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Morning Glory; Apricot Morning Glory (Karen); Morning Glory Wreath

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QUILT INDEX RECORD

18-14-33

Description:

This is the second Apricot Morning Glory quilt. Gasperik also made a pair of Morning Glory quilts in shades of blue (#009 and #016). Although these quilts bear an astonishing resemblance to a kit #2005 offered by Bucilla, in fact the pattern units used by Gasperik and those inside the Bucilla box do not match in size or shape. Yet the diagonal quilting lines and the triple border executed in three shades of the same color DO suggest that Mary Gasperik may have seen either the Bucilla kit or a quilt made from it.

Essay:

Salser believes Mary Gasperik used Webster's crib quilt design, the wreath, as a sort of aesthetic guide to transforming the "more brash Bucilla quilt." The quickest way to distinguish quilt #026 from #062 is to look at the leaves appliqued at the very top and bottom of the appliqued wreath. They are a duo on quilt #026 and a trio on quilt #062.

Where are the records for this quilt housed?

Mary Gasperik Legacy Project

Who documented this quilt?

Mary Gasperik Private Collection

Gasperik Legacy Project Number:

062

This is a:

Finished quilt

Quilt's title:

Morning Glory

Owner's name for quilt:

Apricot Morning Glory (Karen)

Names for quilt's pattern in common use:

Morning Glory Wreath

How wide is the quilt?

68 inches

How long is the quilt?

102 inches

Shape of edge:

Scalloped

Shape of corners:

Scalloped

What color is the quilt?

Coral; Green; Orange

Overall color scheme:

Light or pastel colors

Quilt's condition:

Excellent/like new

Describe the type of inscription:

cloth exhibit label sewn to back

What is inscribed on the quilt?

Mary Gasperik
1411 W 174th ST
East Hazel Crest
Ill

Method used to make the inscription:

Attached label

Location of inscription:

on back

Time period:

1930-1949

When was the quilt finished?

1935-1945

Date estimated by an antique dealer, quilt historian or appraiser:

1935-1945

Who estimated the quilt's date?

Merikay Waldvogel

Further information concerning dates:

Estimated date is based on similar kit designs made by Bucilla in 1930s-1940s.

Describe the quilt's layout:

Medallion or framed center

Number of borders:

3

Describe the borders:

Three wide borders echo the scalloped edge. Colors of border are shaded from dark apricot, through medium apricot to light apricot. Center panel is encircled with a morning glory vine. This border design element is part of the Bucilla kit #2005, "Morning Glory."

Fiber types used to make the quilt top:

Cotton

Fabric styles used in the quilt top:

Solid/plain

Applique techniques used to make the quilt top:

Hand Applique

Embellishment techniques used to make the quilt top:

Embroidery

Materials used to make the back:

Cotton

What color is the back of the quilt?

White

Describe the back:

Solid/plain

Materials used in the quilt binding:

Cotton

How is the binding made?

Bias grain

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 are the layers held together?

Hand quilting

Color of thread used in the quilting:

white

Quilting designs used, overall motifs:

Double parallel lines; Echo

Quilting designs used, decorative motifs:

Wreaths

Quilting designs used, background fills:

Grid/crosshatch; Parallel lines

Features or notes about the quilt's appearance, materials, or construction:

It is thought that this quilt may have been completed years after its similar-looking mate (). The major difference between the two quilts, other than the fact that #026 has fewer green leaves, lies in the quilting design. Both quilts have a double wreath filled with cross-hatching as their centerpiece; but the space between that quilted wreath and the applique wreath is handled differently on the two quilts. On quilt #026 double parallel lines of quilting meet in a flat chevron. On quilt #062 (thought to have been completed later) the dense lines of quilting criss-cross, creating the effect of three dimensional space. This experimentation is reminiscent of Gasperik's series of Indiana Wreath quilts (see #011, #032, #043 and #063). The quilting inside those wreaths also plays with different ways of creating a sense of three-dimensional space through quiltING alone.

Quilt top made by:

Gasperik, Mary

Quilted by:

Gasperik, Mary

Where the quilt was made, city:

Chicago

Where the quilt was made, county:

Cook County

Where the quilt was made, state:

Illinois (IL)

Where the quilt was made, country:

United States

How was this quilt acquired?

