Textiles and the Triplett Sisters

When we were researching quilters who made BAQ’s we were searching for evidence of who might have made a living creating those quilts or at least supplemented their income. Evidence of women who advertised as quilters or sold quilt blocks was limited, and therefore researchers tended to explore dressmakers or milliners as possibilities. In Philadelphia, the first reference to a quilter in a Philadelphia Business Directory occurs in 1820. Beulah Wilson was listed as a quilter on Poplar Lane near Front. She made a living as a quilter for more than 10 years. In the 1830 edition of the Business Directory, she added mantua maker along with quilter. Also, Mary Hopper and Jas. Strain were listed in later directories as quilters only. Ads in the Philadelphia newspaper seeking quilters for employment appeared in August 1846 to...

Happy New Year! I’m having a hard time believing it is almost 2024. However, when I think of the quilting fun to come this year…I’m ready. I hope you are ready to join us too! Don’t forget that our 2023 Triplett Sisters Block of the Month Album Quilt with Half-Blocks was complex enough to continue into the new year. So, that means there is still plenty of time to join us! Everyone works at their own pace so you won’t be behind. If that quilt isn’t your style, The Triplett Sisters BOM for 2024 is just getting started and is very different in size and style. Prussian Blue Star Center Medallion is 40” x 40” and has some piecing making it a change of pace from our previous quilt. There is an option to make it...

The five stolen Baltimore Album Quilts in the last blog article were likely not recovered, since there was no subsequent article about a thief being arrested or the quilts being found. (To read previous articles on BAQS, use this link.) What did the thief do with the quilts? Perhaps what many thieves do to get cash from their ill-gotten gains…they sold to a pawnbroker. A Baltimore Sun January 19, 1848 article notes that “Jane Brown, indicted for the larceny of a quilt, the property of Levi Benjamin.” Jane Brown entered Mr. Benjamin’s store, stashed the quilt under her shawl and walked out. On being pursued the quilt was still found on her and consequently she was found guilty and served two years in the penitentiary. The quilt was not described, but it had to have been...

On December 22, 1848 The Baltimore Sun carried an article about stolen “five fancy bed quilts, some of which were of the most elegant styles of needle-work, being profusely adorned with mathematical figures, squares, histrionic [sic] representations, etc.” The theft took place in the yard of her residence on West Saratoga Street. Proof of the theft is shown because Officers Brice and Small arrested two on suspicion of theft, Matilda Howard and Williams Collins. Unfortunately, the case was dismissed because of lack of evidence. The paper went onto state that the “quilts were really splendid specimens of work, one hundred and fifty dollars having been offered for them and refused.” If we adjusted the price of $150 in 1845 it is equivalent in purchasing power to approximately $6,059.72 today. Definitely not your run of the mill...

There are more than 500 references to quilting frolics in US newspapers during the 19th century. Both men and women could participate in the quilting parties. Sue Reich deserves credit for bringing the frolic name to our attention in her book on signature quilts. According to Dr. William Dunton, in 1845 Mrs. Henry Richmond (who lived at Eutaw Street north of Biddle) gave an album block party. Or it may have been friends of hers decided to give her an album block party. The Richmond frolics resulted in two beautiful album quilts, the second one dated 1846, and a framed block. As I was considering a recent invitation to a quilting party which we were calling a frolic, I wondered about how the ladies back then handled getting supplies. In mid-19th century Baltimore, you might stop...