QUILT INDEX RECORD

33-29-35

Description of quilt:

Nine Patch Quilt with contest entry tag attached.

Essay:

This quilt represents the thousands of simple quilts made and entered in the hopes that it would win the grand prize of $1000. Without its tag attached, the quilt's maker would not be known. 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:

210

Person filling out this form is:

Quilt owner; Quilt collector

When was the form filled out?

Jan 2004

Choose the best description of the source to the quilt:

Quilt owner

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

Purchased the quilt

Who helped you fill out the form?

Merikay Waldvogel

This is a:

Finished quilt

Quilt's title:

Little Nine Patch

How wide is the quilt?

inches

How long is the quilt?

inches

What color is the quilt?

Lavender; Pink; Red; Turquoise or Teal

Overall color scheme:

Light or pastel colors

Type of inscription:

Other

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. Quilt Name; Little Nine Patch Made in 1930. Name: Mrs. F. P. Hair Address: 1839 Jarboe City/State: Kansas City, MO She would sell it for $50.00. Store entered: 1041?

What is the date inscribed on the quilt?

1933

Method used to make the inscription:

Ink

Time period:

1930-1949

When was the quilt started?

1930

When was the quilt finished?

1930

Fiber types used to make the quilt top:

Cotton

Fabric styles used in the quilt top:

Multiple scrap; Solid/plain

Piecing techniques used to make the quilt top:

Hand Piecing

How are the layers held together?

Hand quilting

Quilt top made by:

Hair, Minnie

Quilted by:

Hair, Minnie

Where the quilt was made, city:

Kansas City

Where the quilt was made, county:

Jackson

Where the quilt was made, state:

Missouri (MO)

Where the quilt was made, country:

United States

How was this quilt acquired?

Purchase

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

Purchased at an antique mall in Southwest Missouri in August 2001.

Why was the quilt made?

Challenge or Contest entry

Quilt is presently used as:

Exhibit; Investment

Where did the maker get their materials?

Sewing scraps

Where did the maker find their pattern?

Public domain/traditional pattern

Exhibitions where this quilt was displayed:

Spring Quilt Festival, Rosemont, Illinois

Contests entered:

Sears National Quilt Contest, 1933 Chicago World's Fair

Ownership of this quilt is:

Private

Quilt owner's name:

Lori East

Quilt owner's country:

United States

Quiltmaker's maiden name:

Larson

Quiltmaker's gender:

Female

Quiltmaker's birth date:

04-21-1882

Quiltmaker's date and place of death:

1977

In which kind of environment did the quiltmaker live?

Urban

Quiltmaker's spouse's/spouses' and/or partner's/partners' occupation:

Dentist

Quiltmaker's county:

Jackson

Quiltmaker's city:

Kansas City

Quiltmaker's state:

Missouri (MO)

Quiltmaker's country:

United States

Any other notes or stories about the quiltmaker:

According to information provided by the quilt owner: Minnie Hair was born April 21, 1882 in Kansas City, Jackson County, Missouri, to Parents Oscar Larson and Fredricka Lunn. Oscar and Fredricka emigrated to the U.S. from Sweden in 1880, and became naturalized citizens in 1890. Minnie was not their only child. Minnie married Franklin Pierce Hair, a dentist, on 18 July 1904. Franklin was born 21 Feb 1872 at Fort Riley, Riley County, Kansas, into a large family. He attended Dental College in Kansas City, and began practice there upon his graduation in 1907. Franklin maintained a dental office in the Hair home from 1907 until his retirement in 1937. Minnie and Franklin had one child, a son, John W. Hair, in about 1913. John worked for a local dry goods store (later to become Macy's) at the time Minnie made her quilt. John had five children, and is thought to have died in 2001. Minnie was a housewife and mother, and lived within only a few miles of her parents and birthplace all of her life. Her husband died in March 1959 at age 87. Minnie lived another 18 years and died in a care center in 1977, at age 94.

Who photographed this quilt?

Gary Heatherly

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

Copyright holder:

Merikay Waldvogel