I remember this quilt that we documented in the Kansas Quilt Project
very well. It is signed in bold applique "Mary A. Turley 1869"
It's certainly an unusual pattern.
It's in my Encyclopedia of Applique, #44.9, but up till recently this was the only
example I'd seen.
The two-way mirror image symmetry is interesting as is the layering of the pink and red feathery flowers.
Nancy Hornback did a good deal of research on the quiltmaker, finding Mary A. Turley (1854-1917) probably made the quilt in Indiana before coming to Kansas to marry Levi Morgan in 1871. She stitched the quilt at 15 and married at 17.
Mary was born in Marion County, Indiana, in what is now a suburb of Indianapolis.
See a little more about how the Turleys came from Virginia to Indiana at this site:
http://www.genealogy.com/forum/surnames/topics/turley/1216/
When I saw this one documented by the Iowa Project I made a note. Twins!
This top belonged to Mary Barton, a famous collector in Iowa.
Coxcomb by Alice Rose Klein (Mrs. Madison C. Klein) of Indiana.
Perhaps this is the maker:
"Alice Rose Smith, daughter of Squire and Sarah Smith, was born in Marion Co. Ind. Oct. 3, 1853. was married Oct. 25, 1871, to Mat Klein who was born in Delaware Co. Ind. Oct 6, 1848. 75 There have been born to Alice Rose and Mat Klein 3 children, namely: May, Harry and Russell Madison. Alice Rose and Mat Klein are living in Crawfordsville, Ind. and Mr. Klein is engaged in the jewelry trade."
"Alice Rose Smith, daughter of Squire and Sarah Smith, was born in Marion Co. Ind. Oct. 3, 1853. was married Oct. 25, 1871, to Mat Klein who was born in Delaware Co. Ind. Oct 6, 1848. 75 There have been born to Alice Rose and Mat Klein 3 children, namely: May, Harry and Russell Madison. Alice Rose and Mat Klein are living in Crawfordsville, Ind. and Mr. Klein is engaged in the jewelry trade."
"The year following his coming to Crawfordsville, [1870]Mr. [Madison Conard] Klein married and his wife, Alice Rose Klein, a son Charles Harry Klein, a daughter Alice Mae Klein and granddaughter, Katherine May Klein, survive him."
If so we have two similar quilts made by women born a year apart in Marion County, Indiana. An Indiana pattern?
But here's one from the Tennessee project.
Triplets!
Actually Quadruplets!
The Tennessee quilt was made by a Mrs. Ottinger in Parrottsville. The owner who brought the quilt to be photographed said she purchased it and that she had another one like it.
From the notes:
Ottinger is a common name in Parrottsville. I even found a tintype of someone's Aunt Mary Ottinger from Parrottsville, sold on an online auction.
Maybe it's a Tennessee pattern.
"There is another quilt identical to this one, but it is in very poor condition. This one is unused with the pencil markings for quilting lines still visible. Unusual applique design and an unusual quilting design used in this quilt. The quilt is longer (104 inches)than most quilts in this time period in Tennessee."
Ottinger is a common name in Parrottsville. I even found a tintype of someone's Aunt Mary Ottinger from Parrottsville, sold on an online auction.
Maybe it's a Tennessee pattern.
Are there any more out there?
What a fascinating pattern! Unfortunately, I don't have one in my meager collection to chime in and add to the group:) Beautiful indeed.
ReplyDeleteSo, when I saved this photo (to my inspiration folder), I see that you have called it a coxcomb pattern. I know the coxcomb design with the big leaf in the middle, now this is a second one. Are there more? Somehow this motif really speaks to me.
ReplyDeleteI for one have never seen this pattern before. Then again, I don't research patterns. I enjoy reading about your research. Does it go back before newspaper quilt pattern publishing? Do you find any information on the makers that would indicate they were well known seamstresses. Of course, sitting around in long skirts and a corset on a sweltering summer day (92 here today) I'd want to spend my time on a very intricate pattern too, simply so I wouldn't have to move away from the fan.
ReplyDeleteI love the colors of this quilt!. Do you think you could add this small design to a fabric? I would just live it!!
ReplyDeleteWhat a super idea Judy! I love this pattern as well. Thanks for all the info Barbara!
ReplyDeleteusairdoll(at)gmail(dot)com
Judy, Jodi--Print the pictures out on photo ready fabric.
ReplyDeleteI'm rarely tempted to do applique, but I might make an exception for this beautiful motif. Thanks for sharing it, Barbara.
ReplyDeleteIs it an identifiable flower? (Thistle? Amaranth?). In our era of instant communication and sharing to the point of over-sharing, it is such a wonder how patterns and ideas traveled so widely in earlier years.
ReplyDelete