Inheritance

Tell the story of how the quilt was obtained:

Selected by Elsie during a division of quilts (with her sister-in-law) after Gasperik died. When Elsie Krueger died in 1988 and her three daughters divided their mother's share of Gasperik quilts, this was Susan's pick. She later traded it (along with Indiana Wreath #063) to her other sister, Karen, in exchange for Calico Rose (#049) and Tree of Life (#031).

Why was the quilt made?

Personal enjoyment

The quilt was made to be used for:

Bedding, special occasion

Quilt is presently used as:

Keepsake/memento

Describe present uses of the quilt:

Mary's grandchildren regard her quilts as a unique collection to be preserved and appreciated.

Where did the maker get their materials?

Purchased new

Where did the maker find their pattern?

Commercial/Published source: Book; Commercial/Published source: Newspaper; Commercial/Published source: Kit

Where did the quiltmaker find the pattern for the quilting design on the quilt?

Published material

What is the commercial name of the quilting design used for this quilt?

Quilted oval feathered wreath at center of quilt may be adapted from quilting design #521 in Colonial Quilts by Hubert Ver Mehren.

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

Bucilla Applique Bedspread "Morning Glory" Design No. 2005 kit at first glance appears too have been Gasperik's pattern source; but upon close examination Bucilla's flower appliqué pattern units and their arrangement on the overall quilt do not match the Gasperik morning glory quilts. The Bucilla kit #2005 includes multicolored flowers, and their flower and leaf pattern shapes do not match the shapes on the Gasperik quilts. The soft tones of the two Gasperik Apricot Morning Glory quilts (#026 and #062) are quite different from the harsher oranges of the kit’s fabrics. Of the four Gasperik Morning Glory quilts (two in shades of apricot and two in shades of blue) three of them have symmetric arrangements of a trio of flowers and leaves centered in each of the four sides of the squared off wreath. One quilt (#026), has an asymmetrical arrentment in each of these four locations. Instead of three leaves, there are only two in these four positions. Oddly, this same asymmetrical arrangement is found on a non-Gasperik quilt Susan Salser purchased on eBay, and also on a pair of Morning Glory Wreath quilts (probably made in the same period of time, the mid 1940s, in Minnesota) appraised by Karen Dever in 2020. There is clearly a shared commercial pattern source for these four quilts, although it cannot be said at this time exactly what that source was, only that is was NOT the Bucilla kit #2005. It is likely that this Gasperik Morning Glory Wreath quilt is first of the series of four which Gasperik made, because it so faithfully follows the design patterns specified by the as-yet unidentified commercial pattern source. The blue pair of Gasperik Morning Glory Wreath quilts diverges the most, especially in its quiltING design, from the unknown pattern or kit source which was the likely source of this particular quilt's design.

Exhibitions where this quilt was displayed:

An exhibit tag which is separated from its quilt reads "Morning Glory Wreath First Prize in Springfield Mrs. Mary Gasperik".

The Quilts of Mary Gasperik, Ravenswood Historic Site, Livermore, CA, March 14-15, 1992.

Contests entered:

Karen Finn compared her Gasperik quilts' exhibit labels and concluded that this quilt may have been entered in the 1958 Illinois State Fair. In an e-mail dated 2/1/06 Karen wrote to Salser: "In comparing printing on labels it appears the What are Little Boys Made Of? and the Morning Glory one were written by the same person. The T on the label is very distinctive. Yes, I know one address is written incorrectly. But the labels were written by the same person. Since we know Andy's quilt was shown in Illinois in 1958 can this mean Morning Glory was at the same show?"

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

Merikay Waldvogel and Barbara Brackman. Patchwork Souvenirs of the 1933 Chicago World's Fair, (Nashville, TN: Rutledge Hill Press, 1993)102-103.

Merikay Waldvogel "One American Dream Comes True", Quilters Newsletter Magazine, March 2008, 46-49.

Related items such as diaries, obituaries, wills, household inventories, or pictures of the quiltmaker:

Complete Bucilla kit #2005, Morning Glory (Susan Salser - private collection)

Nancy Cabot newspaper illustration of Morning Glory.

Marie Webster's color photo of child's quilt Morning Glory.

