For more than two hundred years, American women have been\nrecording their hopes and dreams, their fears and frustrations in\nthe exacting stitches and exuberant designs of their quilts. The\nAmerican Quilt shows how these virtuoso textiles, long\nappreciated for their bold graphic appeal and naive charm, are also\na fascinating reflection of cultural and social attitudes, painting\nan indelible portrait of our nation’s history and the remarkable\nwomen who lived it.
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America of the 18th and 19th centuries developed at a\nbreathtaking pace, and the changes that marked each era were\ninevitably mirrored in the prevailing quilting styles of the\nperiod. The American Quilt marks the first time the\nevolution of quilting has been traced chronologically, identifying\nthe fabric, design, and construction hallmarks of each period and\nshowing the genesis of beloved patterns and styles. A thorough\ndiscussion of America’s textile history, complete with a fabric\ntime-line, provides further insight into antique quilts, offering\nimportant clues to their age and provenance.
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The American Quilt charts the course of quilting in\nAmerica, from the earliest whole-cloth and broderie perse quilts\nthrough the emergence of the block style in all its regional and\npopular permutations. Special sections are devoted to quilt\nsubgenres, including Amish quilts, Baltimore Album quilts, mourning\nquilts, and African-American quilts, that are highly prized by\ncollectors today.
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Quilt collectors will also find helpful information on\ndisplaying, storing, and caring for quilts, as well as an\nexhaustive directory of dealers and quilt collections that have\nbeen updated for this edition.
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Filled with more than 250 photographs of rarely seen quilts and\ndelightful evocations of quilting’s colorful past, The American\nQuilt is a thought-provoking and important step forward in our\never-expanding knowledge of this remarkable folk art.
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“[The American Quilt] offers a profusely illustrated\nsurvey that ingeniously weaves the threads of America’s social,\npolitical, economic, and industrial history into the evolution of\nthe quilt-making arts.” —New York Times
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“A longtime dealer of antique quilts, Kiracofe has given us a\nguide to evaluating and dating old quilts, and has included methods\nof tracking down the makers, and advice on their cleaning, storage,\nhanging, and restoration. A pleasure for the generalist, this book\nwill be indispensable to serious students and collectors.”\n—Washington Post
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“A must for any serious student of quilts.” —Quilter’s\nNotebook
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A “classic quilt tome.”—USA Today
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