• Creating an album quilt was a group effort. Try creating a paper quilt in the classroom. Keep in mind that although each block is constructed by an individual, there must be a recurring theme and cohesive look to the class quilt. What will the quilt celebrate or commemorate?

• To make a complex quilt, such as this Baltimore album quilt, a great deal of mathematical skill is required. One must be able to determine the ultimate size of the quilt, the size of each block, and the sashing between the blocks. One must then be able to calculate the amount of fabric and batting required. Design a quilt focusing on the measurements required to complete the project. How large is the quilt? How many blocks? Will it have a border? Use the example of this album quilt as a model.

• This Baltimore album quilt was once part of the folk art collection of artist Elie Nadelman (see the Art Card for Tango, c. 1918–24). When the Polish immigrant moved to New York in 1914 he established himself as a leading avant-garde sculptor, and also became a passionate collector of American folk art. Define and identify folk art. What are the distinguishable characteristics of an art object labeled folk art? Why would an avant-garde, European artist such as Nadelman become such an avid collector of folk art?

• Study the quilt.  Name the designs on each block.  Group designs into categories such as vases of flowers, eagles, etc.  Develop names for other categories.

• Certain motifs found here are common in this type of quilts; a central square and a wicker basket of flowers, vases of flowers, and fruits in compotes. Can you spot a square with a more unusual element?

• Look at and describe the different patterns in this work.

• Discuss how repetition gives unity and balance to the quilt.  Are there any other elements (color, line, etc.) that repeat?

• What elements provide unity and what elements give a sense of motion?

• What is the effect of the white band around the patterns? And the red and green outlines?

• How are quilts made?

• How do you think this object was used? Is it functional or decorative or both?

• This type of quilt is called an album quilt. Album quilts consist of squares laid out in horizontal and vertical rows, and were made to honor an individual, to commemorate an important event, to celebrate a wedding, or to present as a gift to a special friend. Explain what the word ‘album’ could mean in this context.

• An album quilt can express feelings like friendship, love, admiration. What feeling do you think this quilt expresses? Why? Is it cheerful or sad, light or serious?

• The red star and small text next to it give away the theme of this quilt. What might that theme be?

• The quilt celebrates Texas joining the union as a state in 1845.  The square in the second row at the far right is decorated with a red star (the Lone Star) and the word “Texas”, surrounded by two sprays of oak leaves.  The squares with eagles and cornucopias continue the patriotic theme. Do you know why the work is called ‘Baltimore Album Quilt’?

• Most album quilts were made in Baltimore, Maryland.  Baltimore was a center of the Methodist Church in America and during the 1840s and 1850s many new churches were founded.  Sewing circles at Methodist churches made not only clothes and bed coverings for the poor, but also many of the album quilts. Do you think this quilt was made by one person or more people? Why?

• The creation of a quilt was a group effort.  Each woman contributed a block to the quilt and often signed it with her name. 

• What about the fact that this quilt is displayed on a wall in a museum? How does this quilt differ from quilts that you have come across before?

•  Identify repeated elements in the quilt.  Discuss balance and unity in the quilt’s design.

•  Review the concept of symbolism.  Discuss the patriotic symbols in the quilt.  Find symbols of the U.S. and of Texas.  How do you think the women who made this quilt felt about their country?

•  Discuss quilt making as a group activity with individuals making single blocks then working together to assemble them.

The creation of this quilt was a group effort. Each woman in the group contributed a block to the quilt and usually signed her work. Quilts are typically studied using a grid system to readily reference the blocks. In this quilt, a–e blocks run horizontally from left to right; 1–5 blocks run vertically from top to bottom. The names M.A. Humphreys, T (or J), S (or L), and S.R. Carroll are cross-stitched in blocks a3, d1 and e2. Sophia Osborne, Ellen Ehlies, and M.D. are inked in squares d3, e1, and e5. Since most quilt blocks were signed in ink, the rest of the signatures have probably faded away. The majority of album quilts were made in Baltimore, Maryland during the mid-19^th century. Baltimore was a center of the Methodist Church in America and there were many churches in that area. Sewing circles at the churches not only made clothes and bed coverings for the poor, but they also made album quilts. There is no background information available regarding any of the specific makers of this quilt.

                                                               

Album quilts were made to honor an individual, to commemorate an important event, to celebrate a wedding, or to present as a gift to a special friend, thereby expressing friendship, love, or admiration. This particular quilt has a patriotic theme that celebrates Texas’s joining the Union as a state in 1845. S.R. Carroll’s square in the second row at the far right (e2) is decorated with a red star (the Lone Star) and the word “Texas,” surrounded by two sprays of oak leaves. The squares with eagles and cornucopias continue the patriotic theme. The picture of a beehive inked in Sophia Osborne’s block (d3) includes the phrase “Friendships Offering”, indicating that a close circle of friends contributed to the making of the quilt. Other motifs found in this quilt and that are common in album quilts include a central square with a wicker basket of flowers, vases of flowers, and fruits in compotes.

 

This album quilt is characterized by elaborate decoration, painstaking craftsmanship, and vivid designs. The twenty-five squares, or “blocks” are laid out in rows and separated by sashes with diamond-shaped patterns that emphasize the design of each square. The asymmetrical arrangement of motifs enhances the liveliness of the quilt. The Baltimore quilts made between the years 1846 and 1852 are set apart from other quilts in the use of sashing and borders, by a more spacious layout, and in the use of a rich variety of cotton fabrics. The repeated colors and forms and the pattern of the stitching contributes to the dynamism and complexity of the quilt’s design. The entire quilt was stained, or dyed, with tea to obtain the light tan color of the background cloth, and to soften and blend the quilt’s colors.

 

Each square in this quilt has an appliquéd design. Appliqué is the process in which pieces of fabric are cut out and then sewn down on another piece of fabric in a pattern. After the blocks are sewn together to make the quilt top, it is stitched to an inner layer of cotton or wool batting and a backing of plain fabric, using lines or patterns of continuous stitching.

 

The term “album” indicates that these quilts are related to the 19th-century remembrance or autograph album. “The practice of giving individual blocks for quilts with the idea of having the whole recall friends to the owner, had its counterpart in the autograph album.”1

 

1 Dena S. Katzenberg, Baltimore Album Quilts

(Baltimore: The Baltimore Museum of Art, 1981), p. 13.