Centennial commemorative calico from L.L. Carroll's collection.
Maybe you could choose two colorways of some of the prints like the
leaf with a date print in the center here, a different
color scheme than the same print at the top of the page.
Or three colorways in George Washington.
Chanute, Kansas Times
They were available around the nation.
June, 1876, Manitowoc, Wisconsin
That year many communities held Centennial Calico Balls
in which women wore calico dresses and men calico print shirts,
but I haven't found one that required Centennial calicoes.
You can, however, imagine the market.
One of the most detailed prints.
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And a related patchwork print made into a doll quilt.
Printed in at least two colorways.
There were jokes...
And fiction.
Kenosha Times, June, 1876
National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian
The Bradbury Family quilt of Centennial print samples.
Merchant John Henry Bradbury was sent samples of Centennial prints for his New York City store.
Harriet Bradbury Rich (1861-1959) donated this quilt recalling that she, her mother and her grandmother began assembling the saved fabric into a simple pattern when she was twelve, about 1873. They might have chosen a nine patch to teach the twelve-year-old to piece but other quiltmakers
had other ideas.
Rather innovative ideas.
New England Quilt Museum Collection
Lydia Lamerson Thorpe, Clinton New Jersey, Hunterdon County Historical Society
New Jersey project & the Quilt Index
I'll be posting more about Centennial quilts throughout the spring.
See a post about a Centennial print featuring Andrew Jackson:
These examples of the Centennial fabrics are so wonderful. How great that so many have been preserved in quilts! I graduated from high school in 1976 and there were so many “Bicentennial” things everywhere. I’m sure there must have been commemorative fabrics, but I don’t remember any. I wasn’t quilting then, so I didn’t collect any if they were out there. I assume that when the USA turns 250 in 2026 there will be commemorative fabrics available. You better believe that I’ll be getting all of them that I can!!
ReplyDeleteI do not remember Bicenennial fabrics. But it's a good topic for study. Spoonflower and other print it yourself sources will be a good place to find commemorative fabrics over the next few years.
DeleteThanks, Barbara. If anyone knows if those Bicentennial fanrics were made, it would be you! I do remember lots of quilt block patterns and designs commemorating the Bicentennial. Especially that swirly red/white/blue star. It was everywhere! I remember I did a needlepoint cushion with it.
DeleteI thought I remembered bicentennial fabrics, but looking on internet, it appears most of them were more generic patriotic or colonial themes. I'm surprised that no fabric with that rounded red-white-blue round pointed star showed up on a quick search. Maybe it was too modern for the rest of the fabric lines back then?
ReplyDeleteThat Tumbler quilt with the Centennial bandana is also in the collection of the New England Quilt Museum.
ReplyDelete