QUILT INDEX RECORD

33-29-6

Description of quilt:

This quilt won 3rd place at the Minneapolis Regional Round. The family of quilters sent in 3 quilts by the mother and her 2 daughters, but her daughter Rose's quilt was the only one that won.

Essay:

The 1933 Sears National Quilt Contest was announced in January 1933 with a deadline of May 15, 1933. Over 24,000 quilts were entered at local Sears stores or sent to one of 10 regional mail order houses. Quilts were judged at each site with the top three winners moving onto the next round. Finally just 30 quilts reached the final judging held at the Sears Pavilion on the 1933 Chicago World's Fair site.

Where are the records for this quilt housed?

Merikay Waldvogel Legacy Project

Who documented this quilt?

Merikay Waldvogel Legacy Project; Sears Quilt Contest 1933 Chicago World's Fair

Merikay Waldvogel Legacy Project Number:

057

Person filling out this form is:

Blood relative of quiltmaker

When was the form filled out?

1982 (Brackman)

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

Who helped you fill out the form?

Brackman

Location of data collection:

Waldvogel Collection

This is a:

Finished quilt

Quilt's title:

New York Beauty (3rd Place in Minneapolis Region)

How wide is the quilt?

79 inches

How long is the quilt?

79 inches

What color is the quilt?

Cream; Orange; Yellow

Overall color scheme:

Bright or primary colors

Type of inscription:

Date; Initials

What is inscribed on the quilt?

"TFQ" "May 2" "1932" "R. Tekippe"

What is the date inscribed on the quilt?

May 2, 1932

Method used to make the inscription:

In the quilting

Location of inscription:

multiple locations

Time period:

1930-1949

When was the quilt finished?

05/02/1932

Describe the quilt's layout:

Medallion or framed center

Fiber types used to make the quilt top:

Cotton

Piecing techniques used to make the quilt top:

Hand Piecing

How are the layers held together?

Hand quilting

Quilting designs used, overall motifs:

Clamshell; Grid square

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

According to Ada Schlick, "We used Stiles Waxed Quiltng Thread that we ordered from some company out east (New Jersey I think, and this was a help in making the small stitches." Schlick to Brackman, Nov 23, 1982

Name of the group that made the quilt:

Twelve Faithful Quilters

Quilt top made by:

Tekippe, Rose; Tekippe, Mrs. Fred (mother)

Quilted by:

Twelve Faithful Quilters

Where the quilt was made, city:

Fort Atkinson

Where the quilt was made, state:

Iowa (IA)

Where the quilt was made, country:

United States

How was this quilt acquired?

Gift

Tell the story of how the quilt was obtained:

According to owner, "I am rose Tekippe's youngest sister, 70 years now, and fortunately she gave me the quilt some 15 years ago while she was active and living o her own. rose never married. I am married and have 4 children. One is rose's godchild who will inherit the quilt from me." Schlick to Brackman, Nov 23, 1982.

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

According to the owner, "My mother belonged to 2 quilting clubs an done of them, T. F. Q., meaning 12 Faithful Quilters, stitched this New York. Beauty. the initials T. F. Q. are in one corner, Next is marked May 2, the year is in 3r corner, 1932, and R. Tekippe in 4th corner. Of all the ladies that worked on the quilt no difference can be seen or found in an of the stitches. They all averaged 10 to 12 stitches to the inch, which is very fine quilting." Schlick to Brackman, Nov 23, 1982.

Why was the quilt made?

Challenge or Contest entry

Where did the maker get their materials?

Purchased new

Where did the maker find their pattern?

Commercial/Published source: Pattern

Commercial name of the pattern for the top:

New York Beauty - Stearns & Foster Co. Mountain Mist Pattern #

Exhibitions where this quilt was displayed:

This quilt was chosen to travel with an exhibition of 30 quilts entitled “Patchwork Souvenirs of the 1933 World’s Fair” that was curated by Merikay Waldvogel and Barbara Brackman. The Knoxville Museum of Art and Smith-Kramer, Inc. coordinated the travelling exhibition to the following sites: Jan 7-Feb 7, 1994 Palm Beach, FL (The Society of the Four Arts); Mar 20-July 17, 1994 Lexington, MA (Museum of Our National Heritage); Aug 7–Sep 25, 1994 Midland, MI (Midland Center for the Arts); Oct 16–Dec 4, 1994 Logan, KS (Dane G. Hansen Memorial Museum; Dec 18, 1994–Apr 23, 1995 Chicago, IL (Chicago Cultural Center); May 10-Jul 2, 1995 Grosse Pointe Shores, MI (Edsel and Eleanor Ford House); Jul 23-Sep 10, 1995 Los Angeles, CA (Gene Autry Western Heritage Museum); Oct 1-Nov 19, 1995 Janesville, WI (Rock County Historical Society); Dec 10, 1995-Jan 28, 1996 Neenah, WI (Bergstrom-Mahler Museum); Feb 18-Apr 8, 1996 Lexington, KY (University of Kentucky Art Museum); May 3-July 24, 1996 Knoxville, TN (Knoxville Museum of Art).

Contests entered:

Sears National Quilt Contest, 1933 Chicago World's Fair. Third Place Winner in Minneapolis Region of Sears Contest. Shown at the Sears Pavilion in Summer 1933.

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

Merikay Waldvogel and Barbara Brackman. Patchwork Souvenirs of the 1933 World's Fair (Nashville, TN: Rutledge Hill Press, 1993), pp 52-53.

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

They once owned the Third Place ribbon as well as newspaper clippings, but they are now lost. Photo of Rose Tekippe is on pg 53 of Patchwork Souvenirs

Ownership of this quilt is:

Private

Quilt owner's country:

United States

Quiltmaker's maiden name:

Tekippe

Quiltmaker's gender:

Female

Quiltmaker's birth date:

1901

Quiltmaker's date and place of death:

1992

In which kind of environment did the quiltmaker live?

Rural

Quiltmaker's city:

Fort Atkinson

Quiltmaker's state:

Iowa (IA)

Quiltmaker's country:

United States

Estimated number of quilts made by this quiltmaker:

5-20 quilts

Any other notes or stories about the quiltmaker:

Rose Tekippe graduated from nurses' training in 1926 and passed her Iowa State Board exams soon after. She worked for a time at St. Joseph's Hospital in New Hampton, Iowa, but also took on privat5e cases. Rose began quilting after her mother was caught up in the 1930s quilt revival. They prided themselves on the tiny quilting stitches in this quilt. three quilts were sent to the Sears contest form Rose, her mother, and her sister, but only Rose's quilt won a prize. Because it won third place at the Minneapolis region, it was judged in the national round in Chicago and remained on display during the 1933 Chicago World's Fair.

Who photographed this quilt?

Gary Heatherly

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

Copyright holder:

Merikay Waldvogel