Star-patterned, pieced-wool bed cover, created by Martha Lutz Walter from her husband William Walter's Reading Railroad uniforms. Alternate black wool blocks are decorated with multicolored wool plushwork stars w/ raised, sculpted appearance. Remaining alternate wool blocks are secured with wool yarn ties. Seams of pieced blocks have green and red feather stitching. Binding stitch secures edges. Backing is blue and orange, striped, pilled cotton flannel.
Provenance
Made by donor's mother. William Walter was a station agent for the Reading Railroad in Denver, PA.
Plushwork decoration was popular in the early 20th century.
See Trish Herr's Amish Arts of Lancaster Co.1998 for other examples of plushwork and a description of this decoration on page 44. See page 45 for photos demonstrating this technique. See also pp. 90-91 for another example of a plushwork bed cover.
Lancaster Amish quilt is a Diamond in the Square patern, c. 1910. Herr writes: "The use of dark colors in similar tones suggests that this quilt was made in early 20th c."
Top: Plain- and twill-weave wool. Corners of inner border are pieced, and one of the four is comprised of two joined pieces. Blue binding.
Back: Black & white plain-weave cotton chambray.
Quilting: Interwoven feathers, each frond has a tulip at its end. Inner border has pumpkin seed flowers within a diamond pattern. At each corner is a 6-pointed star; all are double lined except on. Triangles are waffle quilted. Center diamond has a large star and 6 small stars within a feather wreath. Corners have a pattern of intersecting circles.
Provenance
Esprit purchased from the Holsteins for $9,000 on 6-12-80.
Lancaster Amish quilt, Diamond in the Square pattern w/ 9-patch variation. Early example of this rare 9-patch variation; one of the smallest quilts in this collection; uses rare double waffle/lattice quilting.
Top: plain- and twill weave wools. (9-patch pattern within center diamond has pieced blocks of gray, mauve, orange, purple, green and brown interspersed with solid purple blocks. Green diamonds, gray inner border and red outer border (woven of red wool and white silk, called henrietta cloth).
Back is pieced: two sections of plain-weave cotton chambray, one blue and white and one black and white.
Binding is faded into gray. Batting is wool.
Quilting: crosshatch in 9-patches, 8-petal flowers in blue blocks, rare (for Lancaster Amish) lattice (double waffle) in triangles, pumpkin seeds in inner border and feather scrolls in wide outer border.
Provenance
Purchased Nov. 12, 1984 by Esprit from Bettie Mintz of All of Us American Folk Art, Bethesda, MD. for $7,500.
Strong fading overall with significant dark liquid stains (mostly at one side). Binding worn with small areas of fraying, including three small sections (3/4", 2" and 4") repaired & protected by dark fabric sewn over them. Significant deterioration/thinning and breaking in green triangles and some holes. Red outer border has minor breaking as well. Condition report/sketch done by volunteer Aug. 2010. Note that many of small gray and two of the mauve and orange blocks in the Nine Patch unit are pieced from even smaller sections. Scraps used?
Lancaster Amish quilt, Diamond in the Square, Sunshine & Shadow variation, c. 1910. Machine assembled, hand-quilted with black thread, now brown.
Top: plain- and twill-weave and sateen wool and cotton. Multi-colored blocks including black. Outer border of deep cranberry. Patches reverse typical arrangement; in this example, teh solid field is the diamond and the surrounding triangles or "square" include the Sunshine and Shadow pattern. Light red binding is machine stitched to front, turned and whip-stitched to back. No inner border and no corner blocks.
Back: Three machine-joined widths of a tiny cotton check of brown printed on a cream ground. This type of cotton fabric was popular with Lancaster Amish quilters.
Quilting: Unusal motifs at centerfield and outer border. Center has a double-line 8-point star and pumpkin seeds, followed by a feather circle. Tiny baskets in each corner. Grid quilting on small squares. Outer border has corner lyre pattern as well as the accompanying fat feather or fern fronds around edges is unusual and suggests an early 20th c. date. Also the choice of cotton for the top is not common for this tiime.
Provenance
Esprit purchased from America Hurrah for $900 in April 1976, making it one of Tompkins' earliest quilt acquisitions. It was hung in the executive office's lobby at Esprit Corp.
Some fading to outer border; extreme fading to front side of binding. Black quilting thread is now brown at front. Backing has been torn at the gaps between 2"strips of velcro that had been sewn directly onto quilt.
Object ID
P.02.51.26
Notes
Published in "A Gallery of Amish Quilts", p. 65.
