1876 Emma St. Clair Whitney's Pieced Silk Quilt
date: label: date made
content: 1876
name: label: maker
content: Whitney, Emma St. Clair
notes: label: Description
content: “1876 Emma St. Clair Whitney Centennial” is printed on the center rosette of this silk quilt. Two-inch plain colored silk hexagons are pieced into rosettes, each separated by black hexagons. An 8-inch silk border is quilted, 8 stitches per inch, with a 5-banded cable pattern. The silk lining is hand-quilted in a shell pattern in the center with a 4-banded cable pattern on the border.
label: Description
content: Emma St. Clair Nichols was born on September 26, 1840 in Pottsville, Pennsylvania. She married William Whitney (1823-1899) on October 2, 1862. He was a lawyer and Civil War veteran. They raised four children. In 1891 Emma published a book, <I> Michael Hillegas and his Descendants, </I> a memoir of her great grandfather. Michael Hillegas (1729-1804) was the First Treasurer of the United States. In the forward she mentioned that, “. . . [it] is hoped that the facts and materials here collected and classified, will be found serviceable to some later writer. . .” Emma died April 4, 1895. Her 1876 Centennial silk quilt is her legacy.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: Pennsylvania, Pottsville
topic: label: Subject
content: Quilting
label: Subject
content: Numismatics
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 Col. and Mrs. Whitney Ashbridge
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: TE.T17755.000
label: catalog number
content: T17755.000
label: accession number
content: 316364
objectType: label: Object Name
content: quilt
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: fabric, silk, satin (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: thread, silk, cotton (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 80 in x 74 in; 203 cm x 188 cm