1800 - 1820 Brown-Francis Family's Patriotic Quilt
date: label: Date made
content: 1800-1820
label: date made
content: 1795-1820
name: label: quilter
content: unknown
notes: label: Description
content: This early-nineteenth-century patriotic quilt was owned by members of the Brown-Frances family of Canterbury, Connecticut, before being donated to the Museum in 1947. The donor's grandmother had acquired possession of it along with other household furnishings that were in the eighteenth-century family homestead.
label: Description
content: The focus of the quilt, the large center block, is an adaptation of the Great Seal of the United States. An appliquéd eagle holding an arrow in one claw and a leafy sprig in the other dominates the block A shield with fifteen stars that indicate the number of states from June 1, 1792 until June 1, 1796 is behind the eagle. Appliquéd floral and bird motifs complete the block. This center block is set in a field of 4¾-inch blocks alternately plain and pieced in a nine-patch variation. The fabrics include thirty-eight roller-printed, plain colored and white cottons. It is quilted in parallel diagonal lines ¾-inch apart, 7 or 8 stitches per inch. From the late-eighteenth century the American eagle motif has signified patriotism and sacrifice. This quilt by an unknown Canturbury, Connecticut, quilt maker displays a unique rendition of that powerful symbol.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
topic: label: Subject
content: Patriotic
label: Subject
content: Patriotism and Patriotic Symbols
label: Subject
content: Quilting
setName: label: See more items in
content: Home and Community Life: Textiles
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content: Government, Politics, and Reform
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content: Textiles
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content: Quilts
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Mr. Normal L. Kilpatrick
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: TE.T13505
label: accession number
content: 168993
label: catalog number
content: T13505
objectType: label: Object Name
content: quilt
label: Object Type
content: quilts
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: fabric, cotton (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: thread, linen, cotton (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: filling, cotton (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 98 in x 95 in; 248 cm x 240 cm