1870 - 1886 Margaret Tormey's Crazy-patched Quilt Top
date: label: date made
content: 1870-1886
name: label: maker
content: Tormey, Margaret McNamara
notes: label: Description
content: It took Margaret Tormey sixteen years to carefully craft this 86-inch quilt top, dated 1886, and two matching pillow shams. She included campaign and club ribbons that name New York and Brooklyn; printed silks from the Robinson Company with such motifs as the Statue of Liberty; and brocaded silk pictures to personalize her project. Examples of chromolithograph printing on silk are also found on the quilt top. A multitude of embroidered motifs typical of the era embellish the crazy-patchwork.
label: Description
content: Margaret McNamara was born in Ireland (about 1835) and immigrated with her family to the United States about 1848. In 1861 she married Patrick Tormey, who was also born in Ireland (about 1835) and immigrated as a teenager. They lived in Brooklyn, N.Y. Patrick, a Civil War veteran, was keeper of the Brooklyn City Hall for many years. He died in 1900. Margaret died in 1910.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
topic: 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: Cultures & Communities
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content: Quilts
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content: Textiles
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content: Domestic Furnishings
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Miss Miriam M. Tormey
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: TE.T12927
label: accession number
content: 247329
label: catalog number
content: T12927
objectType: label: Object Name
content: quilt
label: Object Name
content: quilt top
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: fabric, silk, velvet, satin, ribbon (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: thread, silk, cotton, chenille (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 86 in x 86 in; 218 cm x 218 cm