Quilt, Appliquéd Signature Album

Date1853

Signed by Rockafellow and Auten Family Members

OriginAmerica, New Jersey, Flemington and Readington and Somerville

MediumPlain and printed cottons with ink inscriptions

DimensionsOverall dimension: 88" x 88" (223 x 223 cm). Each square is 17" x 17".

Credit LineGift of Mrs. Frederick G. Hammitt and Family

Object number2002.609.3

DescriptionThis quilt consists of twenty-five red-and-green blocks with inked signatures of twenty-three different people. Two blocks are unsigned. Each square consists of four appliquéd multi-lobe leaves coming from the center, a variation of the Oak Leaf and Reel patterns. The quilt is bound in a folded one-half-inch strip of red cotton printed with yellow and brown sprigs. It is backed in plain-woven cotton and quilted in a simple outline pattern in 8-10 running stitches per inch.
Label TextIn the 1840s and 1850s autograph or album quilts made up of individually signed blocks became especially popular. A variation of the "Oak Leaf" and "Reel" patterns, this quilt consists of twenty-five squares with inked signatures of twenty-three different people. Seven of the signatures bear the Rockafellow surname and four the Auten surname. The identified makers ranged in age from fourteen to thirty-three at the time they signed their blocks. Place names include Somerville, Flemington, and Readington, New Jersey.

ProvenanceThe quilt descended in the Stevenson family of New Jersey. The donor obtained the quilt from cousin's mother-in- law.

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