Gwendoline Herbert Lathouse's Quilts

  

Gwendoline Herbert Lathouse seems to have embraced American culture when she emigrated to the United States from Wales in the 1920s with her mother and husband William. 

Gwendoline Maud Jane Herbert Lathouse (1893-1968)

Entertaining in traditional Welsh costume

The family came from Ystrsadgynlais, possibly joining earlier transplanted Lathouses in Trumbull County, Ohio.

Post WWII view of her adopted home Warren, Ohio

She must have noticed the announcements for a large cash prize offered by Sears, Roebuck and Company published in early 1933. Hundreds of her quiltmaking peers did too and those looking for the $1200 grand prize designed original compositions commemorating the Century of Progress in Chicago's history celebrated at the 1933 fair.

We can guess the Century of Progress theme was

behind the design in this quilt dated 1833 & 1933. This

piece was recently offered for auction again.

Appliances for washing, vaccuming, cooling food, communication

and entertainment---Progress. 

Social progress and transportation

Franklin D Roosevelt's features have faded over the past 90 years.

We find no real evidence that Gwendoline Lathouse entered that contest in 1933; Sears was skillful at public relations but we don't see her name in the papers. However, her intentions seem obvious.

Later contest and quilt show organizers were not as good at publicity as Sears was. The second of Lathouse's quilts tells us of another more obscure quilt event. In 1943 during the middle of World War II she sent a letter to her sister who'd remained in Wales enclosing a clipping about a recent quilt shown at New York.

Sister sent a note to at least two Welsh newspapers in 1943

telling of Gwendoline's "Victory Quilt" being shown at Madison

Square Garden in New York City.

Well, we'd like to know more about that exhibit---but there was other news in 1943.

3 dots and a dash, Morse code for V

FDR embroidered in the second quilt has held up.

The quilts & quiltmaker were pictured in Robert Bishop & Paricia Coblentz's 1975 book

New Discoveries in American Quilts, with photos loaned by dealers America Hurrah.

Read more about the 1933 contest in our book and at a post here:

Barbara Brackman's MATERIAL CULTURE: Chicago's 1933 Quilt Contest Updated