QUILT INDEX RECORD

33-29-90

Description of quilt:

Emma Mae Leonhard named her quilt "From 1833 to 1933." She created a block which she thought depicted the theme A Century of Progress 1833 to 1933. The block features a small log cabin overshadowed by towering skyscrapers. And she repeated the block 9 times. The theme is further carried out in the background and at the borders in appliqued and embroidered images as well as in the quilting designs. It's important to remember the women who took the challenge to make something original only had five months to finish their quilts.

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.

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:

031

Alternate inventory control number:

1997.007.0368

Person filling out this form is:

Quilt owner

When was the form filled out?

1983

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?

Brackman (1983)

This is a:

Finished quilt

Quilt's title:

From 1833 To 1933

How wide is the quilt?

75 inches

How long is the quilt?

84 inches

What color is the quilt?

Blue or Navy; Cream; Lavender; Pink; White; Yellow

Overall color scheme:

Light or pastel colors

Type of inscription:

Date; Message

What is inscribed on the quilt?

Dates are embroidered with roses at quilt top. Dates appear under each costumed woman. Dates appear under each military represented. Other inscriptions pertain to trnsportarion

What is the date inscribed on the quilt?

Various dates ranging from 1833 to 1933

Method used to make the inscription:

Embroidery

Location of inscription:

multiple locations

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:

History of costumes, war, transportation and youth organizations from 1833 to 1933.

Fiber types used to make the quilt top:

Cotton

Fabric types used to make the quilt top:

Sateen

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

Embellishment techniques used to make the quilt top:

Embroidery

How are the layers held together?

Hand quilting

Quilting designs used, overall motifs:

Grid/crosshatch

Quilting designs used, decorative motifs:

Cables; Feathering; Other

Quilting designs used, background fills:

Grid/crosshatch

Describe the quilting designs used:

Lots of pictorial quilting designs in the open areas--including one in which Santos of the Apaches is shakin hands with General Howard. There's a train with coal tender and several cars at bottom of the quilt. There are also airplanes, ships, and other modes of transportation quilted into the quilt.

Quilt top made by:

Leonhard, Emma Mae

Quilted by:

Leonhard, Emma; Leonhard, Lillie Simms

Where the quilt was made, city:

Virginia

Where the quilt was made, state:

Illinois (IL)

Where the quilt was made, country:

United States

How was this quilt acquired?

Gift

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

Quilt was purchased at an auction by Tom and Marie Foster in 1983 for $5,300 in Jacksonville, Illinois. Other quilts by Leohard were offered for sale at the auction and all brought high prices. The Fosters sold the quilt to Ardis and Robert James who transferred it to the International Quilt Study Center along with other collected quilts in 1997.

Why was the quilt made?

Challenge or Contest entry

Quilt is presently used as:

Museum collection

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:

A three-page typed explanation of the meaning of the quilt blocks and the quilting design was compiled by Miss Leonhard.

Exhibitions where this quilt was displayed:

October 1984 exhibited at the Quilt Festival in Houston and on December 8, 1984 at the Star of Texas Show. [Source: Quilters Newsletter Magazine (Feb 1984), 7. The 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). Add IQSC exhibits with this quilt.

Contests entered:

Sears National Quilt Contest, 1933 Chicago World's Fair. There is no proof such as a label, ribbon or newspaper clipping that proves the quilt was actually finished and judged.

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), pp 75-78. Also add Japanese exhibit catalog.

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

Explanation of the Meaning of the Designs. Family History compiled by J. Charles Leonhard (one-page typed). Photo of Emma Mae Leonhard on pg 75 of Patchwork Souvenirs. The State Journal (Springfield, IL) article (Dec 15, 1932) pertaining to Miss Leonhard winning first prize in a national contest of State Flower Quilts using a Ruby McKim design. Newspaper article: "Quilts bring record prices at Auction" in Journal Courier (Jacksonville, IL)(August 14, 1983).

Ownership of this quilt is:

Public Museum, Library or Institution

Quilt owner's name:

International Quilt Study Center and Museum at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Quilt owner's city:

Lincoln

Quilt owner's state:

Nebraska (NE)

Quilt owner's country:

United States

Quiltmaker's maiden name:

Leonhard

Quiltmaker's gender:

Female

Quiltmaker's birth date:

12/05/1890

Quiltmaker's date and place of death:

01/24/1976

In which kind of environment did the quiltmaker live?

Rural

Quiltmaker's city:

Virginia

Quiltmaker's state:

Illinois (IL)

Quiltmaker's country:

United States

Estimated number of quilts made by this quiltmaker:

1-5 quilts

Any other notes or stories about the quiltmaker:

In 1933 Emma Mae Leonhard was a high school English teacher and an early environmentalist. This quilt and her accompanying explanation of the designs are a tribute to a teacher's desire to look for the positive and communicate it to others. She reminds the viewer that tru progress, as great as inventions and discoveries might be, is based on sacrifice, service and concern for the world. (Waldvogel, Patchwork Souvenirs, 77). She never married. She taught English at Jacksonville (IL) High School for 45 years according to the family history notes compiled by J. Charles Leonhard. She was involved in the Campfire Girls organization and served as a Red Cross volunteer during World War I. In her later years she led birding expeditions to various laces in the United States and served as president of the Audubon Society of Illinois. A wildlife sanctuary by the lake at Jacksonville is named in her honor. (Source 1992 interview by Waldvogel with Floyd Leonhard, quiltmaker's brother).

Who photographed this quilt?

Gary Heatherly

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

Copyright holder:

Merikay Waldvogel