps of white elastic for holding small cards of thread or pieces of fabric pierced with needles and pins. Currently holds three small color-printed cards of white, blue-green and blue thread as well as one swatch of fabric with needles and pins.
Provenance
Collected by Lillian Hollings Kiker, born to Scottish Americans who lived in New Jersey. Born (1912) and lived in New Jersey, last of Egg Harbor, she was active with quilting, sewing, knitting & crocheting. Collection inherited by donor when her mother passed away.
Red fancy painted child's size rocking chair. Foliate painted design with bright green leaves, peaches, and white flowers. Thick black lines and thin gold lines on edges and in depressions of turnings.
Flat tin 6-pointed star pattern or template with1/2" diameter hole at center. Used for creating raised, sculpted plushwork (see Amish Arts by Patricia Herr, pp. 44-55).
Quilt is white cotton, top and back, with appliques of potted floral design done in solid red and a green with lesser yellow highlights. Pattern is often called "Pot of Flowers." Center is divided into quadrants with an identical large flowering & fruiting potted plant supporting 4 birds in each, creating a symmetrical design.Ornate pot has handles and the branches have leaves of stylized oak, tulip and cucumber. Border has a pair of wide-spreading flowering & fruiting plants on each side and a bird perched on a smaller sprig at each corner.
Blue is used only on the tail of the four corner birds. Red cherries cluster around branches on each plant; yellow ones at branch tips only. Cherries are cotton-stuffed balls stitched to quilt top only. Chain-stitch embroidered stems done in white thread.
Quilting is done in a fine grid (about 1/2") of blue contrasting thread over entire surface. Binding is red and batting is sparse or nonexistent..
Attributed to Sarah Annie Maisey Marker Smith (22 February 1883 - 22 December 1965). Married twice, she had 7 children & made quilts for many if not all. The family called them "cherry quilts." See Notes.
Provenance
Donor reports quilt was acquired by his wife's parents, Lynn and Lois Langdon, who lived in Idaho and were antiques collectors. At an auction in Oregon state (c.1987-88), the quilt was described as a "Pennsylvania wedding quilt." The Langdons purchased it, thinking it would be appropriate for the Lancaster bed & breakfast "The Patchwork Inn" run by donor and his late wife. (Donor's wife, Joanne, died some time ago. He remarried and they continued the B&B for another 10 years.) The Martins had a collection of over 100 quilts in this B&B. Now retired, donor is finding homes for many of the quilts.
Bio. info on maker Sarah Annie was obtained by Trish Herr from Morgan Anderson (see file). Quiltmaker lived on Easterday Rd, north of Myersville, MD.
Red binding and many stuffed cherries heavily worn. Loss of 2 cherries on one of the large quadrant plants. Minor soiling with some liquid stains, mostly around edges. Reverse has light acid burn at some fold lines. Along one quilt edge are spaced eleven minor holes, probably where tacked up for display in B&B.
Object ID
G.02.47.01
Notes
Applique quilts such as this cherry type "Pot of Flowers" design with its color palette of red and green were being made circa 1850s-1870. Red and green applique quilts were popular in the East, then spread westward where they remained popular during this time, then faded. Two more Pot of Flowers are dated 1902 and 1904, but really had a significant resurgence in the1920s and 1930s. See Connie Nordstroms, "One Pot of Flowers Quilt Pattern -- Blossoming through Centuries", Vol. 23 of the Research Papers of the AQSG, 2002 in file.
Place of Origin
Myersville, Frederick County, Maryland
Role
Quiltmaker
Credit
Given by the W. Lee Martin family in memory of Joanne M. Martin, Heritage Center Collection
All-white quilt made with unusual arrangement of pieced cotton panels, both machine and hand stitched.
Quilt top and quilt back are essentially identical; all plain-weave cotton except for two 8" wide side panels of ribbed weave and bottom 4.5" wide panel of ribbed basket weave. Centerfield has variously joined panels: at center is 13.5" wide panel flanked by two 9" wide panels and all surrounded by a 9" wide border. Very unusual piecing throughout: overlapping seams, hemmed seams and corners that do not align in conventional manner.
Quilting designs: center panel has 3 feather wreaths on a grid field, and the remaining plain-weave panels each have an undulating feather design on a field of diagonal lines. Cotton batting is deteriorated into clumps from laundering and cotton seeds scattered throughout.
Provenance
Inherited by donor from unknown Mueller family member.
Moderate wear; minor scattered stains, esp. at periphery. Most notable are two tiny blood stains, now faded. Minor separation at several seams, esp. middle panel.
Object ID
G.03.26.01
Place of Origin
Lancaster County
Credit
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Paul A. Mueller, Jr., Heritage Center Collection
Amish Sunshine and Shadow quilt with small 1 1/2" blocks composing center field pattern within a purple wool border 10 1/4" wide and a purple cotton binding 1 1/4" wide. Multi-colored small squares (including black) in center field are a mix of wools and cottons.