POSSIBLE ATTRIBUTION:
Fieldwork: Rachel Pellman visited Sadie Esh (Mrs. Elmer D.) of Harvest Drive in Ronks on 2-27-04. Sadie identified plate 28 in Esprit book as her quilt that Mary Stoltzfus Lapp had made for her when she (Sadie) was 15 or 16 yrs. old (in 1935 or 36). Sadie was born 1920. As a widow, she sold the quilt in the 1970s to finance a new stove, not recalling to whom or for how much. Pellman made a follow-up visit Dec. 1, 2004 with Sadie L. (Beiler) Esh, #2482 in Fisher book. Sadie believes "Grossmommy" Mary S. Lapp #3219, 1875-1955 made this quilt.
Sunshine and Shadow quilt, circa 1910. Symmetrical & square; machined assembled. Unusual segmented inner borders; there is a small body of S & S quilts with these borders, likely made by family members or close friends. See "A Gallery of Amish Quilts" p. 53. The use of fern quilting & hernrietta cloth (2-tone silk and wool) suggest early 20th c.
Top consists of plain-weaves, twill weaves and henrietta wool and silk. The back is a black and white printed polka dot plain-weave cotton.
Center field is multicolored 1 1/2-inch squares. Largely symmetrical except for a scattering of dark blue squares. Quilted across the diagonal of small blocks. Many of these tiny blocks have pleats/tucks along one edge (problem with fitting?). Unusual addition of one dark purple square near center.
Inner border (4 1/2" wide) is red with green corner blocks. Grouping of segments (either 5, 6 or 7) at center of each inner border. Cable quilting is unusual for use in narrow inner borders. Corners have pumpkin seeds with parallel lines running diagonally at corners.
Outer border (10 1/2" wide) is a gray-blue with orange corner blocks. Quilted with a fern motif and scallops along inner edge. Corner blocks have stylized 3-bloomed tulips.
Binding is dark green, 1 3/4" wide and in poor condition (sides splitting, thin and fragile).
Maker quilted the intitials "JE" in large block letters at center of one outer border. "JE" is likely Esh or Ebersol(e).
Provenance
Esprit purchased from America Hurrah in Nov 1989 for $14.500.
Published in Bishop & Safanda's "A Gallery of Amish Quilts", 1976, p. 53, at which time it was owned by Phyllis Haders. It had been found in Indiana.
Overall fading, multiple liquid stains esp. within outer border. Binding deteriorated: thin, fragile & splitting throughout & fractured at corners. Expertly overlaid by conservator Linnea Davis in 1990 with a green silk crepeline to prevent further damage and then supported by a cotton backing/foundation due to the attachment of the velcro strip. Linnea Davis condition report.
Amish quilt, Bars pattern - Segmented Variation. Very unusual departure from other Lancaster Amish quilts; more suggestive of Midwest Amish. Placement of colored segments is also unlike normal orderliness & balance of Lancaster Amish. Bordered on only three sides and has no inner border. The placement of the segments does not add to the orderliness and balance one is used to seeing in Lancaster Co. Amish quilts. Rectangular machine joined quilt is finely quilted with black cotton thread.
Top: Twill-weave wools. Centerfield has bars of mixed colors and burgundy bars. Outer border of 3 sides is burgundy. Once-turquoise binding of 1" width is now silver gray.
Back: Symmetrically pieced light brown, golden yellow and light brick plain-weave cotton of 5 panels, machine joined. Relates to the front of the quilt.
Quilting: Outer border has large scale 4-heart motif, triangular groupings of clam shells and one isolated feather strip in each bottom corner. Center is waffle quilted. All quiltiing is larger scale than usual.
Provenance
Esprit purchased from America Hurrah, N.Y.C. (according to photocopy of exhibit catalog) for $1,350 in June 1976.
Binding extremely faded from original blue, w/ soil and several dark liquid stains. The eight seams in pieced red border quite visible due to use of white thread. Light colored thread used to mend two small areas in red left outer border, above middle and another small area within the red left inner bar near bottom.
Amish quilt, Double Ninepatch pattern, c. 1910. Dated early due to dark colors and traditional quilting designs. Unusual large scale centerfield.
Top: Plain-weave, twill-weave wool and henrietta cloth (silk & wool). A nesting of 9-patch designs on four levels like matryoshka dolls. Multi-color pieced blocks, rust inner border, purple blocks and green outer border. Binding is purple.
Back: Black & white geometric pattern-woven cotton.
Quilting: Crosshatch in small squares of ninepatch in center, while the alternate dark blocks have 6-point stars. The 4 large alternate squares have feather wreaths. Cable in inner border with feather flower in corners. Outer border has a robust, tightly curving scroll feather motif.
Provenance
Esprit purchased from America Hurrah of NYC on 6-19-89 for $16.000.
