QUILT INDEX RECORD

5-2-83

Where are the records for this quilt housed?

Illinois State Museum; Merikay Waldvogel Legacy Project

Who documented this quilt?

Illinois Quilt Research Project; Illinois State Museum Collection; Merikay Waldvogel Legacy Project; Sears Quilt Contest 1933 Chicago World's Fair

Illinois Quilt Research Project Registry Number:

Waldvogel #107

Alternate inventory control number:

Illinois State Museum Acc. #1995.135

Person filling out this form is:

Quilt owner

Ownership of this quilt is:

Public Museum, Library or Institution

Quilt owner's name:

Illinois State Museum

Quilt owner's city:

Springfield

Quilt owner's state:

Illinois (IL)

Quilt owner's country:

United States

Date or year made:

1933

Quiltmaker's Name (top):

Billick, Helen (Nan) E.

Quiltmaker's Name (quilter):

Billick, Helen (Nan) E.

Quiltmaker's city:

Gary

Quiltmaker's state:

Indiana (IN)

Quiltmaker's country:

United States

Did the quiltmaker grow up in an urban or rural environment?

Urban

Anything else we should know about the quiltmaker?

Quite a few quiltmakers chose to include the Sears Pavilion in their commemorative quilts. An artist's rendition of the building was easy to find in publications put out by Sears--even the contest brochure carried a building image.

How did the owner get the quilt?

Purchase

Other information on how the quilt was obtained by the owner:

Illinois State Museum purchased this quilt in 1995.

How did the quiltmaker participate in the creation of the quilt?

Made entire quilt

Why was the quilt made? Was it made for a special occasion?

Challenge or Contest entry

For whom was the quilt made?

Sears Century of Progress quilt contest

Where the quilt was made, city:

Gary

Where the quilt was made, state:

Indiana (IN)

Where the quilt was made, country:

United States

Anything else we should know about this quilt? (i.e. customs, stories):

Quiltmaker made this quilt for the Sears Century of Progress quilt contest in 1933 but it didn't win any prizes. She kept a scrapbook with letters from Sears about the quilt and that is also in the Museum's collection.

Has this quilt won prizes? Date and event:

Sears National Quilt Contest, 1933 Chicago World's Fair

List other materials available about this quilt. This may include oral history, articles, additional photos or publications, etc.

A photo of this quilt on display in 1934 is in Patchwork Souvenirs on pg 72. Credit: Sears Archives.

Date owner signed the form:

1995

Quilt's title:

World's Fair Building

Subject of the quilt:

Chicago World's Fair

Date shown on quilt:

1933

Describe the method used to inscribe the quilt:

Appliqued

When was the quilt started?

1933

Who estimated the quilt's date?

Jan Wass, Curator

Further information concerning dates:

made for the 1933 Sear's contest

Time period:

1930-1949

Length:

81"

Width:

63"

Quilting stitches per inch. Are they even?

14

Quilting stitches per inch (in a second spot on the quilt):

12

Format:

Finished quilt

Applique techinques used to make the quilt top:

Hand Applique

Stitches used to apply motifs:

Outline embroidery for detail in building.

Construction (top):

Medallion or framed center

Fabric; fibers:

Cotton

Fabric print:

Solid/plain

Predominant colors (top):

Green; Lavender; White

Colors that describe how the fabric was made, (usually a dye process) or where the fabric was manufactured:

Nile Green

Overall color scheme:

Light or pastel colors

Quilting designs used, overall motifs:

Grid square; Outline

Describe the quilting designs used:

Quilted in the ditch around applique, background grid, World's Fair comet logo (a spinning Earth) quilted in corners.

How are the layers held together?

Hand quilting

What type of thread was used for the quilting?

cotton

What color was the quilting thread?

tan

Binding and edge treatment:

Bias grain

Materials used in the quilt binding:

Cotton

Fabric structure of the binding:

Plain weave

What is the width of the binding (measure on the top only)?

half inch - one inch

Shape of edge:

Straight

Shape of corners:

Straight

Filler:

Cotton

Thickness:

Thin (Less than 3/16?)

Surface decoration:

Embroidery

How many pieces of fabric were used to make the quilt back?

2

Backing; fiber content:

Cotton

Backing; fabric:

Same fabric used throughout; Solid/plain

Backing; width of pieces (in inches):

31"

Backing; color:

Green

Condition:

Very good/almost new

Notes on condition, damage, or repairs:

Very light brown stain in small area of building.

Inscription:

Date; Place

What is inscribed on the quilt?

World's Fair Building; Chicago; 1933

Describe where the inscription was found:

on front

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

Copyright holder:

Illinois State Museum, all rights reserved.

Description of quilt:

This is a 1933 Chicago World's Fair Building in applique.

Essay:

Although this quilt did not win a prize in 1933, it was displayed at a special exhibit in 1934 and Sears decided to photograph the quilts. As a result, we have a pictorial record of this quilt and a few other commemorative quilts.

When this quilt was offered for sale in 1993, the photo in Patchwork Souvenirs (pg 72) proved its story. The name of the maker and her home town was made available when the quilt was acquired by the Illinois State Museum in 1995.

The 1933 Sears National Quilt Contest was announced in January 1933 with a deadline of May 15, 1933. Over 24,000 quilts were entered at local Sears stores or sent to one of 10 regional mail order houses. Quilts were judged at each site with the top three winners moving onto the next round. Finally just 30 quilts reached the final judging held at the Sears Pavilion on the 1933 Chicago World's Fair site.
Merikay Waldvogel

Quiltmaker's gender:

Female

Publications (including web sites) where this quilt or maker was featured:

Merikay Waldvogel and Barbara Brackman. Patchwork Souvenirs of the 1933 World's Fair (Nashville, TN: Rutledge Hill Press, 1993), pg 72.

Quilt is presently used as:

Museum collection

Where did the maker get their materials?

Purchased new

Describe the source of the pattern:

The design source was probably a printed brochure or even the Sears Catalog.

Describe anything about the design of the quilt that wasn't already recorded in a previous field:

Quite a few quiltmakers chose to include the Sears Pavilion in their commemorative quilts. An artist's rendition of the building was easy to find in publications put out by Sears--even the contest brochure carried a building image.