Top, Quilt
- Object Name:
- Top, Quilt
- Object ID:
- 1989.033.01
- Creator:
- Batchelder, Mary E. (1837-1887)
- Place of Origin:
- Deerfield, NH
- Date:
- 1858-1861
- Description:
- Quilt Top. Friendship type. Pieced of plain white and double pink, pink checked, and pink striped printed cottons in an X pattern ("Old Italian Block" or "Snowflake," etc., according to Barbara Brackman's Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns). The blocks measure about 10.5 inches square. They are arranged to form a T shape by leaving out two corner blocks. A blue and white calico, in a similar tiny mill print that is typical of the 1850s, forms a narrow sashing between the blocks and around the edges. The center square of most of the pieced X's is inked with a signature, and often also a location and date: mostly Deerfield, NH, and dates between 1858 and 1861. One block has an extensive verse:
Whene'er you chance this square to see
Please think of your friend Mary B.
And may it keep fresh in your mind the date
Of the summer months of 1858.
Two happier beings ne'er were seen
Then [sic] we when strolling along the roadside green
Little caring for fair or foul weather
If we sisters could only be together.
Time passed and we were called to part
But 'twas like tearing heart from heart.
Now if on earth we never meet again
May we meet in Heaven forever to reign.
Truly your friend,
M.E.B.
Dec. 15, 1858.
Unfinished, consisting of the top only. - Material:
- Textile
Cotton - Dimensions:
- W-96.25 L-73 inches
- Credit Line:
- New Hampshire Historical Society Purchase
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