Lancaster Amish quilt, Double 9-Patch pattern, machine pieced, "AE" is cross-stitched in pale green perle cotton at back corner. Quilt was made for Annie Esh before her 1919 marriage to John Stoltzfus. Maker was likely her mother.
Top: plain-weave, twill-weave, and crepe wool. Centerfield has 12 double 9-patch blocks 10" x 10" set on point, alternating with dark purple fill blocks. A lighter purple is used for most of the side triangles. The 9-patch blocks are 3" x 3" made of opposing colors and contrast will with the red fill blocks. Inner border 3 3/4" wide has blue diamonds contrasting with dark blue side triangles. Corner blocks are blue-gray. Outer border of red wool challis is 12 1/2" wide except for top which is only 5 1/2" wide. Red is made of joined sections.
Back: black-and-green printed cotton percale. Batting is a high loft wool.
Binding 1" wide seems to have been replaced -- machine stitched to front and whip stitched to back by hand. Machine stitching from the original binding still remains.
Quilting hand done in black thread: Centerfield has feather wreaths in purple fill blocks and partial wreaths in side triangles. 9-patch blocks are quilted perpendicular to the quilt in lines 3/4" apart. Inner border diamonds have pumpkin seed flowers of 4 petals while the corner blocks have flowers of 8 petals. Triangles have chevrons. Three sides of outer border have elongated graceful scrolling feathers, with double rosettes added at center fold on both sides. Quilted feather is adjusted for the upper narrow border by having an undulating single line.
Provenance
Purchased by Esprit 4/1981 from Marilyn Kowaleski of Wernersville, PA for $5,000.
Seller wrote on 4/16/81 to Doug Tompkins that Annie Esh was 81 yrs. old, had sold all her belongings two weeks ago & moved in with her daughter. (Annie Esh, wife of John Stoltzfus, not found in Fisher Book).
On May 223, 1990, Conservator Linnea Davis notes: "Washed out appearance w/ surface gradations of light damage. Binding faded to gray, quilting thread also faded. Near center is an open seam between light purple & light turquoise small squares. Along bottom side of outer border is a 3/8" pencil or pen mark. Binding has a 1 1/2"-long streak of white at bottom front. Back has a brown streak of soil about 3/4" wide running full length of quilt."
Baskets quilt, all cotton, has 16 pieced blocks on point alternating with white blocks. Pieced blocks center a basket of a yellow foliate print and a red print of small squares, all on a ground of the same red print. The yellow basket handle is appliqued. The 5"-wide outer border, the back, and the applied binding, are white cotton. Cotton batting.
Hand-stitched quilting designs, pencil lines still visible. The basket blocks have 2 strings of diamonds, a triangle, 3 hearts and a fleur-de-lis. Alternate white blocks have a large flower at center and a 3-leaf motif in each corner. Perimeter open triangles have a diamond grid. Border has running cable.
Provenance
Quilt was made by Elenora Brackbill, donor's aunt, who lived and died in Strasburg area. Donor believes the quilt was made for her own birth (Oct. 16, 1913). Elenora was a single woman and a "practical" nurse who assisted with births, nursing adult patients and cleaning. Elenora first lived in one half of the house on the family farm with her single sister Mary. The family farm was located near the Strasburg Mennonite cemetery just west of Strasburg.
Elenora and Mary then moved to 209 W. Main St. in Strasburg when donor was in her 20s (i.e., 1930s). Elenora died at age 95 and is buried in Strasburg Mennonite cemetery. Donor recalls the family all attending St. Michael's Lutheran Church on E. Main St. They were not Mennonite and did not dress plain. Maker's parents were Amos Brackbill (1840-1913) and Hannah Catherine Bair Brackbill (1849-1922).
Quilt was never used according to donor, however there are minor stains and soiling at various points on front and back, including some acid burn where likely exposed to wood. Pencil marks for quilting very evident.
Object ID
G.01.46.01
Place of Origin
Strasburg
Credit
Gift of Hannah C. Brackbill, Heritage Center Collection
Log Cabin quilt, Straight Furrow variation. Made of pieced cotton prints; over 30 different prints are used in the 30 blocks. The design creates diagonal "stripes" of alternating dark and light colors. Center square of all blocks is the same pink floral print. A 6" outer red print forms border and also binds edges, turned and stitched to back. Back is a dark brown print of circles on flecked ground.
Lancaster County or region.
Quilting is inexpertly hand stitched in white, running in straight lines down the center of each "log".
An "X" in the center square of each block.
Provenance
Unknown provenance. Donors were dealers and acquired this quilt as part of their personal collection.