There was probably at least one other 1930s kit for making a morning glory wreath quilt similar to the four made by Mary Gasperik. In 2006 Salser bought on ebay a similar-looking morning glory wreath quilt executed in three shades of apricot. In its flower patterns and colors this quilt more resembles the two Gasperik apricot morning glory quilts than it does Bucilla kit #2005. The seller was the niece of the maker, who was named Charlotte Louise Greene (1897-1993). When asked for information about the quilt-maker, the niece wrote: "I really don't know a lot about my Aunt's quilt making. She had a lot of interests - was very smart. (She studied ballet with Martha Graham and corresponded all her life with Norman Vincent Peale.) Kind of went from one interest to another. She was fired up about quilt making for a while and then dropped it for something else. She wasn't particularly artistic that I recall, so I suppose she didn't design her own quilts but probably may have bought designs from another source" (e-mail to Susan Salser from Anne Botto, 2/24/2006).

Ownership of this quilt is:

Private

Quilt owner's name:

Karen Krueger Finn

Quilt owner's country:

United States

Person filling out this form is:

Relative of quiltmaker; Author/researcher

If you are a relative of the quiltmaker, how are you related? The quiltmaker is my:

Grandmother

Describe the relationship to the quilt's maker:

Grand-daughter Susan Salser began this research effort in 1991, after she and her two sisters divided up the quilts which belonged to their mother (Elsie Gasperik Krueger) who died in 1988. Her ongoing research has been fruitful and interesting.

Quiltmaker's maiden name:

Mihalovits, Maria

Quiltmaker's gender:

Female

Quiltmaker's birth date:

01/25/1888

Quiltmaker's birthplace, country:

Hungary

Quiltmaker's date of death:

05/25/1969

Quiltmaker's ethnic background/tribal affiliation:

Hungarian

Quiltmaker's educational background:

Elementary School

In which kind of environment did the quiltmaker live?

Rural

Quiltmaker's city:

Chicago

Quiltmaker's county:

Cook

Quiltmaker's state:

Illinois (IL)

Quiltmaker's country:

United States

Quiltmaker's father's name:

Mihalovits, Istvan

Quiltmaker's father's birthplace:

Hungary

Quiltmaker's father's ethnic/tribal background:

Hungarian

Quiltmaker's mother's name:

Mihalovits, Vidoszava

Quiltmaker's mother's birthplace:

Hungary

Quiltmaker's mother's ethnic/tribal background:

Hungarian

Quiltmaker's spouse's/spouses' and/or partner's/partners' ethnic/tribal background:

Hungarian

Quiltmaker's spouse's/spouses' and/or partner's/partners' occupation:

Milk Dealer/Grocery Store Owner/Butcher

Number of children:

3

How many of the quiltmaker's children were girls?

1 (Elsie 1909-1988)

How many of the quiltmaker's children were boys?

2 (Elmer and Stephen)

How did the quiltmaker learn to quilt?

From guild or club member; Self-Taught

When did the quiltmaker learn to quilt?

Age 40-49

Why does the quiltmaker quilt?

Pleasure; Other

Other notes on how the quiltmaker learned, and how and why they quilt:

Mary Gasperik made quilts to exhibit in shows held by her Tuley Park quilt club in Chicago, the Detroit News quilt show in Detroit, many Illinois State Fairs, at least one Indiana State Fair. She entered quilts in at least 2 Chicago department store contests. She made at least one quilt and one quilt top specifically for the 1939 New York Worlds Fair quilt contest. She also made children's quilts specifically for grandchildren and great-grandchildren; and wedding and wedding anniversary quilts for her son Elmer and grand-daughter Karen. Primarily, she wanted to make quilts because it was her life passion and her greatest talent. The occasions and venues to show them presented themselves. It should be noted that prior to Mary's emigration to America in late 1904, at age 16, she was an apprenticed needleworker in her native Hungary. The intricate and colorful floral embroideries traditional to Hungary lend themselves especially well to applique, the quilt style Mary preferred.

Does/did the quiltmaker belong to a group? Name of the group?

Tuley Park Quilt Club and Detroit News Quilt Club

Does/did the quiltmaker belong to a group?

Southside Chicago and Detroit MI

What are the main activities of the group?

Chicago group met to quilt and held periodic quilt shows; Detroit group held national exhibits and contests.

Estimated number of quilts made by this quiltmaker:

more than 50

Does/did the quiltmaker sell quilts?

no

Does/did the quiltmaker teach quilting?

no

Who photographed this quilt?

Don Gonzalez

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

Copyright holder:

Susan Salser

Details

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Cite this Quilt

Gasperik, Mar. Morning Glory. 1935-1945. From Mary Gasperik Legacy Project, Mary Gasperik Private Collection. Published in The Quilt Index, https://quiltindex.org/view/?type=fullrec&kid=18-14-33. Accessed: 03/29/24

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