QUILT INDEX RECORD

33-29-51

Description of quilt:

One of only two Century of Progress quilts to reach the final round at the Sears Pavilion at the Chicago World's Fair.

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 contest organizers offered a $200 bonus prize if the prize winning quilt was a Century of Progress quilt. This quilt was one of only two "Century of Progress" quilts selected for the final round. See #184 for a record of the other Century of Progress theme quilt. This quilt won a $75 second place award in the Philadelphia Regional Round. She also won $10 and a ribbon for being one of the top five quilts in the Philadelphia Mail Order Division. Edna Leitzel lived in a small town in Pennsylvania far away from Chicago and the excitement of the Century of Progress exposition. While most quilters in the Midwest region who entered a theme quilt included symbolism specific to Chicago history, the fair theme, its logo, or the fair buildings, Edna's messages pertain to her home state of Pennsylvania. The message at the top refers to the number of days it took to go from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh in 1849 by covered wagon. The message at the bottom refers to the airplane that can now travel around in the world in less than nine days. What makes this story even more interesting is that the quiltmaker made another quilt exactly the same except for a slight change in the message at the bottom of the quilt. The duplicate reads "less than eight days" instead of "less than nine days." What was the reason for the correction? The family still owns both quilts and a box of ephemera including letters from Sears concerning her regional prizes and the display of her quilt in Chicago. They also have her ribbons, news clippings, and letters from admirers who saw her quilt at the fair.

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:

212

Person filling out this form is:

Other

When was the form filled out?

11-27-2008 and 05-29-2011

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

This is a:

Finished quilt

Quilt's title:

Century of Progress (Second Place - Philadelphia)

What is inscribed on the quilt?

Philadelphia to Pittsburgh in twenty days Century of Progress Around the World in less than nine days

Method used to make the inscription:

Embroidery

Describe where the inscription was found:

On front

Time period:

1930-1949

When was the quilt started?

1933

When was the quilt finished?

1933

Describe the quilt's layout:

Pictorial

Subject of the quilt:

Century of Progress in Transportation

Fiber types used to make the quilt top:

Cotton

Fabric styles used in the quilt top:

Print; Solid/plain

Applique techniques used to make the quilt top:

Hand Applique

Embellishment techniques used to make the quilt top:

Embroidery

What color is the back of the quilt?

White

How are the layers held together?

Hand quilting

Quilting designs used, decorative motifs:

Floral

Describe the quilting designs used:

The four-lobed petal applique design is repeated in the quilting design in the outer white border.

Features or notes about the quilt's appearance, materials, or construction:

The pictorial panel includes an intricately embroidered covered wagon pulled by horses. And a globe showing the Western Hemisphere with a red airplane flying around it.

Quilt top made by:

Leitzel, Edna Beatrice

Quilted by:

Leitzel, Edna Beatrice

Where the quilt was made, city:

Hummel's Wharf

Where the quilt was made, county:

Snyder

Where the quilt was made, state:

Pennsylvania (PA)

Where the quilt was made, country:

United States

How was this quilt acquired?

Inheritance

Tell the story of how the quilt was obtained:

Maker to her son (Eugene S. Leitzel) and then to his daughter Michelle.

Why was the quilt made?

Challenge or Contest entry

Quilt is presently used as:

Keepsake/memento

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:

According to the grand-daughter (the current owner), the quiltmaker made two quilts, almost identical in nature for the contest. The duplicate replaces the word "eight" for "nine" in the message on the original quilt "around the world in less than nine days."

Exhibitions where this quilt was displayed:

Exhibited at the 1933 Chicago World's Fair in the Sears Pavilion (June 1 - Nov 1, 1933). Also exhibited at the Philadelphia Regional site of the Sears National Quilt Contest in late May 1933.

Contests entered:

Sears 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), 71, 108.

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

Philadelphia newspaper--name and date not known. Clipping in Collection of H. M. Carpenter. See pg 71 Patchwork Souvenirs for full image. Family owns epehemera saved by the quiltmaker: Design templates used for the two quilts. Correspondence with Sears contest organizers. Booklet: Sears Quiltmaking Patterns Ribbons: Two Newspaper clippings: "Quilt of Wharf Woman at Fair" "Mrs. Leitzel's quilt displayed at Fair" Letters from people who saw the quilt at the Fair Letter from Edna Leitzel thanking Sears for the honor and the invitation to attend the display in Chicago, but she would not be able to.

Ownership of this quilt is:

Private

Quilt owner's name:

Michelle Arcuri

Quilt owner's country:

United States

Quiltmaker's maiden name:

Jarrett

Quiltmaker's gender:

Female

Quiltmaker's date and place of death:

1983

In which kind of environment did the quiltmaker live?

Rural

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

Butcher

Quiltmaker's city:

Hummel's Wharf

Quiltmaker's state:

Pennsylvania (PA)

Quiltmaker's country:

United States

Estimated number of quilts made by this quiltmaker:

1-5 quilts

Any other notes or stories about the quiltmaker:

According to her son, who was about 5 years old in 1933, "quilting was done in the dining room and that it was illuminated by a ceiling light that seemed very large and bright to him at the time. Two of the quiltmaker's four sisters lived locally and he assumed they were part of the team who helped with the quilting. He recalled, too, that they quilted from a large frame." (Email Nov 27, 2008 to Merikay Waldvogel). Her grand daughter described the quilter as a very humble woman. "My father mentioned that she didn't make a big deal of her recognition."

Access and copyright information:

Restricted