QUILT INDEX RECORD

33-29-21

Description of quilt:

This quilt won an Honorable Mention at a Chicago Sears Store contest. The maker Etelka Galbraith was a quilt designer for a small quilt kit manufacturer. She was an early quilt researcher, spoke to area women's groups about the history of quilting and was interviewed on a Chicago radio station.

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:

091

Person filling out this form is:

Quilt owner

Source of the information on this quilt:

Daughter-in-law

When was the form filled out?

November 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

Who helped you fill out the form?

Merikay Waldvogel

Location of data collection:

Waldvogel Collection

This is a:

Finished quilt

Quilt's title:

May Garden

How wide is the quilt?

78 inches

How long is the quilt?

91 inches

Overall color scheme:

Light or pastel colors

Type of inscription:

Date; Multiple Names

What is inscribed on the quilt?

May Garden 1933 Etelka Galbraith

Method used to make the inscription:

Other

Describe the method used to inscribe the quilt:

Cross-Stitched

Location of inscription:

on back

Time period:

1930-1949

When was the quilt started?

1933

When was the quilt finished?

1933

Family/owner's date for quilt:

1933

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

1933

Describe the quilt's layout:

Medallion or framed center

Fiber types used to make the quilt top:

Cotton

Fabric styles used in the quilt top:

Checked; Solid/plain

Applique techniques used to make the quilt top:

Hand Applique

How are the layers held together?

Hand quilting

Quilt top made by:

Galbraith, Etelka Geisler

Quilted by:

Galbraith, Etelka Geisler

Where the quilt was made, city:

Hinsdale

Where the quilt was made, state:

Illinois (IL)

Where the quilt was made, country:

United States

How was this quilt acquired?

Inheritance

Why was the quilt made?

Challenge or Contest entry

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?

Purchased new

Where did the maker find their pattern?

Original to maker

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

Etelka Galbraith made 55 quilts during her life. This one was made and designed especially for the Sears National Quilt Contest. Here is a note on the back of a photo in her own hand writing: "My May Garden for Century of Progress started in Jan 1933. Had to be in Sears hands May 1st of that yr. The yr the Century of Progress opened. Made and quilted in 4 months. Had to be an Original. May Garden 84 x 98. Tulips-2 shades Pink. Iris 2 shades Blue. Daffodills 2 shades Yellow. Used 2 shades green and a small green check for Garden Path. My own design and every stitch mine. I did the quliting. Started quilting in Jan and it was was turned in May 1st 1933."

Exhibitions where this quilt was displayed:

This quilt was selected for the exhibition of 30 quilts entitled “Patchwork Souvenirs of the 1933 World’s Fair” 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

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 25-26.

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

Photo of quiltmaker is on pg 26 of Patchwork Souvenirs. B/W photo of the quilt on an upright quilt frame, a small notebook in which quilter noted number of hours spent working on the quilt, and ribbon.

Ownership of this quilt is:

Private

Quilt owner's country:

United States

Quiltmaker's maiden name:

Geisler

Quiltmaker's gender:

Female

Quiltmaker's birth date:

05-05-1888

Quiltmaker's date and place of death:

02-1875

In which kind of environment did the quiltmaker live?

Urban

Quiltmaker's city:

Hinsdale

Quiltmaker's state:

Illinois (IL)

Quiltmaker's country:

United States

Why does the quiltmaker quilt?

Pleasure

Estimated number of quilts made by this quiltmaker:

more than 50

Any other notes or stories about the quiltmaker:

Throughout her lifetime Etelka Galbraith made fifty-five quilts and kept records and working sketches for most of them. Besides making, quilts, she researched the origins of quilting and other handwork. Her notebooks contain accounts of visits to museum textile collections to see quilts discussed in books by Marie Webster and Ruth Finley. In the mid-1930s, she gave lectures to Chicago women's clubs and often illustrated the talks with quilts from her own collection. In 1936, she presented a program entitled "Quilts" on a Chicago radio station. Testimonial: "Mrs. Galbraith's program is both historical and practical, tracing the history of quiltmaking from older days to the present time. Her own display of quilts and manner of presentation add much to the hours of enjoyment. I am happy to recommend her charming personality, and splendid program for Women's clubs." --Mrs. Frank Staely, Illinois Federation of Women's Clubs.

Who photographed this quilt?

Gary Heatherly

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

Copyright holder:

Merikay Waldvogel