QUILT INDEX RECORD
16-12-325
Where are the records for this quilt housed?
DAR Museum
Who documented this quilt?
DAR Museum, Permanent Collection
DAR Number:
2580
This is a:
Finished quilt
Quilt's title:
Wholecloth
Names for quilt's pattern in common use:
Whitework
How wide is the quilt?
82 inches
How long is the quilt?
95 1/2 inches
Shape of edge:
Straight
What color is the quilt?
White
Overall color scheme:
One color/monochromatic
Quilt's condition:
Good/moderate use
Type of inscription:
Date; Initials
What is inscribed on the quilt?
MS 1818
What is the date inscribed on the quilt?
1818
Method used to make the inscription:
Embroidery
Location of inscription:
on back
Time period:
1800-1849
When was the quilt finished?
ca. 1818
Describe the quilt's layout:
Wholecloth
What is the shape of the quilt blocks?
None
Fiber types used to make the quilt top:
Cotton
Piecing techniques used to make the quilt top:
Hand Piecing
Materials used to make the back:
Cotton
What color is the back of the quilt?
White
Number of pieces of fabric in the quilt back:
3
Width of pieces on the back:
9 1/2, 36, 36
Describe the back:
Same fabric used throughout
How is the binding made?
Front turned to back
What is the width of the binding (measure on the top only)?
less than a half 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:
white
Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 1:
10
Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 2:
11
Quilting designs used, overall motifs:
Clamshell
Quilting designs used, decorative motifs:
Floral; Vines
Quilting designs used, background fills:
Parallel lines
Quilt top made by:
Speer, Mary
Where the quilt was made, city:
Mercersberg
Where the quilt was made, state:
Pennsylvania (PA)
Where the quilt was made, country:
USA
Describe anything about the history of the quilt that wasn't already recorded in a previous field:
Donor history states this counterpane was made by Mary Speer in 1818, the year she married Thomas Brown Reynolds. Mary Speer was doubly related to James Buchanan, fifteenth President of the United States. His mother was her aunt and they were also related on the paternal side.
Why was the quilt made?
Wedding
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 maiden name:
Speer
Quiltmaker's gender:
Female
Quiltmaker's spouse's/spouses' and /or partner's/partners' name(s):
Brown, Thomas
Access and copyright information:
Restricted
Copyright holder:
DAR Museum
Details
Cite this Quilt
Speer, Mar. Wholecloth. ca. 1818. From DAR Museum, DAR Museum, Permanent Collection. Published in The Quilt Index, https://quiltindex.org/view/?type=fullrec&kid=16-12-325. Accessed: 04/23/24