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.
Lancaster Amish quilt is a Center Square pattern, c. 1920. Notable because of added corner blocks. Although Center Square pattern is considered early, the usd of turquoise, the added corner blocks and the simpler and less fluid quilting patterns suggest a later date.
Top: Plain- and twill-weave wool. Turquoise inner border makes a striking tonal statement, making the quilt much brighter than the previous three.
Back: Black-and-white plain-weave cotton chambray (a pain-weave cotton having warp and weft threads of different colors, in this case, black and white). Chambray is frequently used as backing for Amish quilts.
Quilting: Center if filled with waffle pattern. Inner border has cable with a 7-petal flower at each corner, a later and less common inner border pattern. Outer border has basket quilting (usually associated with the 1920s and 30s). These baskets appear to be fruit-filled with coiled handles, creating a more interesting pattern than mere basket outlines. Corners have fine wreath quilting.
Near Peach Bottom, southern end of Lancaster County
Provenance
Esprit purchased from the Holsteins for $10,000 on 6-12-80. Robert Bishop writes that the quilt came from a farm near Peach Bottom in southern Lancaster County (Amish: The Art of the Quilt).
Lancaster Amish quilt, Diamond in the Square pattern, circa 1925.
Top: plain- and twill-weave wools. Maroon center diamond and turquoise triangles. Inner border of the same maroon. Outer border of gray-blue. Red binding is 1 1/2" wide. (The turquoise wool dates from the 1920s or later.)
Back: plain-weave cotton with a gray-and-white twill-print. Two different fabrics joined; a narrow strip of darker print was used along one edge. This type of fabric is commonly used on backs.
Quilting: Diamond has a large feather wreath with large 8-point star centered within with 8 additional small stars surrounding star. Outside corners have a grape-and-leaf design and outer edges are lined with a row of scallops. Turquoise triangles of square have a rose and tulip branch pattern (normally seen on later quilts). Inner border has "pumpkin seed" flowers within a diamond pattern. Outer border has scrolling feather motif with a pair of 8-point stars centered at two sides only. A row of scallops lines inner edge.
Provenance
Esprit purchased from Phyllis Haders for $9,000 in May of 1984.
See file for Esprit condition report for details: small moth holes and worn areas. Additional holes/worn areas noted. Also light stains scattered over surface. Back has some large areas of light brown stain.
Lancaster Amish quilt, Diamond in the Square pattern, circa 1925.
Top: all twill-weave wools. Red diamond is on a square of dark blue. Both diamond and square have a narrow border (3 3/4" wide) of the same purple. Dark blue binding is 1 1/4" wide.
Back: Black sateen-weave cotton, four pieced panels.
Batting: Many sections of wool batt laid side by side, causing visual and textural changes to the front fabrics.
Quilting: Diamond has large feather wreath with an 8-pointed star centered within and double-stitched foliate motif in outside corners. Triangles of center square have branching tulip-and-rose design. Both inner borders have the same triple-stitched cable motif and 10-petal flowers in corners. Outer border has curving feather design with additional feather strips filling in where possible. A row of scallops are on inner edge, next to inner border.
Provenance
Esprit purchased from Bettie Mintz of Bethesda, MD in Feb. 1984 for $9,500.
Issued as U.S. postage stamp, August 9, 2001. (Samples in Esprit file). Featured on cover of Esprit book "Amish: The Art of the Quilt."
See file for Esprit condition report for details: small moth holes and worn areas. Additional holes/worn areas noted. Also light stains scattered over surface. Back has some large areas of light brown stain.
Lancaster Amish quilt, Diamond in the Square pattern, c. 1925. This classic wool quilt is pieced from a pleasing selection of intense colors that might have been used earlier in the century, but the rose motif quilting suggests a date of mid-1920s or later.
Top: Plain-and twill-weave wool. Diamond of light red (24" square) has narrow purple border and outside the turquoise center square is another purple border. Wide outer border of deep red. Binding of gray-blue is 1 1/4" wide. It has machine stitching with white thread on front.
Back: Printed plain-weave cotton is maroon with tiny white motifs.
Quilting: Within a large feather wreath is a large center 8-pointed star surrounded by 8 smaller stars. Corners outside wreath have floral quilting. Triangles of square have a branching tulip and rose motif. Both inner borders have a grapevine pattern not common until the late 1920s and 1930s. Outer border has usual feather quilting that is less dense than usual, so additional floral device helps to fill in space: two small 9-petal flowers are stitched between feather ends at the center of each side of outer border.
Provenance
Esprit purchased from Edward Brown of San Francisco for $5,200 on April 7, 1981.
See file for Esprit condition report. A 1/2-inch patched hole on wide red border is near center area. Many small, scattered stains and soil are especially visible in turquoise triangle and red outer border. Scattered small holes on front and back of binding. Prominent dark liquid stain on backing.
Lancaster Amish quilt, Diamond in the Square pattern, c. 1925
Top: plain-weave wools. Center diamond of purple is on a square of red triangles. The inner border repeats the same purple with corners of the same red. The outer border is a muted medium blue with corners of the same red. The binding is very dark green.
Back: blue-and-white plain-weave cotton chambray.
