In the old days grown-up folks were not the only ones who had to do with naming the quilts; children shared in the honour, and many of the quaint and fantastic names were the result of humouring their fancies. There was no “B’rer Rabbit” in quilt lore, but he was not missed when the two or three youngsters who cuddled in the old-fashioned trundle bed could have so many other fascinating names for their quilts. “Four Little Birds,” “Ducks and Ducklings,” “Children’s Delight,” “The Little Red House,” “Goose in the Pond,” “The House That Jack Built,” “Toad in the Puddle,” and “Johnny Around the Corner” are some of the old names still in use to-day. Any one of these patterns made up into a quilt was a treasure to imaginative children, and it was doubly so when they could pick out among the tiny blocks bits of colour that were once in their own gay dresses and pinafores.
Clinging lavender wisteria, sweet jasmine, and even scarlet amaryllis pale beside the glowing colours displayed during sunny spring days on the gallery rails of many country homes through Delaware and Virginia. These picturesque scenes, in which the familiar domestic art supplies the essential touch of colour, are aptly described by Robert and Elizabeth Shackleton, those indefatigable searchers for the beautiful among the relics of our forefathers.
“In many a little village, and in many an isolated mountain home, the old-time art of making patchwork coverlets is remembered and practised. Some may be found that are generations old; others are new, but made in precisely the old-time way, and after the same patterns. Many are in gorgeous colours, in glowing yellows, greens, and purples; and being a matter of housewifely pride, they are often thrown over the ‘gallery rail’ so their glory may be seen.
“One guest bed had nineteen quilts! Not to sleep under such a padded mountain, but it was the most natural method of display. Each quilt had its name. There was the “Western Star,” the “Rose of the Carolinas,” the “Log Cabin,” the “Virginia Gentleman,” the “Fruit Basket,” the “Lily of the Valley”—as many special names as there are designs.”
CHAPTER VII
Quilt Collections and Exhibitions
IN SPITE of their wide distribution and vast quantity, the number of quilts readily accessible to those who are interested in them is exceedingly small. This is particularly true of those quilts which possess artistic merit and historic interest, and a considerable amount of inquiry is sometimes necessary in order to bring forth even a single quilt of more than ordinary beauty. It is unfortunate for this most useful and pleasant art that its masterpieces are so shy and loath to display their charms, for it is mainly from the rivalry induced by constant display that all arts secure their best stimulus. However, some very remarkable achievements in quilting have been brought to light from time to time, to the great benefit of this best of household arts.
There is in existence to-day no complete collection of quilts readily available to the public at large. No museum in this country or abroad has a collection worthy of the name, the nearest approach to it being in the great South Kensington Museum in London. While many institutions possess one or more specimens, these have been preserved more often on account of some historic association than because of exceptional beauty or artistic merit. It is only in the rare instance of a family collection, resulting from the slow accumulation by more than one generation of quilt enthusiasts, that a quilt collection at all worth while can be found. In such a case the owner is generally so reticent concerning his treasures that the community as a whole is never given the opportunity to profit by them.