Textiles and the Triplett Sisters

My sister informed me, “everyone knows what it is when you call it the Bible Block like from Baltimore Album Quilts.” (BTW, if you don’t have a sister or friend to discuss quilts and quilt history, find one. I’ve truly learned so much from our discussions and hopefully my sister has learned some from me too…more than if I only went on hunts that I instigated.) Yes, most people do know what it is when you call it a Bible block, but what if in fact it is an autograph book in the quilt, not a Bible block? A real clue that you might need to explore another answer is when the quilt has more than one “Bible block” contained in it. Or if the known quilt makers have used previous books to represent an autograph...

This past weekend I gave a presentation on these glorious applique quilts to the American Quilt Study Group. Every time I speak on the quilts, I ask for anyone to let me know if they are aware of a quilt that I haven’t talked about or shown. Huge thanks to Lorie Stubbs, Leah Zeiber, Peggy Norris, and Susan Morrison who contacted me with quilt images and information. Each one of these quilts that gets discovered, adds to the body of information and understanding of this particular style. I’d already planned this week’s blog to write on whether there were area styles within this regional style. I’m still collecting data, but I have noticed the red setting strips in the mixed albums seem to be found in the New York area. Peggy Norris wrote to me that...

If you’ve been following my blog, you know I’ve been researching a Northern style of cutout applique quilts. (If you need a refresher, here’s a link to the last article, which has links to the previous articles.) It’s time for a mini-update. If you’d like a more complete update, I invite you to attend the AQSG Virtual Study Center Northern Chintz Quilts that I’m teaching. For the first time this study center will be open to non-members, so jump on the opportunity while you can at this link. Last year, a wonderful quilting colleague notified Kay and I that a Northern Style Chintz Quilt was up for sale on Etsy. (Thank you, thank you!) My sister immediately began the complicated process of acquisition. Complicated because the quilt was located in Japan, and the value was such...

The Cloth that Changed the World: The Art and Fashion of Indian Chintz was an exhibition created by the Royal Ontario Museum of Toronto Canada. I wanted to see the exhibit very badly, but a trip to Toronto really didn’t fit in my travel schedule. I had to make do with the exhibition catalog, until the St. Louis Art Museum decided to showcase the exhibit in a joint venture which is up through Jan 8th, 2023. My sister Kay and I made that trip happen. It was worth every second of the drive across the state. We got to see some fantastic palampores, textiles, and Indian Chintz. The exhibit was wonderful about showing the textiles in groupings that were produced for different markets or countries. The St. Louis Art Museum also threw in an amazing surprise,...

A competitor of Bannister Hall, Bromley Hall Printworks, also used various names with the change of ownership. From the 1680s to 1820s Bromley Hall (a building around since 1485) on the River Lea descended through a prominent Quaker family. Benjamin Ollive was a linen dyer who by 1719 had become a calico printer. The River Lea provided easy access to water and his sons followed into the business expanding the premises. In 1783 the family acquired copper printing plates from a printer in Merton who went bankrupt.Joseph Ollive bequeathed his business to his nephew Joseph Talwin and Joseph managed the firm as Talwin & Foster. The V&A is home to the rare pattern book of Talwin & Foster which contains 144 copper plate designs which can be seen at this link. Talwin & Foster's products were...