1844 Susan and Henry Underwood's Album Quilt Top
date: label: date made
content: 1844
name: label: maker
content: unknown
notes: label: Description
content: This album style quilt top belonged to Susan and Henry Underwood of Baltimore, Maryland. The quilt top is composed of twenty-five 17½-inch blocks. Seventeen are signed or initialed by Underwood family members and friends associated with the Methodist Church. Susan and Henry were married in the First Methodist Episcopal Church in Baltimore on August 5, 1830.
label: Description
content: Album quilts, so popular in the mid-19th century, were frequently made by groups of women for presentation to a friend or relative upon a special occasion or as a token to honor a highly regarded member of the community. The blocks on this quilt top include traditional pieced and appliqued patterns, and original designs. One block is dated and inscribed: “I love to see the falling leaf/ To watch the waning moon/ I love to cherish the belief/ That all will change so soon/ Henry Johnson/Baltimore March 9th/ 1844."
label: Description
content: The blocks or assembled quilt top were given to Susan and Henry, with Susan expected to finish the quilt. The top, never lined or quilted, was passed down through the family to the donor, Susan Underwood's great-granddaughter.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: Maryland, Baltimore
topic: label: Subject
content: Quilting
label: Subject
content: Community
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 Miss Effie Wilkinson
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: TE.T15321
label: catalog number
content: T15321
label: accession number
content: 293236
objectType: label: Object Name
content: quilt
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: fabric, cotton (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: thread, cotton, silk (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 103 in x 103 in; 262 cm x 262 cm