QUILT INDEX RECORD
33-29-23
Description of quilt:
The quilt Century of Progress-World Without End is an original design submitted by Chicagoan Aurora See Dyer. It did not win a prize in the 1933 contest, but Waldvogel and Brackman chose it as the signature quilt for the Patchwork Souvenirs exhibit where it was used for the cover design of the book and exhibit brochure.
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. Many quilters spent extra time researching and designing a quilt that would exlemplify the spirit of the Century of Progress theme -- a birthday celebration, an historical review of technology and architure, and a hopeful image of the return to brighter, more healthy economic times. Although the quilt was not exhibited at the 1933 Fair, a special exhibit of the themed quilts was organized by Sears staff for the 1934 re-opening of the Fair. A b/w photo of the quilts on display in 1934 shows the edge of this quilt--proof that the quilt was displayed then.
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:
095
Person filling out this form is:
Blood relative of quiltmaker
When was the form filled out?
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:
Century of Progress - World Without End
How wide is the quilt?
70 inches
How long is the quilt?
80 inches
What color is the quilt?
Gold; Green; Lavender; Red
Overall color scheme:
Bright or primary colors
What is inscribed on the quilt?
The official contest entry label includes contest entry information: Name of Maker. Pattern Name, When Quilt Was Made, Selling Price if willing to sell, Quilter's Name, Address, City and State, Sears Store Name/Number. Entry label also included the following statement: "I certify that this quilt is entirely of my own making, and that it has never been exhibited previously" to which the quilter signed her name. Mrs. Edgar R. Dyer "Century of Progress" combined with "World Without End" Made: March 1933 to May 1933. Mrs. Edgar R. Dyer 7041 Parnell Av. Chicago Illinois
What is the date inscribed on the quilt?
1933
Method used to make the inscription:
Attached label
Time period:
1930-1949
When was the quilt started?
March 1933
When was the quilt finished?
May 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
Subject of the quilt:
Chicago History 1833 - 1933
Fiber types used to make the quilt top:
Cotton
Fabric styles used in the quilt top:
Solid/plain
Piecing techniques used to make the quilt top:
Hand Piecing
Applique techniques used to make the quilt top:
Hand Applique
How are the layers held together?
Hand quilting
Quilting designs used, overall motifs:
Echo; Outline; Patches outlined/in the ditch
Quilt top made by:
Dyer, Aurora See
Quilted by:
Dyer, Aurora See
Where the quilt was made, city:
Chicago
Where the quilt was made, county:
Cook
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
Quilt is presently used as:
Keepsake/memento
Where did the maker get their materials?
Purchased new
Where did the maker find their pattern?
Provided in a class
Where did the quiltmaker find the pattern for the quilting design on the quilt?
Original to maker
Describe anything about the design of the quilt that wasn't already recorded in a previous field:
Two design sketches for the layout of the quilt remain with the family.
Exhibitions where this quilt was displayed:
This quilt was selected for the travelling exhibition of 30 quilts entitled “Patchwork Souvenirs of the 1933 World’s Fair” 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). The quilt was also included in an exhibit at Rosemont, IL curated by Merikay Waldvogel for International Quilt Festival. "Patterns of Lives: Cultural Diversity and American Quilts" at Riverside (CA) Municpal Museum, January-April 1992. Curator: Brenda Buller Focht.
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), p. frontice page and p. xvi.
Related items such as diaries, obituaries, wills, household inventories, or pictures of the quiltmaker:
A photo of the quiltmaker in 1960 is on pg xiv of Patchwork Souvenirs. The contest entry label and two sketches of the quilt design are with the quilt.
Ownership of this quilt is:
Private
Quilt owner's country:
United States
Quiltmaker's maiden name:
See
Quiltmaker's gender:
Female
Quiltmaker's birth date:
1895
Quiltmaker's date and place of death:
1969
In which kind of environment did the quiltmaker live?
Urban
Quiltmaker's spouse's/spouses' and/or partner's/partners' occupation:
Postal Worker
Quiltmaker's county:
Cook
Quiltmaker's city:
Chicago
Quiltmaker's state:
Illinois (IL)
Quiltmaker's country:
United States
Any other notes or stories about the quiltmaker:
In 1933 Aurora Dyer was president of the Cook County Women's Christian Temperance Union. The organization planned a booth at the fair. With her club work and the making of her Sears Contest quilt, the family anticipated the opening of the fair with enthusiasm. Her son Robert remembers the making of the quilt. His mother had a frame set up in a second floor bedroom. "We never got dinner that spring," he joked about her determination to win the contest. The colors are an unuausal combination, but she was going for the "modern" look. The quilt won a green ribbon of honorable mention award at the Chicago staore contest. According to her son John, Aurora grew up in Hersher, Illinois near Kankakee. She went to school with Adlai Stevenson. Then she went to Illinois State for a teaching degree. She met her husband at the USO at a pavilion at the end of Navy Pier in Chicago. Her husband worked for the Post Office, and so did Aurora for ten years after her children had left home. They had 4 sons and 3 daughters. They retired and moved to California in 1955. Youngest son, John, was a teenager when they went to California. Aurora was interested in entering contests.
Who photographed this quilt?
Gary Heatherly
Access and copyright information:
Restricted
Copyright holder:
Merikay Waldvogel
Cite this Quilt
Dyer, Aurora Se. Century of Progress - World Without End. May 1933. From Merikay Waldvogel Legacy Project, Merikay Waldvogel Legacy Project; Sears Quilt Contest 1933 Chicago World's Fair. Published in The Quilt Index, https://quiltindex.org/view/?type=fullrec&kid=33-29-23. Accessed: 03/29/24
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Gallery
Sears Quilt Contest 01: Introduction
Waldvogel, Merikay