A mirror to show thy friends to thee: Delaware Valley Signature Quilts, 1840-1855
Date
1989
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
Signature quilts first appeared in the Delaware Valley in 1841 and sustained their popularity through the mid-1850s. This study is an examination of forty quilts composed of blocks signed by their contributors. The communities represented on these quilts have been reconstructed by tracing individuals through family genealogies, church records, censuses, and newspapers. The composite of these individual histories provides a picture of the type of people who made signature quilts, of the relationships they valued, and of the events they singled out as significant.