Newspaper quilt patterns of the 1930s were abundant with a few large syndicated companies dominating the field. Patterns appearing under the pen names Laura Wheeler and Alice Brooks were probably the most numerous. The source and the people involved have been rather mysterious as newspaper copy did not give much information on a company, designers or copywriters.
A few of my pattern collecting friends have, shall we say, opinions as to the
mindset of these fictional seamstresses. Just a bit sadistic in the promise of
"easy piecing" with twelve seams meeting in the center, for example.
Representative fictional artist
You do get the feeling that the artist in many cases had never pieced a quilt in his/her life.
Wilene Smith, however, has devoted many years of serious study to figuring out the writers and artists behind the series. Her work is available on the Quilt Index at this link:
The 1940 census found Ada at 22 living with her parents Robert & Ada Cone and four brothers on Sinclair Avenue on Staten Island. The family seems to be in the grocery business. Her occupational listing may say "Not Working" or "New Worker".
Helen Dudnik in Staunton, Virginia News Leader, June 7, 1945
(Note that the columnist’s actual name Ada L. Cone is not included.)
“Knits and purls, chains and slip stitches lazy dasies (sic) and french knots. They’re all easy when you know how. And women who don’t ask Laura Wheeler, the knit crochet, and embroider genius. An average of ten million women each year write to Laura Wheeler for instructions for knitting that baby bonnet they saw in yesterday’s newspaper. She receives more mail than some of our top-ranking Betty Grables or Lana Turners.
Recently Laura Wheeler received a letter from a grandmother who wanted her to know that within a comparatively short period of time she had ordered seventy-two patchwork quilt patterns---all created by Miss Wheeler. Grandma, as she signed herself, went on to say that she was making twelve quilts for each of her twelve granddaughters and that soon she could present the gifts to ‘her girls’ whom she knew would be delighted with them.
Laura Wheeler’s name is known to millions of newspaper readers. She is discussed by countless women everyday---over back fences, notions counters and scores of other places where women and girls congregate. In 1933 Laura Wheeler decided to close her own art studio and become the pioneer needlecraft designer in the field. When she started with George Goldsmith, his Reader Mail organization was fast becoming America’s leading newspaper dress pattern manufacturers.
One day she asked of Goldsmith, “Why should we produce only dress patterns? There are millions of women who like to knit, crochet, and embroider. Why can’t we manufacture needlecraft patterns for them?’
She hired top-notch writers to describe step by step, clear and precise directions for each kind of stitch in a particular design. As many as ten artists work on a single pattern.
Says Laura Wheeler, ‘When a reader sees my release in her newspaper and sends 15 cents for my needlecraft pattern, it is my job to see that not only will she get it promptly but when the pattern does reach her she can be assured that there will be no need to stop and question the next step.’
Added Miss Wheeler, ‘Every one of my needlecraft patterns is fool proof so that even a novice will have no difficulty finishing the sweater, purse or rag dolls she started.’
She stresses the practicability of her feature. ‘I try to put myself in the position of the reader. She wants eye-appealing needlecraft patterns which can be made as inexpensively as possible and that is what I strive to give her.’
Laura Wheeler is a typical American woman. She is of medium height with black hair streaked with gray, sparkling dark eyes and an effervescent personality. Laura feels she is amply repaid for her life’s work of creating needlecraft patterns when those millions of letters come pouring into her office---letters from women all over the country asking for more patterns, letters from grateful readers telling of the joys her designs have brought them.
When the war is over, Laura Wheeler plans to make her needlecraft pattern feature available not only in the United States, Canada and Australia but in other European countries as well."
From Ada's Findagrave files:"Ada Cone, 83, of Oakwood, a native Staten Islander and retired fashion designer, died Friday at Merry Heart Nursing Home in Succasunna, New Jersey. Born in Prince's Bay, she moved to Oakwood in 1961. Last February, she moved to Blairstown, New Jersey. She had been a resident of the nursing home since November. A fashion designer, Ms. Cone worked for approximately twenty years with the reader-mail division of King Features Syndicate, Manhattan. She designed clothing and sewing patterns for the "Let's Sew" segment, which appeared in newspaper comic sections around the country, including the Sunday Advance. She retired in 1985. She attended Tottenville High School. She is survived by a niece and two nephews. The funeral will be held on Tuesday, with a service at 9:30 a.m. in the Casey Funeral Home, Castleton Corners. Burial will be in Moravian Cemetery, New Dorp.
Published in the Staten Island Advance on January 7, 2001."
I've done posts on several of the patterns over the years.
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See posts if you are looking for a challenging pattern:
"On my Quilt Bucket List, someday when I WANT to do zillions of set-in seams :)"
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