1875 - 1878 Amelia Johnson's Prize Parlor Throw
date: label: date made
content: 1875-1878
name: label: maker
content: Johnson, Amelia
notes: label: Description
content: A “First Premium” blue ribbon is attached to Amelia Johnson’s silk parlor throw. It was awarded in 1878 at the St. Louis Agricultural and Mechanical Association Fair in Missouri. Fairs were particularly popular events in the nineteenth century. They provided amusements, celebrated achievements, and promoted new ideas. After the Civil War, much money was spent to expand the St. Louis fairgrounds and add buildings. By the late 1870s, its annual agricultural, industrial, and metropolitan displays were worthy of international attention. This parlor throw won a prize at one of the decorative arts exhibitions.
label: Description
content: Approximately 500 three-inch “Log Cabin” blocks made of silk were stitched on a muslin foundation to complete the top of this parlor throw. Plain-weave and ribbed solid-colored silks were used to create a mosaic of color. The lining is constructed of red silk fabric quilted 10 stitches per inch to a piece of white cotton fabric. Pink silk thread is used for the quilted trapezoid pattern on the lining. The “Log Cabin” top and quilted lining are joined together and edged with a heavy twisted cord composed of white, pink, green, and black silk cords. This parlor throw is a prize-winning example of the fancy needlework that was so fashionable in the Victorian period. The donor, J. A. Goodall, provided little information about his Aunt Amelia when the parlor throw was added to the Collection in 1940.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: Missouri, Saint Louis
topic: label: Subject
content: Quilting
label: Subject
content: Exhibitions
setName: label: See more items in
content: Home and Community Life: Textiles
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content: Textiles
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content: Domestic Furnishings
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content: Quilts
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Mr. J.A. Goodall
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: TE.T08430
label: accession number
content: 157598
label: catalog number
content: T08430
objectType: label: Object Name
content: quilt
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: fabric, silk (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: thread, cotton, silk (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 72 in x 64 in; 184 cm x 163 cm