Page 22 - JOA August 2020

In the summer of 1854, inside an enormous four-
story brick house at the corner of Main and Andover in
Ludlow, Vermont, Ella-Elizabeth Spaulding joyously
Friendship thought back to those exciting spring days several
prepared for her approaching wedding and move west.
Ellen, as she was called by all her friends and family,

months earlier, when her first cousin Willard Reed had
come from his home in Chelmsford, Massachusetts, to

ask for her hand in marriage. She had known him for
as long as she could remember from his family’s visits to
Quilts the Spauldings. But Ellen had never known him to be

so happy or enthusiastic as he was now at twenty-one,
with all his plans and dreams of getting rich in the West.
Ellen and Joseph married on September 5, 1854,
and as a wedding/going-away gift, Ellen’s family and
friends presented her with a 91” x 96” album patch

friendship quilt made of pieced cottons and hand-
painted chintz. The quilt was her link with all that she
was leaving as she and her husband headed west to

begin their new life, together.
A Gift of
- From Remember Me: Women & Their
Friendship Quilts, by Linda Otto Lipsett.
Remembrance
by Maxine Carter-Lome, Publisher

ong before Facebook and photographs, friendship quilts were created for a
family member or friend moving away as a tangible reminder of those left Types of Autograph Quilts
Lbehind and times shared together.
Quilt historians date the tradition of friendship quilts to the 1840s and their While the most familiar friendship quilts are those
association with autograph books or albums that were popular at the time. Girls composed of the signatures of friends and loved ones, not all
and boys, as well as young men and women, owned small autograph books to signature quilts were friendship quilts. Some were made to raise
gather the signatures of friends and acquaintances as a way to remember their funds for various causes from missionary work to supporting
times together. Often those signing the pages of these books included prose, troops during a war. The finished quilt may have been
sentimental phrases, or artwork along with their signatures. Friendship quilts are auctioned off or people may have paid a fee to have their name
considered the textile equivalent of these autograph books. placed on a block in the quilt.
Friendship quilts are made up of a patchwork design of individual squares or There are two distinct kinds of autograph quilts: single
blocks, often from available fabric scraps or a piece of fabric from an item of pattern quilts, often referred to as “friendship quilts,” and more
special significance such as a wedding dress or a fabric used in a dress in the bride's
trousseau. Participants in the gift would sign a square, and sometimes
include a date or sentimental message such as “remember me.” In some
communities, including those made up of Old Order Mennonites and the Amish,
mailing addresses were likewise added to the signature squares. While most
quilts included only the names of women, some also included the names of
children and men.
Not always did the person’s signature come from that person’s hand.
Sometimes the group creating the quilt would select someone with the most
beautiful handwriting to make all the signatures. Or in some cases, a quilter
would collect a variety of fabric from other women, piece the block, and then sign
the block with the name of the person who contributed the fabric.
The finished squares were then stitched together by either a group of women
or by one designated quilter to create the finished gift, although in some instances
the recipient was presented with just a quilt top or a set of signature blocks to take
with them to finish the quilt at a later date in time.
Most 19th century signatures were written with indelible ink while in the 20th
century they were often embroidered. Eventually, makers began using blocks
pre-stamped with embroidery designs, to which the names could be added.
OSV Friendship Album

20 Journal of Antiques and Collectibles