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Quilts of Tennessee at Tennessee State Library and Archives
TSLA Finding Aid | View Quilts
Tennessee State Library and Archives (TSLA) holds a collection
of materials relating to Tennessee’s people and history
that serves as a major resource for the region, including books,
journals, documents, microfilm, manuscripts, photographs, and
other research materials. TSLA established a website in 1996 that
includes an on-line catalog and a large number of pages devoted
to providing easier access to its collections. Eventual mounting
of the digitized images to accompany the databases is a long-range
goal.
The Quilts of Tennessee survey began in late 1983, focused on
documenting quilts made in Tennessee prior to 1930, and recorded 1,425
quilts. Only 30 quilts and their makers’ histories were included
in a book and traveling exhibit, The Quilts of Tennessee: Images of
Domestic Life Prior to 1930, which was designed to represent the
state’s quilt types. Another 600 quilt forms and images have been
added since 1984, bringing the total to 2,020. TSLA’s website includes
a description and finding aid for the quilts documented through the Quilts
of Tennessee. The original quilt documentation forms are available
to researchers who visit the TSLA, but the collection is little used because
its existence at TSLA and its scope and contents are not well known. In
addition, the data themselves contained in the forms have not been adequately
computerized, indexed, and analyzed. Through participation in the Quilt
Index, the Quilts of Tennessee and TSLA will computerize
the data and digitize the images of a subset of these quilts.
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Hands all around 
