QUILT INDEX RECORD

33-29-97

Description of quilt:

Jeannette Morgan Longsworth of Racine, Ohio created a quilt with a bold design to catch the judge's attention and possibly win the bonus prize. The contest took place at the depths of the Great Depression and many people who would not otherwise have made a quilt, did so in the hopes of winning the $1000 grand prize.

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:

036

Person filling out this form is:

Son of quiltmaker

When was the form filled out?

1985

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?

Barbara Brackman

This is a:

Finished quilt

Quilt's title:

Nineteen Hundred Thirty Three

How wide is the quilt?

61 inches

How long is the quilt?

81 inches

What color is the quilt?

Blue or Navy; Red; White

Overall color scheme:

Bright or primary colors

Type of inscription:

Date

Describe the type of inscription:

Pieced Block Numbers

What is inscribed on the quilt?

NINE TEEN HUNDRED THIRTY THREE

What is the date inscribed on the quilt?

1933

Method used to make the inscription:

In the quilting

Describe the method used to inscribe the quilt:

Pieced

Describe where the inscription was found:

Quilt Top

Time period:

1930-1949

When was the quilt started?

1933

When was the quilt finished?

1933

Describe the quilt's layout:

Block pattern

Subject of the quilt:

Commemorative Date of World's Fair

Fiber types used to make the quilt top:

Cotton

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

How are the layers held together?

Hand quilting

Quilting designs used, overall motifs:

Grid diamond

Quilting designs used, background fills:

Grid/crosshatch

Quilt top made by:

Longsworth, Jeannette Morgan

Quilted by:

Longsworth, Jeanette Morgan

Where the quilt was made, city:

Racine

Where the quilt was made, state:

Ohio (OH)

Where the quilt was made, country:

United States

How was this quilt acquired?

Inheritance

Tell the story of how the quilt was obtained:

Quilt was given to quiltmaker's eldest daughter Evelyn for safe keeping. Evelyn gave it to Thorne Longsworth (quilter's son) in Oct 1989 because she felt he would appreciate it since he remembered his mother making the quilt.

Why was the quilt made?

Challenge or Contest entry

Where did the maker get their materials?

Purchased new

Where did the maker find their pattern?

Commercial/Published source: Pattern

Commercial name of the pattern for the top:

Ladies Art Co. had a set of alphabet blocks in their catalog. Hearth and Home also had a set.

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:

Quilting is an allover square grid with parallel lines quilted in the striped border.

Exhibitions where this quilt was displayed:

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).

Contests entered:

Sears National 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), pp. 8-9.

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

Photo of quiltmaker provided by her family is on pg 9 in Patchwork Souvenirs.

Ownership of this quilt is:

Private

Quilt owner's name:

Thorne Longsworth

Quilt owner's country:

United States

Quiltmaker's maiden name:

Morgan

Quiltmaker's gender:

Female

Quiltmaker's birth date:

03/01/1881

Quiltmaker's date and place of death:

11/06/1964

In which kind of environment did the quiltmaker live?

Rural

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

Longsworth, John

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

Farmer

Quiltmaker's country:

United States

Estimated number of quilts made by this quiltmaker:

20-50 quilts

Who photographed this quilt?

Gary Heatherly

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

Copyright holder:

Merikay Waldvogel