Page 26 - MyMomHadAQuiltLikeThat

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Age

As with any antique, older is more valuable than newer, so long as
the condition is good. Age of a quilt is typically estimated based on
fabric used. Sometimes the date is sewed into a quilt or a quilt patch
or inscribed with indelible ink. Old and newer quilts are a challenge
to distinguish unless they have polyester filling, which marks them
as 1970s or newer. The newer they are, the less likely they are to
have disharmonious color combinations that high school art teachers
warn against, like olive green mixed with bright blue, and the less
likely they are to contain different kinds of fabric, like wool mixed
with cotton. The choice of wool, silk, or cotton tends to indicate a Figure 7: Patch from "Stars Dated 1887,"
date between the 1860s through the 1940s. Synthetics like rayon and Fig. 119, Page 144.
taffeta indicate 1950s or so. Polyester bespeaks late 1960s and after.
Because quilters hoard their fabrics until they get around to using
them, the choice of a fabric is no guarantee that the quilt isn’t “new
old stock,” recently made from older fabrics.
Color is also a clue to the age of a quilt. Early quilts, 1860s to
1900s, that started out with green appliques commonly fade to tan.
“Turkey red” was developed to be a non-fading dark red, but the
process of making it is so harsh to the fabric that the red can wear
off with age. It appears in quilts up to the 1920s. Calicoes from the Figure 8: Date block from 1907 Crazy,
Fig. 80, Page 104.
1880s through early 1900s used black dyes that deteriorated, causing
designs to “pop;” a piece of old calico might be studded with holes
the size of a match-head wherever black was used to print part of the
design. Orange was a popular color in the 1920s or 1930s. A murky
green called “Nile green” was used extensively between 1900 and
1940, perhaps because a more stable green wasn’t available. Lavender
that my grandmother used came right out of the 1950s but developed
age spots like an older fabric.
The style of a quilt can also be a major clue to its age. Bright red,
white, and green bouquets can be very old; yellows and blues in the
bouquet should make you question whether it is newer, although
blues and yellows in a 1920s basket design should arouse no suspi-
Figure 9: Fugitive green backing from
cions. Crazy quilts with silk and heavily loaded with embroidery
"Stars" dated 1887, Fig. 119, Page 144
were a popular Victorian era design, but crazies of other fabrics con-
tinue to the present day. As noted above under “Patterns,” redwork
was largely Victorian. Geometric patterns in calico bespeak 1930s to
me. Log cabin types in wool say anything from 1900 on. Sometimes
dating is possible through the content of the quilt, so to speak: ea-
gles surrounding a center star was a popular motif at the time of the
American centennial. An airplane motif became highly popular after
Lindbergh’s 1927 solo transatlantic flight. The Democratic Donkey
dates from the FDR era.