Hand-quilted in black. Center field has diagonal grid; border has floral undulating vine with ends tied in a bow at each corner. Leaves similar to rose leaves, but flowers have six rounded petals.
Backing is a medium-scale print of polychrome military medals with a dangling Maltese Cross, all on a field of grayish blue.
Several small, light stains/soil. Two small frayed holes of 1/8", each in border but opposite sides of quilt. One larger repaired hole in small black square. Significant fade pattern resembling tic-tac-toe grid, but with 3 lines each direction.
Object ID
G.08.17.04
Credit
Gift of Joanna S. Rose, Heritage Center Collection
Amish quilt, Sunshine and Shadow pattern. Centerfield is pieced 1.625" squares of rayon, wool crepe and cotton sateen. It has a 12" wide border of blue rayon, except for wool corners.
Hand quilted in dark thread. A grid pattern runs through centerfield squares and scrolling feathers in the outer border. Batting is cotton. Binding is 7/8" wide in an eggplant colored rayon. Quilt backing is a solid gray cotton.
A small "L" is cross-stitched in corner of back.
Attributed to a member of the King family.
Provenance
Donor purchased quilt from dealer Jackie Rothfus, who stated quilt was "made by a member of the King family of Lancaster County."
Published in Quilting Traditions by Trish Herr, p. 56. Documented in Quilt Harvest as #406A.
Paint and herringbone, chain, buttonhole, stem, and running stitches on commercial cotton fabric, with commercial synthetic fringe. Machine-pieced top in Diamond in a Square type pattern on white background. Sashing to make diamond and square forms are pieced with blue and white cotton. Blue pieces are outlined in blue running stitch on their short sides. Points of square and diamond are white fabric, with blue running stitch in square form.
Painted floral wreath in center diamond, with an embroidered bow in blue buttonhole. Wreath includes five roses in pink and red; greenery; blue, pink, yellow, purple, and orange flowers; and red berried sprigs.
Triangular areas, outside of diamond, each contain 4 painted flowers. One blue flower in each outside corner, with orange center. Three flowers along diamond edge. One five-lobed yellow flower, with orange center. One large pink and red rose, with greenery. One purple five-lobed flower, with orange center. Floral vine and leaf outer border. Five-lobed pink flowers worked in blanket stitch, with stem stitch highlights. Vine worked in green herringbone stitch. Leaves in green blanket stitch, with chain and stem highlights. Machine-applied commercial synthetic twisted fringe on four sides.
Back is machine-pieced white cotton. Shows evidence of embroidered green leaves, blue running stitch and ribbon, and pink highlights.
Original inventory number--630.
Provenance
Collected by George Lyster in Lancaster Co. Intended as a gift, entire collection remains on loan.
Thimble of Mexican sterling silver (925) in classic shape but unusual construction. Sides have a vertical seam and top is capped with a domed and dimpled top. This horizontal joint is then wrapped with a band of silver.
Heavy applied decoration: upper 3/5 of sides have three flowering plants growing out of S-scrolls below and C-scrolls arranged in the lower 2/5. The scrolled decoration is applied like quilled paper. This raised decoration stands out against a black painted body.
Struck along inside of rim is "MEXICO" and "IGU---" over "92-". Other marks unclear. (See Notes) A "2" is struck on outside of body creating a circular depression.
Provenance
Collected by Lillian Hollings Kiker, born to Scottish Americans who lived in New Jersey. Born (1912) and lived in New Jersey, last of Egg Harbor, she was active with quilting, sewing, knitting & crocheting. Collection inherited by donor when her mother passed away.
Dark overall with what appears to be black paint. All salient surfaces are worn and there are paint losses. Distortion of body and multiple places where maker has struck lettering or designs.
Object ID
G.05.15.37
Notes
See another example of this ring found on internet in this file. Iguala is a town near the renowned silvermaking town of Taxco (near the west coast of Mexico) where William Spratling, in the 1930s, famously reinstituted the silver industry and craftsmanship that had died centuries before.
Place of Origin
Iguala de la Independencia, Guerrero, Mexico
Credit
Gift of Susan Garofola in memory of Lillian Kiker (mother), Heritage Center Collection
Thimble with an open top, made of unknown non-ferrous alloy. German made. Sides are dimpled with tiny hexagons. At top is a very narrow plain band and at bottom is a raised edge. There is no top to cover finger tip.
Inscriptions: On opposite sides of the raised edge at bottom are : "GERMANY" and "9".
Provenance
Collected by Lillian Hollings Kiker, born to Scottish Americans who lived in New Jersey. Born (1912) and lived in New Jersey, last of Egg Harbor, she was active with quilting, sewing, knitting & crocheting. Collection inherited by donor when her mother passed away.
Minimal wear; slight darkening/tarnish at upper half of exterior.
Object ID
G.05.15.44
Notes
See another example of this ring found on internet in this file. Iguala is a town near the renowned silvermaking town of Taxco (near the west coast of Mexico) where William Spratling, in the 1930s, famously reinstituted the silver industry and craftsmanship that had died centuries before.
