QUILT INDEX RECORD

16-12-323

Where are the records for this quilt housed?

DAR Museum

Who documented this quilt?

DAR Museum, Permanent Collection

DAR Number:

94.23

This is a:

Finished quilt

Quilt's title:

Album Quilt

Names for quilt's pattern in common use:

Thomas Sykes Quilt

How wide is the quilt?

105 inches

How long is the quilt?

107 1/2 inches

Shape of edge:

Straight

What color is the quilt?

Red; Green; Brown

Overall color scheme:

Multicolor

Quilt's condition:

Good/moderate use

Type of inscription:

Initials; Place; Multiple Names

What is inscribed on the quilt?

1- Amy Newbold 2- Lizzie Earl 3- ES Earl 4- Virgina E. Earl 5- M.B. Earl 6- Tanton Earl 7- Lydia B. Sykes 8- Martha Earl 9- Ann Bruere 10- Hannacena A. Earl 11- Mary Sykes 12- Love or Susan 13- Rebecca L. Shrave / Mt. Pleasant 14- Emma Pott 15- Emania P. (Stevens ?) 16- John B. Curtis 17- Peter Bruer Lem 18- Elizabth A. Stevenson 19- John Sykes 20- Elizabeth (B or P ___ ) 21- Thomas Sykes 22- E.A. Earl 23- Rebecca Sykes 24- Peter Bruer Jurior 25- Harold Sykes 26- George Sykes 27- Mary A. Stevens 28- Paulina A. Lukins 29- (Sallie) Potts 30- Phebe R. Shreve / Mount Pleasant / NJ 31- Elizabeth K. Earl 32- Kate L. Earl 33- Hannah C. Earl 34- Sophia B. Kessler 35- Esther (Burliny) 36- Ann Sykes 37- John Kessler 38- Esther Potts 39- Betty Earl 40- Mary H. Earl / Walnut Grove

Method used to make the inscription:

Ink; Stamped; Stencil

Location of inscription:

on block

Time period:

1800-1849

When was the quilt finished?

ca. 1840

Describe the quilt's layout:

Block pattern

Number of quilt blocks:

41

Size of quilt blocks:

12 1/2 x 13 1/2

Arrangement of quilt blocks:

On point or rotated on 45 degrees

Spacing of quilt blocks:

Separated by pieced pattern sashing

Number of different block patterns used in the quilt:

27

What is the shape of the quilt blocks?

Squares

Sashing width:

2 1/2

Fiber types used to make the quilt top:

Cotton

Fabric styles used in the quilt top:

Print; Solid/plain

Piecing techniques used to make the quilt top:

Hand Piecing

Applique techniques used to make the quilt top:

Hand Applique

Embellishment techniques used to make the quilt top:

Embroidery; Ink drawing

Materials used to make the back:

Cotton

What color is the back of the quilt?

Blue or Navy

Number of pieces of fabric in the quilt back:

5

Width of pieces on the back:

14 3/4, 22, 22, 22 1/4, 22

Describe the back:

Same fabric used throughout; Print

Materials used in the quilt binding:

Linen

How is the binding made?

Woven tape

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

half inch - one inch

What kind of filling is used in the quilt?

Cotton

How thick is the quilt?

Thin (Less than 3/16?)

How are the layers held together?

Hand quilting

Thread type used for the quilting:

cotton

Color of thread used in the quilting:

off white

Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 1:

8

Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 2:

7

Quilting designs used, overall motifs:

Outline

Where the quilt was made, state:

New Jersey (NJ)

Where the quilt was made, country:

USA

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

This mid-nineteenth century album quilt is made in a style popular in New Jersey, especially in the Quaker community. Based on a diagonal format, these quilts were made of pieced and appliqued squares, usually inscribed with elaborate inked drawings and signatures. The quilt fits this description and also exhibits other characteristics typical of this group of album quilts. For example, the sashing used to divide the squares is a stripe cotton similar to those seen on other New Jersey album quilts of the period. This quilt was said, when it arrived, to have been made for Thomas Sykes, a Quaker, by his friends and family, many of whom signed the quilt. However, Thomas was b. 1769 and seems an unlikely candidate for the receiving of a quilt. His name appears on the quilt twice, moreover. So do the names of two of his three children: Anne who m. 1849 (maiden name Sykes on quilt); George; but not Edith, who married Earl Gibbs in 1847. Other signatures include Earls: Edith's aunt and namesake Edith Sykes m. Thomas Earl and several of her sons' daughters' names--Edith Sykes's 1st cousins once removed--are on the quilt, as are those of her first cousin Tanton Earl, his wife Martha, and Martha's mother Amy Newbold. (Newbold=Edith's mother's maiden name, connection to Amy n/k). (Possibly Earl Gibbs was also related to the Earls). Thus it seems more likely that the quilt was made for Edith for her marriage in 1847. This would explain why her name isn't on it. Its descent in her family also supports this. The field is composed of 41 blocks set on point, with 27 different pattern in use, all are 12.5" x 13.5". The blocks are sperated by a 2.5" wide sashing. The cotton backing is in five panels measuring 14.75", 22", 22", 22.25", and 22" wide. The applied linen and cotton binding is a .5" wide woven tape. Where patterns of blocks match, they are often signed by same surname, e.g. Kesslers, Tanton and Martha Earl, and Stevens; also Thomas and George Sykes both have Mariner's Compass designs near center; third Mariner's Compass has John Curtis, who married Edith Sykes's sister Ann in 1849.

Why was the quilt made?

Unknown

Exhibitions where this quilt was displayed:

Quilts from a Young Country, Houston International Quilt Festival, 2008, Houston TX.

Ownership of this quilt is:

Public-Other

Quilt owner's name:

DAR Museum

Quilt owner's city:

Washington, DC

Quilt owner's state:

Washington D.C.

Quilt owner's country:

USA

Quiltmaker's religious affiliation:

Quaker

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

Copyright holder:

DAR Museum