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"HEARTS AND HANDS"
Unknown Quilt Maker
(Probably "Julia Fisk" as incribed)
Collected in Michigan
Dated (on reverse): "1863"
78 x 78 inches
Cottons
Mary Strickler's Quilt Collection
A History-Mystery ...
For us, this quilt, dated 1863, has a very special feeling about it. And it may just hold an otherwise lost American Civil War story.
Nearly 150 years have taken their toll on the inked inscription on the back of this appliqued "Hearts and Hands" quilt.
The words are faded,
but we can read them still ...
and they intrigue us,
unlocking our (over?) fertile imaginations.
A History-Mystery ...
For us, this quilt, dated 1863, has a very special feeling about it. And it may just hold an otherwise lost American Civil War story.
Nearly 150 years have taken their toll on the inked inscription on the back of this appliqued "Hearts and Hands" quilt.
The words are faded,
but we can read them still ...
and they intrigue us,
unlocking our (over?) fertile imaginations.
We received no history at all with this quilt, so we don't know anything about it except the mysterious inscription on the back.
The story we have concocted is admittedly dramatic:
We wonder if perhaps a young girl named Julia Fisk made this quilt for her fiancee, Lt. L. A. Butt, who was off to War.
Was Lt. Butt was killed in the Civil War? Perhaps he never received the quilt, an intended gift of love and great tenderness.
Was Lt. Butt was killed in the Civil War? Perhaps he never received the quilt, an intended gift of love and great tenderness.
In our story, Julia Fisk presented the quilt to her lost lover's family.
Accepting the quilt, "N. L. Butt" (Lt. Butt's Mother? Father?) documented the quilt by writing the inscription on the back.
What do you make of the inscription? Other ideas? We'd love to hear them.
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Julia Fisk chose two very personal symbols for her applique design:
Hearts ... and ... Hands
(Did she trace her own small hand as a template?)
The quilt is beautifully made ~ and very well designed.
See the photos below to see how she organized and balanced all the elements. We like how Julia surrounded the lovely, delicate center section of her quilt with a more robust "goalpost" borders.
Hand appliqued and hand quilted in beautiful, fine stitching. Note the elegant Feathered Wreaths in the alternate (white) blocks.
Excellent Condition
with no wear, tears, holes or fabric weakness.
Flat, square, and very lightweight; likely a summer quilt.
Separately bound with an early Double Pink cotton.
Price: $3,850 Sale: $3200
(click on photo for larger image)