Place of Origin
Germany
Credit
Gift of Susan Garofola in memory of Lillian Kiker (mother), Heritage Center Collection
Thimble of "Alpaca Silver" (see Notes). Similar to G.05.15.38, the sides have a vertical seam and are capped by a domed top with a waffle pattern produced by a machine. Upper half of sides have vertical rows of hand-punched dimples. Plain bottom half. Bottom edge has a raised, applied band with 10 hand-set pieces of vari-colored abalone. Solder points quite visible.
Struck inside rim is "-LPACA". Most likely made in Mexico
Provenance
Collected by Lillian Hollings Kiker, born to Scottish Americans who lived in New Jersey. Born (1912) and lived in New Jersey, last of Egg Harbor, she was active with quilting, sewing, knitting & crocheting. Collection inherited by donor when her mother passed away.
Dents/distortion at sides as well as significant tarnish.
Object ID
G.05.15.39
Notes
Nickel silver, German silver, Argentan, new silver, nickel brass, albata, alpacca, or electrum is a copper alloy with nickel and often zinc. The usual formulation is 60% copper, 20% nickel and 20% zinc. Nickel silver is named for its silvery appearance, but it contains no elemental silver unless plated. The name "German silver" refers to its development by 19th-century German metalworkers in imitation of the Chinese alloy known as paktong (cupronickel). All modern, commercially important nickel silvers (such as those standardized under ASTM B122) contain significant amounts of zinc, and are sometimes considered a subset of brass.
Place of Origin
Mexico
Credit
Gift of Susan Garofola in memory of Lillian Kiker (mother), Heritage Center Collection
Thimble of sterling silver (925) in classic shape, marked by Simons Bros. Co.
Thimble has a wide band at lower half of sides, decorated with a raised, repeating pattern of putti holding flowering plants between them; also stamped foliate decoration. Upper half of sides have a honeycomb pattern of hexagons while domed top has conventional indentations.
Inscriptions: Marked within putti band is "PAT.NOV.21,05." Simons mark is underneath top with a smaller version of the shield. "STERLING" and "10" are above shield. Shown in Simons catalog as #146.
Provenance
Collected by Lillian Hollings Kiker, born to Scottish Americans who lived in New Jersey. Born (1912) and lived in New Jersey, last of Egg Harbor, she was active with quilting, sewing, knitting & crocheting. Collection inherited by donor when her mother passed away.
Extreme tarnish, scratches on lower band along with strong wear on all salient point of putti design. Needle scratches on interior as well.
Object ID
G.05.15.41
Notes
See another example of this ring found on internet in this file. Iguala is a town near the renowned silvermaking town of Taxco (near the west coast of Mexico) where William Spratling, in the 1930s, famously reinstituted the silver industry and craftsmanship that had died centuries before.
Place of Origin
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Credit
Gift of Susan Garofola in memory of Lillian Kiker (mother), Heritage Center Collection
Thimble of sterling silver (925) in classic shape, marked by Simons Bros. Co. Sides have a honeycomb pattern of hexagons on upper half and lower half is decorated with three band of different widths having narrow, vertical faceting. Two beaded rings separate these three bands. The domed top has conventional indentations.
Inscriptions: Marked "10" on the wide lower band. Struck with Simon Bros. mark underneath top: old English "S" on a shield, surrounded by "STERLING SILVER."
Provenance
Collected by Lillian Hollings Kiker, born to Scottish Americans who lived in New Jersey. Born (1912) and lived in New Jersey, last of Egg Harbor, she was active with quilting, sewing, knitting & crocheting. Collection inherited by donor when her mother passed away.
See another example of this ring found on internet in this file. Iguala is a town near the renowned silvermaking town of Taxco (near the west coast of Mexico) where William Spratling, in the 1930s, famously reinstituted the silver industry and craftsmanship that had died centuries before.
Place of Origin
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Credit
Gift of Susan Garofola in memory of Lillian Kiker (mother), Heritage Center Collection
Thimble of sterling silver (925) in classic shape, marked by Simons Bros. Co.
On lower 1/3 of thimble sides is a wide plain band. The remainder of sides is a foliate-inspired pattern in bas-relief, with the tip having a similar pattern.
Inscriptions: Marked "10" on plain band. Simons mark is underneath top; an old English "S" within a shield, surrounded by "STERLING SILVER."
Provenance
Collected by Lillian Hollings Kiker, born to Scottish Americans who lived in New Jersey. Born (1912) and lived in New Jersey, last of Egg Harbor, she was active with quilting, sewing, knitting & crocheting. Collection inherited by donor when her mother passed away.
Minimal wear, significant tarnish in crevices, etc.
Object ID
G.05.15.43
Notes
See another example of this ring found on internet in this file. Iguala is a town near the renowned silvermaking town of Taxco (near the west coast of Mexico) where William Spratling, in the 1930s, famously reinstituted the silver industry and craftsmanship that had died centuries before.
Place of Origin
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Credit
Gift of Susan Garofola in memory of Lillian Kiker (mother), Heritage Center Collection