Quilting: Diamond has a large feather wreath encircling a multiple-line 6-point star within and unusual 3-branching flower with 6-petal blooms outside in each corner. Triangles of center square have branching rose and tulip motif. Inner border has "pumpkin seed" flowers within a diamond pattern. Corners have a ring of four tulip-like flowers. The four sides of the outer border each have four S-scrolled feathers with a C-scroll at each end. Corners have a well-executed compote of fruit.
Former label: "Wool absorbs dyes in an especially concentrated way, providing Lancaster Amish women with their particular lush palette. They characteristically balanced large, starkly geometric designs with elaborate, curvilinear quilting designs. While all of the quilting designs on this fine Diamond are from the standard repertoire, they have been selected from the fanciest end of the spectrum. Notice, especially, the floral urns in the large red squares."
Provenance
Esprit purchased from Kiracofe and Kile of San Francisco for $6,000 on June 9, 1981.
See existing Esprit condition report for numerous clusters of small moth holes and some soil. Most significant moth holes are in blue outer border, many of them about 1/8 inch dia. In addition are two 1" to 1.5" smears of light liquid soil near center of diamond.
Lancaster Amish quilt, Diamond in the Square pattern, c. 1925.
Top: plain-weave wools except for twill wool binding. Center diamond is dark blue henrietta cloth, once used in the maker's dress.** Center square is gray; inner corner is salmon with light red corner blocks; outer border is purple(?) with blue corners. The 1-1/4-inch binding is heavy blue twill.
Back: green twill-weave cotton flannel.
Quilting: Large feather wreath in diamond with waffle interior and unusual double-stitched floral motif in corners. The triangles of the inner square have a branching rose-and-tulip motif with double-stitched stems; also included are two small poorly spaced stars filling in a few corners, flanking two opposing points of the center diamond (4 total). Inner border has pumpkin seed flowers surrounded by a diamond pattern. Corner blocks have a 5-petal flower. Outer border has scrolling feather pattern with a small flower added in each corner.
String tag, now removed, states quilt was frozen 05/12/92.
**Esprit book (Amish: Art of the Quilt) quilt caption claims that the maker's daughter recalled the fabric of the center diamond as "the dark blue from my mother's dress." (No maker's name, however) The label continues: "The Lancaster Amish use the term "henrietta" to describe a variety of fabrics, but it usually refers to the fine wools they favor for their quilts. Lancaster quilts are most often square and symmetrically arranged, almost always ranging from 72 to 88 inches square."
Provenance
Esprit purchased from the Holsteins for $8,500 on June 12, 1986.
Existing Esprit condition report details various stains, fading, very fragile fraying in center blue, etc. Highly significant, visible problems such as (1)shredded, fraying areas of blue center (2) orange stains of large corner block and (3) large area of fading within outer border, lighter stains in dark areas.
Lancaster Amish quilt, Diamond in the Square pattern, circa 1925, embroidered initials "IL." Lively combination of the typical Amish palette.
Top: plain- and twill-weave wool. Blue-green diamond with dark red inner border has purple corner blocks. Triangles of square are nearly olive green. Inner border, 4" wide, is wine red with purple corner blocks. Outer border is blue-green with wine red corners. Binding is dark purple, 1 1/2" wide.
Back: blue plain-weave cotton. Initialed "IL" in pink cotton cross stitch in corner, similar to the following quilt.
Quilting: Diamond has a large feather wreath filled with a large, multilined 8-point star. Outside corners have "pumpkin seed" designs. Border of diamond has undulating grape and leaf motif. Triangles of center square have the branching rose and tulip motif and the inner border repeats the grape and leaf motif of the previous inner border. Outer border is filled with scrolling feather design extending through corner blocks.
Provenance
Esprit purchased from Edward Brown of San Francisco on July 9, 1881 for $5,300.
See existing Esprit condition report for one 1/4" tear near binding and stains/soil. Additional dark brown stains noted near above hole in outer border, as well as tiny hole alongside above hole. Long tide lines of light brown liquid stains throughout one side of back indicate liquid.
Amish quilt, Diamond in the Square, quilted in corner by machine is "JTP" over "1921." Unusual characteristics indicate Mifflin Co. Amish origin or influence (overall proportions, quilting patterns, narrow binding, two inner borders, rounded corners and other construction details). However, Diamond in the Square pattern is usually associated with Lancater County.
Top is plain-weave wool. Central blue diamond on a green square. Unusual feature is two inner borders of equal width (5 1/4"), first is reddish-brown with green corners and the next is blue with green corners. (Equal width inner borders is another characteristic of Mifflin Co.) Outer border (9 1/2" wide) is of reddish-brown with green corners.
Back is blue plain-weave cotton chambray. Blue binding is only 3/4" wide (standard Lanc. Co. width is 1 1/2" - 2").
Quilting: large feather wreath in diamond, along with diapering and some scalloping. Green square (corners) has half wreaths infilled with clamshell and diaper patterns. First inner border has clamshell, second inner border has unusual 8-scroll motif and outer border has meandering feather infilled with clamshell (including corners). Green corner blocks of both inner borders have a single pinwheel.
Provenance
Esprit purchased from America Hurrah in July 1985 for $4,500.
See condition report of 7/17/13 by intern Emily Jones. Dark liquid stains, esp. in one outer border and corner block with initials/date. Bleeding likely caused by an attempt to clean corner block stain. Center diamond has a couple lighter stain/soil areas. One outer border has small areas of light staining/bleaching. Binding is faded, soiled with wear.
