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Indiana Wreath; Indiana Wreath (Susan)

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QUILT INDEX RECORD

18-14-38

Description:

The interesting thing about the four Indiana Wreath quilts is that they show more experimentation with quiltING design than experimentation with appliqué pattern. It is the selection of fabrics, and the quiltING patterns which distinguish these four quilts which look, at first glance, to be the 'same' quilt. Although the range of experimentation is narrow here, Mary did not duplicate or date her Indiana Wreath quilts. The family has two blue ribbons which were won by Gasperik Indiana Wreath quilts: #011 (Doris) at the 1953 Illinois State Fair, and #043 (Susan) at the 1958 Illinois State Fair. The most significant of the motifs Gasperik quilted into her versions of Indiana Wreath are the grape cluster and the elaborate corner feather design which she borrowed from Rose Kretsinger's quiltING designs presented in Plates IV and V of the famous 1935 quilt book: Romance of the Patchwork Quilt in America. With her re-creations of the famous Indiana Wreath, Gasperik was saluting Marie D. Webster and Rose G. Kretsinger, two major quilt figures of her time.

Where are the records for this quilt housed?

Mary Gasperik Legacy Project

Who documented this quilt?

Mary Gasperik Private Collection

Gasperik Legacy Project Number:

043

This is a:

Finished quilt

Quilt's title:

Indiana Wreath

Owner's name for quilt:

Indiana Wreath (Susan)

Brackman # or other source & #:

80.22, 80.23

How wide is the quilt?

80 inches

How long is the quilt?

102 inches

Shape of edge:

Straight

Shape of corners:

Straight

What color is the quilt?

Blue or Navy; Green; Red; White

Overall color scheme:

Bright or primary colors

Quilt's condition:

Fair/worn

Damage:

Disintegration of fabric; Fading

Time period:

1930-1949

When was the quilt started?

Unknown

When was the quilt finished?

1938-1945

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

1938-1945

Who estimated the quilt's date?

Merikay Waldvogel

Further information concerning dates:

Earliest estimated date is based on the fact that Indiana Wreath pattern #524 was offered in McCall's Needlework Magazine, Winter 1937-1938, pp 26-27. Mary Gasperik probably consulted this pattern when she designed her Indiana Wreath quilts.

Describe the quilt's layout:

Medallion or framed center

Number of borders:

One

Describe the borders:

Outer edges on all four sides have an applique floral and leaf vine that frame the quilt.

Fiber types used to make the quilt top:

Cotton

Fabric styles used in the quilt top:

Print; Solid/plain

Applique techniques used to make the quilt top:

Hand Applique

Embellishment techniques used to make the quilt top:

Embroidery; Other embellishment technique

Describe any unusual techniques used to make the quilt top:

extra batting under appliqued grapes

Can you feel or see paper on the quilt that was used as a construction aid?

no

Describe embellishment materials or techniques:

embroidered wheat in vase, below vase, and in birds' beaks

Materials used to make the back:

Cotton

What color is the back of the quilt?

Yellow

Number of pieces of fabric in the quilt back:

3

Width of pieces on the back:

11". 35", 34"

Describe the back:

Solid/plain

Materials used in the quilt binding:

Cotton

Fabric structure of the binding:

Plain weave

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

Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 1:

10

Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 2:

11

Quilting designs used, overall motifs:

Grid diamond; In-the-ditch; Single parallel lines

Quilting designs used, decorative motifs:

Floral; Wreaths

Quilting designs used, background fills:

Grid/crosshatch; Parallel lines

Describe the quilting designs used:

Quilted band of flowers around perimeter, double-feathered circular wreaths, large and elaborate cornucopias spilling fruit and flowers, grape clusters, large feather medallions, cross-hatch filled feathered hearts.

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

The four Gasperik Indiana Wreath quilts can be divided into two sets of two. Each pair uses the same set of fabrics. Quilts #011 and #043 use a set of polka dots prints of different colors. These two quilts also have wheat stalks embroidered under the vase. This quilt's wreath looks more open than that of its fabric twin, #011, because the purple print fabric of the wreath's innermost flowers has faded to near-white. Now faded and worn, this was originally the most elaborately quilted of the 4 Gasperik Indiana Wreaths.

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?

Gift

Tell the story of how the quilt was obtained:

Brought to Susan by Elsie, as a gift from her grandmother, when Susan moved to California in 1968.

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

Susan Salser has the note, dated December 20, 1968 and saved by her mother, which she sent to her grandmother thanking her for "your dotted grape wedding present quilt".

Why was the quilt made?

Art or personal expression

Details about why the quilt was made:

Mary Gasperik made at least 4 Indiana Wreath quilts. It would seem that she picked this complicated and famous patterns precisely to demonstrate what a master quilter she was.

The quilt was made to be used for:

Bedding, special occasion

Was the quilt used for something other than what it is used for now?

Susan used it as a wall hanging for several years. That (and washing it) is how it came to be so faded and the dotted black print of the grapes actually disintegrated some.

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: Pattern

Describe the source of the pattern:

Inspiration for the Indiana Wreath quilt made famous by Marie Webster who used a 19th century quilt in this pattern as the frontispiece of her quilt book.
McCalls produced a commercial pattern.
Other designers including Rose Kretsinger made their own.

Commercial name of the pattern for the top:

McCall's #524 Indiana Wreath published circa 1935 is the likely overall pattern source.
The pattern for the three hovering blue birds may be borrowed from a quiltING pattern offered in a Nancy Page Quilting Club Column in the newspaper.

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

Published material

Describe where the quilting design pattern was found:

Rose Kretsinger quilting design in Plates IV and V, Romance of the Patchwork Quilt inspired the grape clusters and the elaborate feathered medallion corners.

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

Floral border is C7 from Grandmother's Perforated Quilting Patterns (1934) also offered as No. 47 & 48 in Needleart Guild's Original Master Quilting Patterns;
Double Feather Wreath is a pattern inGrandmother Clark Book No. 22 (St. Louis, MO 1932).

Exhibitions where this quilt was displayed:

This quilt was not included in the Ravenswood quilt show of March 1992.

Contests entered:

Won a blue ribbon at the 1958 Illinois State Fair. Susan Salser has the ribbon. There is also a family photograph showing this quilt, its blue ribbon attached, hanging on a clothesline.

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:

Quilts: Their Story and How to Make Them, Marie D. Webster, Doubleday, Doran & Company Inc., 1928, frontispiece is a hand-tinted photograph of the 1858 quilt made by Elizabeth J. Hart. Also see text about 'Indiana Wreath' on pages 84-86.

McCall Indiana Wreath pattern envelope and instruction sheet; Winter 1937-38

McCall magazine with Indiana Wreath pattern featured.

Ownership of this quilt is:

Private

Quilt owner's name:

Susan Krueger Salser

Quilt owner's country:

United States

Person filling out this form is:

Relative of quiltmaker; Quilt owner; 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:

The four Indiana Wreath quilts (#011, #032, #043 and #063) were made to demonstrate the quilter's mastery of her art at a time when she was doing her best work. One alone would make a powerful statement. Four of them constitute a tour de force. 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:

Hank Finn

Details

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Cite this Quilt

Gasperik, Mar. Indiana Wreath. 1938-1945. From Mary Gasperik Legacy Project, Mary Gasperik Private Collection. Published in The Quilt Index, https://quiltindex.org/view/?type=fullrec&kid=18-14-38. Accessed: 03/28/24

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