QUILT INDEX RECORD

33-29-96

Description of quilt:

Third place winner of the Los Angeles round, Rosetta Scott of Prescott, AZ made a commemorative quilt focusing on the Sears Building at the 1933 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.

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:

184

Person filling out this form is:

Other

When was the form filled out?

1996

Choose the best description of the source to the quilt:

Other

Describe the relationship to the quilt's maker:

Quilt Appraiser

Who helped you fill out the form?

Stacie Seeger

This is a:

Finished quilt

Quilt's title:

Sears Building (Third Place - Los Angeles)

How wide is the quilt?

Estimate 85 inches

How long is the quilt?

Estimate 85 inches

What color is the quilt?

Black; Blue or Navy; Gray; White

Overall color scheme:

Light or pastel colors

Type of inscription:

Date; Message

Describe the type of inscription:

Applique letters and numerals

What is inscribed on the quilt?

1833-1933 THE SEARS BUILDING AT THE CENTURY OF PROGRESS EXPOSITION CHICAGO - 1933

What is the date inscribed on the quilt?

1933

Method used to make the inscription:

Other

Describe the method used to inscribe the quilt:

Applique

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:

Medallion or framed center

Subject of the quilt:

Century of Progress Exposition

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

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 square

Quilting designs used, background fills:

Grid/crosshatch

Describe the quilting designs used:

The information provided is from viewing a color photograph of the quilt only.

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

Pictorial applique motifs in the border include advances in transportation as well as electricity. Similar designs appear in other commemorative quilts entered in the contest. The source is not known.

Quilt top made by:

Scott, Rosetta

Quilted by:

Scott, Rosetta

Where the quilt was made, city:

Prescott

Where the quilt was made, state:

Arizona (AZ)

Where the quilt was made, country:

United States

How was this quilt acquired?

Unknown

Why was the quilt made?

Commemorative; Challenge or Contest entry

The quilt was made to be used for:

Artwork/wall hanging

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

Exhibitions where this quilt was displayed:

Quilt may have been on display at the Sharlot Hall Museum in Prescott, AZ. A photo exists, but the registrar said in 2002 email that the quilt was not in the museum's collection.

Contests entered:

Sears National Quilt Contest, 1933 Chicago World's Fair. This quilt won third place at the Los Angeles round of the Sears Contest.

Publications (including web sites) where this quilt or maker was featured:

For background info and to see her name listed in contest, read: Merikay Waldvogel and Barbara Brackman. Patchwork Souvenirs of the 1933 World's Fair (Nashville, TN: Rutledge Hill Press, 1993), 108 and 113.

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

Official List of 30 regional winners published by Sears Roebuck and Co. in their catalog. Photograph of the quilt on display in an exhibit--assume it is at Sharlot Hall Museum in Prescott, AZ. Letter from neighbor of quiltmaker. Bishop D. Boyce Bryce to Merikay Waldvogel (May 30, 1994) "My letter will be brief. I knew Rosetta Scott when she lived on Lincoln Ave. We lived across the street from her son Wesley and Wife Priscilla. Wesley and Priscilla died. They left an adopted son. If you could find him perhaps he might be able to tell you something about Rosetta Scott. Rosetta (in early days) lived in Mexico. Pancho Villa and his men raided her home and took quite some of her possessions."

Ownership of this quilt is:

Private

Quilt owner's country:

United States

Quiltmaker's ethnic background/tribal affiliation:

Mexican

In which kind of environment did the quiltmaker live?

Rural

Quiltmaker's city:

Prescott

Quiltmaker's state:

Arizona (AZ)

Quiltmaker's country:

United States

Who photographed this quilt?

Gary Heatherly

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

Copyright holder:

Merikay Waldvogel