QUILT INDEX RECORD

33-29-25

Description of quilt:

This quilt in Anne Orr design won third place at the Philadelphia region and was exhibited during the 1933 Chicago World's Fair at the Sears Pavilion.

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. The goal of Brackman's original search was to find the top 30 regional winners whose names and home towns she gleaned from the listing of winners published in the Sears Catalog in 1934. However, the list did not name or describe the quilts. A Philadelphia newspaper published a collage type photo of the top three winning quilts and the three judges. The three quilts were Sunburst, Autumn Leaves and a Century of Progress theme quilt. Sunburst (#008) by Lillian Belle Shaffer is fully documented in Patchwork Souvenirs, but this quilt was not located until 2005.

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:

157

Person filling out this form is:

Daughter of quiltmaker

When was the form filled out?

2005

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

Inherited

Who helped you fill out the form?

Waldvogel

This is a:

Finished quilt

Quilt's title:

Autumn Leaves

Overall color scheme:

Light or pastel colors

Time period:

1930-1949

When was the quilt started?

1933

When was the quilt finished?

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:

Floral; Geometric; 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

Quilt top made by:

Snyder, Edith

Quilted by:

Snyder, Edith

Where the quilt was made, city:

Buffalo

Where the quilt was made, state:

New York (NY)

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?

Commercial/Published source: Pattern; Commercial/Published source: Kit

Commercial name of the pattern for the top:

Autumn Leaves - Pattern and kit put out by Anne Orr Studios.

Exhibitions where this quilt was displayed:

In July 2009, at Waldvogel's induction to the Quilters Hall of Fame in Marion, Indiana, the daughter of the quiltmaker brought this quilt and a photograph of her mother which was the highlight of Waldvogel's public lecture.

Contests entered:

Philadelphia regional round and the national round at the 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), pg 108.

Ownership of this quilt is:

Private

Quilt owner's country:

United States

Quiltmaker's maiden name:

Snyder

Quiltmaker's gender:

Female

In which kind of environment did the quiltmaker live?

Rural

Quiltmaker's country:

United States

Who photographed this quilt?

Gary Heatherly

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

Copyright holder:

Merikay Waldvogel