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Bear's Paw

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QUILT INDEX RECORD

23-19-634

Where are the records for this quilt housed?

University of Rhode Island

Who documented this quilt?

Rhode Island Quilt Documentation Project

Rhode Island Quilt Documentation Project Number:

51

Person filling out this form is:

Quilt owner

When was the form filled out?

03/07/1992

Choose the best description of the source to the quilt:

Quilt owner

If you are the quilt owner, how did you acquire this quilt?

Inherited

This is a:

Finished quilt

Quilt's title:

Bear's Paw

How wide is the quilt?

84 inches

How long is the quilt?

95 inches

Shape of edge:

Straight

Shape of corners:

Straight

What color is the quilt?

White; Red; Brown

Overall color scheme:

Multicolor

Quilt's condition:

Good/moderate use

Damage:

Stains

Time period:

1876-1900

Family/owner's date for quilt:

Late 1800s

Fiber types used to make the quilt top:

Cotton

Fabric types used to make the quilt top:

Unknown

Fabric styles used in the quilt top:

Print; Solid/plain

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?

Gray

Materials used in the quilt binding:

Cotton

How is the binding made?

Hand sewn; Straight grain

What kind of filling is used in the quilt?

Cannot tell

How thick is the quilt?

Thin (Less than 3/16?)

How are the layers held together?

Hand quilting

Color of thread used in the quilting:

brown

Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 1:

5 per inch

Quilting designs used, overall motifs:

Outline

Quilt top made by:

Brown, Mercy Lena

Quilted by:

Brown, Mercy Lena

Where the quilt was made, city:

Exeter

Where the quilt was made, state:

Rhode Island (RI)

Where the quilt was made, country:

United States

How was this quilt acquired?

Inheritance

Tell the story of how the quilt was obtained:

Passed down through family on father's side.

Why was the quilt made?

Unknown

The quilt was made to be used for:

Unknown

Quilt is presently used as:

Unknown

Where did the maker get their materials?

Unknown

Where did the maker find their pattern?

Unknown

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

Unknown

Exhibitions where this quilt was displayed:

Quilt show of Narragansett Bay Quilters ca. 1982 (unknown date and name); "Nineteenth-Century Patchwork in Rhode Island," Vermont Quilts Festival, Northfield, VT, July 8-July 10, 1994.

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

Fig. 136.Welters, Linda and Margaret Ordonez (eds.), Down by the Old Mill Stream, Kent, OH: Kent State University Press, 2000. pp. 255-257. Dimock-Quaglia, Cynthia. "The 'Vampire' Quilt: A Material-Culture Study." Uncoverings 20 (1999): 159-83.

Ownership of this quilt is:

Private

Quilt owner's state:

Rhode Island (RI)

Quilt owner's country:

United States

Quiltmaker's maiden name:

Brown

Quiltmaker's gender:

Female

Quiltmaker's birth date:

1873

Quiltmaker's birthplace, city:

Exeter

Quiltmaker's birthplace, state:

Rhode Island

Quiltmaker's birthplace, country:

United States

Quiltmaker's date and place of death:

01/17/1892

Quiltmaker's ethnic background/tribal affiliation:

English

In which kind of environment did the quiltmaker live?

Rural

Quiltmaker's father's name:

Brown, George T.

Quiltmaker's mother's name:

Brown, Mary E.

Any other notes or stories about the quiltmaker:

Quiltmaker believed to be a vampire by the townspeople. When Mercy died of consumption, like her mother and sister before her, her brother began to get sick as well. Mercy's body was exhumed to see if she had blood in her heart, in which case she was a vampire and may be draining her brother of life. The heart was found to have blood, so it was burned in the graveyard and the ashes were mixed into a concoction for her brother to drink. He died of consumption three months later.

Who photographed this quilt?

RIQDP

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

Copyright holder:

Linda Welters, Textiles, Fashion Merchandising and Design, University of Rhode Island

Cite this Quilt

Brown, Mercy Len. Bear's Paw. 1876-1900. From University of Rhode Island, Rhode Island Quilt Documentation Project. Published in The Quilt Index, https://quiltindex.org/view/?type=fullrec&kid=23-19-634. Accessed: 03/29/24