QUILT INDEX RECORD

25-21-360

Who documented this quilt?

Texas Sesquicentennial Quilt Association, Texas Quilt Search

Where are the records for this quilt housed?

Briscoe Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin

Texas Quilt Search Number:

tqs_0027

Person filling out this form is:

Blood relative of quiltmaker; Quilt owner; Other

Source of the information on this quilt:

This quilt was identified and reviewed during the Texas Sesquicentennial Quilt Association's Texas Quilt Search, 1983-1985. Karey Bresenhan served as quilt historian.

When was the form filled out?

1983-1985

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

Describe the relationship to the quilt's maker:

The present owner of this qullt is the great grandson of the quiltmaker.

This is a:

Finished quilt

Owner's name for quilt:

Tree of Life

How wide is the quilt?

80 in.

How long is the quilt?

74 in.

Shape of edge:

Straight

Shape of corners:

Straight

What color is the quilt?

Gold; Green; Red; White

Overall color scheme:

Bright or primary colors

Quilt's condition:

Very good/almost new

Damage:

Fading

Describe the damage:

fading especially in green; green aniline dye fading greed to brown

Notes on condition, damage, or repairs:

In 1985, as part of the preparations for the “Lone Stars: A Legacy of Texas Quilts, 1836-1936” exhibit in the Texas Capitol Rotunda, the Texas Sesquicentennial Quilt Association sponsored a Quilt Conservation Seminar. Part of the seminar was a two-day intensive hands-on laboratory attended by quilt experts who stabilized, backed, or otherwise prepared the quilts, including this one, for this exhibition.

Time period:

1876-1900

Family/owner's date for quilt:

none

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

ca. l880

Who estimated the quilt's date?

Karey Bresenhan

Describe the quilt's layout:

Block pattern

Number of quilt blocks:

16

Arrangement of quilt blocks:

Straight

Spacing of quilt blocks:

Separated by plain sashing; Separated by cornerstones or connecting blocks sashing (different fabric in intersection); Separated by inner only sashing (no sashing along outer edge of outer blocks)

Number of different block patterns used in the quilt:

1

What is the shape of the quilt blocks?

Squares

Number of borders:

2

Describe the borders:

red outer border on all sides; gold border inside, on sides only

Fiber types used to make the quilt top:

Cotton

Fabric types used to make the quilt top:

Muslin

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

Describe the techniques used to make the quilt top:

embroidery used to create thin stems on branches holding berries

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

no

Materials used to make the back:

Cotton

What color is the back of the quilt?

White

Describe the back:

Same fabric used throughout; Solid/plain

Materials used in the quilt binding:

Cotton

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, red

Width between quilting lines:

1/4 in.

Can you see any knots on the front or back of the quilt?

no

Quilting designs used, overall motifs:

Echo; Grid diamond; In-the-ditch

Describe the quilting designs used:

Ripple quilting in blocks--i.e. quilting lines repeat the shape of the design elements. The sashing is quilted in tiny diamonds; the 16 patches are quilted in the junctures between the sashing; channel quilting is used in two borders.

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

Quilt reflects superb needlework. Florals are appliqued with a perfectly even small buttonhole stitch. This "Tree of Life" design may be an original one. It mixes cherries, a pear, perhaps, or grapes, and contains both leaves and a root ball. Fine embroidery connects the fruit, leaves, and tree root ball to the tree trunk. Karey Bresenhan speculates that the quiltmaker may have had Czech roots, which are common in parts of Texas.

Quilt top made by:

Mason, Mary Jane Jackson

Quilted by:

Mason, Mary Jane Jackson

Where the quilt was made, city:

Cedar Creek

Where the quilt was made, county:

Bastrop

Where the quilt was made, state:

Texas (TX)

Where the quilt was made, country:

United States

How was this quilt acquired?

Inheritance

Tell the story of how the quilt was obtained:

Little is known about quiltmaker Mary Jane Jackson Mason. The present owner believes his great grandmother made the quilt in Bastrop County, though he does not known when. The quilt was passed down to Mary Jane's daughter Mary Elizabeth Mason, born in 1868 at Cedar Creek, Texas. It then passed to the present owner's mother, Blanche Cameron Townsend, who was born in 1899 and who died in 1984.

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

Mary Jane Jackson Mason had at least five children.

Why was the quilt made?

Art or personal expression

The quilt was made to be used for:

Bedding, special occasion

Quilt is presently used as:

Keepsake/memento

Where did the maker get their materials?

Unknown

Where did the maker find their pattern?

Traditional pattern variation

Exhibitions where this quilt was displayed:

One of 62 Texas quilts exhibited in “Lone Stars: A Legacy of Texas Quilts, 1836-1936,” Texas State Capitol Rotunda, Austin, Texas, April 19-21, 1986.

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

Texas Sesquicentennial Quilt Association’s Texas Quilt Search Archives

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

Bresenhan, Karoline Patterson and Nancy O'Bryant Puentes, Lone Stars: A Legacy of Texas Quilts, Vol. I, 1836-1936 (Austin: University of Texas Press), p. 76-77.

Ownership of this quilt is:

Private

Quilt owner's name:

Townsend, Jack D.

Quilt owner's state:

Texas (TX)

Quilt owner's country:

United States

Quiltmaker's maiden name:

Jackson, Mary Jane

Quiltmaker's gender:

Female

Quiltmaker's spouse's/spouses' and /or partner's/partners' name(s):

Mason, [unknown]

Number of children:

at least 5

Who photographed this quilt?

Sharon Risedorph

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

Copyright holder:

Assistant Director Winedale

Details

•