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Quilt 2016.609.3
Quilt, Redwork Signature
Quilt 2016.609.3

Quilt, Redwork Signature

Date1907
Maker Various Makers
OriginAmerica, Ohio, Toledo
MediumCotton (fiber identification by eye)
DimensionsOH: 82" x OW: 83"
Credit LineGift of Mary Suzanne Reich
Object number2016.609.3
DescriptionThis is a nearly-square white cotton quilt embroidered with 36 wheels of Turkey red signatures stitched in outline stitch. A circle near the middle (3 down and 4 over to the right) reads "FIDELITY LODGE/ NO.4/ D of HAOUW/ ORGANIZED/ OCTOBER 18th 1894/ TOLEDO/ OHIO." The quilt is machine quilted through white backing and a thin cotton batting. The quilt was signed and made as a fundraising effort. The quilt has approximately 1,400 signatures, all of which are listed under "Inscription(s)" and "Signed."
Label TextFundraising quilts were very popular in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Friends and neighbors would pay to have their name included in the quilt, which was then raffled off to increase the funds raised.

The inscription "AOUW" embroidered on this quilt referred to the Ancient Order of United Workmen, a fraternal benefit society founded in 1869 to support workingmen by offering insurance and other benefits to members. The female auxiliary was known as the Degree of Honor. Therefore, the motto on the quilt, "D of HAOUW" referred to the female auxiliary of the Fidelity Lodge No. 4.
InscribedRow 3, Column 4: "FIDELITY LOUNGE/NO. 4/D. OF HAOUW/ORGANIZED/OCTOBER 18TH 1894/TOLEDO/OHIO"
ProvenanceGift from Sue Reich. No known previous provenance.