QUILT INDEX RECORD

33-29-42

Description of quilt:

Commemorative Quilt found in the Wisconsin State Quilt Survey

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. Sears offered a bonus of $200 if the prize-winning quilt was made with an original design commemorating the World's Fair theme -- A Century of Progress. This quilter appears to have reworked applique motifs meant for a sophisticated quilt. According to the family, the quilt won a ribbon, but no prize money. Not many originally designed quilts were favored by the contest judges. In the end, she created her own design which was documented in the Wisconsin Quilt Project. A photo of this quilt and the quiltmaker is in the book about the survey: Ellen Kort. Wisconsin Quilts: Stories in the Stitches (Charlottesville, VA: Howell, Press, 20010, 148.

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:

170

Person filling out this form is:

Relative of quiltmaker

Source of the information on this quilt:

Grand-daughter

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

Inherited

This is a:

Finished quilt

Quilt's title:

1933 World's Fair

Names for quilt's pattern in common use:

World's Fair Wreath

How wide is the quilt?

78 inches

How long is the quilt?

91 inches

What color is the quilt?

Blue or Navy; Green; Orange; Pink; Red; White; Yellow

Overall color scheme:

Bright or primary colors

Type of inscription:

Date; Message

What is inscribed on the quilt?

1933 WORLD'S FAIR CHICAGO ILL. U.S.A.

What is the date inscribed on the quilt?

1933

Method used to make the inscription:

Other

Describe the method used to inscribe the quilt:

Appliqued

Describe where the inscription was found:

Front

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

Subject of the quilt:

Chicago World's Fair

Fiber types used to make the quilt top:

Cotton

Fabric styles used in the quilt top:

Solid/plain

Applique techniques used to make the quilt top:

Blanket, buttonhole, or other decorative applique stitch; Hand Applique

How are the layers held together?

Hand quilting

Quilting designs used, overall motifs:

Grid/crosshatch

Quilting designs used, background fills:

Grid/crosshatch

Quilt top made by:

Konitzer, Pearl Pauline

Quilted by:

Konitzer, Pearl Pauline

Other people who worked on this quilt:

Konitzer, Louise M.

Where the quilt was made, city:

Appleton

Where the quilt was made, state:

Wisconsin (WI)

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:

Unknown

Where did the maker get their materials?

Purchased new

Where did the maker find their pattern?

Original to maker

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:

Pearl's 20-year-old daughter, Louise, helped stitch the letters inorder to meet the contest deadline.

Contests entered:

Sears Quilt Contest, 1933 Chicago World's Fair

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

Kort, Ellen Wisconsin Quilts: Stories in the Stitches (Charlottesville, VA: Howell Press, 2001), 148.

Quilt owner's country:

United States

Quiltmaker's maiden name:

Berton

Quiltmaker's gender:

Female

Quiltmaker's birth date:

07-111-1888

Quiltmaker's date and place of death:

10-31-1944

In which kind of environment did the quiltmaker live?

Rural

Quiltmaker's spouse's/spouses' and /or partner's/partners' name(s):

Konitzer, Antone

Quiltmaker's city:

Appleton

Quiltmaker's state:

Wisconsin (WI)

Quiltmaker's country:

United States

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

Copyright holder:

Merikay Waldvogel