In 2024 I bought a civil war era quilt that would lead me on what I have fondly (or not so fondly) referred to as a wild goose chase. I purchased the quilt for my business, thinking of many clients who collect mid-19th century quilts, particularly the kind with inscriptions like this one. Except I never listed it.
It wasn’t long before the quilt totally captivated me. It showed its age in storage stains and yellowing and because of the inked inscriptions I knew I shouldn’t wet it. I spread it on clean cotton sheets outdoors to air and as I was adjusting the edge, I admired the quilting. Hand quilted in white cotton thread, it boasted little hearts, waves, and areas of tiny, dense hand stitching. Heart motifs in quilting are often attributed to New York, historically, and I had heard that they were especially popular with quiltmakers of Irish decent. But there was something else…
Something caught my eye, then. Between two red and green strips which make up some of the layers of the wide border design I noticed something different in the quilting. There were letters…and numbers.
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