Page 39 - JOA August 2020

The Sears

National

Quilt Contest

An essay from Quiltindex.org by Merikay Waldvogel

he Sears National Quilt Contest organized by Sears Roebuck &
Co. in connection with the Chicago World’s Fair (known
Tofficially as “The Century of Progress” Exposition) was
announced in the January 1933 Sears Roebuck Catalog. They offered
$7,500 in prizes – including a grand prize of $1000.
Why is this contest so important to quilt historians? Because more
than 24,000 quilts were entered making the Sears Contest the largest
quilt contest in history. Nearly 80 years later, the record still stands. By
offering such a large prize when the nation’s economy was not good,
the company set in motion a huge amount of quilting. People who had
never quilted before decided to try. Husbands and boyfriends helped
make the quilts. Adept quilters did their very best work. Local Sears
stores not only sold fabric, supplies, and patterns, they displayed the
finished quilts. The effects of the contest were long-lasting.
The contest instructions were simple. Enter a quilt “all of your own
making” which had not been exhibited before. Sears did not want an
exhibit of “antique quilts.” Sears offered quilting advice at their stores.
The contest was advertised through the Sears catalog, on a WLS radio
broadcast, and in local newspapers’ Sears advertising throughout the
nation. At the time, Sears Roebuck was headquartered in Chicago and Commemorative Quilts
owned the WLS radio station. Other Sears staff based in Chicago were: Although traditional pieced and appliqué quilt designs won the top
Sue Roberts, the contest organizer, whose signature appeared on all the prizes, Sears invited originally designed quilts that would depict the
letters sent by Sears to the quilt entrants and Mae Wilford, who served spirit of the Century of Progress. They even offered an incentive of
as the quilt advisor in the Chicago area Sears stores. $200 if an original design won the grand prize. It is interesting to see
The quilters had just four months to finish their quilts. The dead- how quilters handled this challenge. Some simply embroidered the
line was May 15 for the first round of judging. The top three winners words “A Century of Progress” across an upper border of a quilt made
at the local round were sent to one of the ten Regional Mail Order from a standard pattern. Others spent many hours in the library
Houses for another round of judging: Boston, Philadelphia, Atlanta, researching inventions and technological advances to include in their
Minneapolis, Chicago, Memphis, Kansas City, Dallas, Seattle, and Los quilt designs.
Angeles. At the Atlanta regional round, for example, there were 1100 Chicago area quilters who took the challenge often incorporated
quilts. Only three from each region were sent to the national round. Of aspects of the World’s Fair itself. The 1933 Chicago World’s Fair
those 30, the judges chose the top three and an Honorable Mention. commemorated the 100th Birthday of the founding of Chicago. The
Presumably, all 30 quilts were exhibited during the run of the Fair dates 1833 and 1933 were embroidered, appliquéd, and quilted into
that first summer in 1933. No photographs exist of the quilts on the entries. Some included the story of Fort Dearborn and the Chicago
display that summer. There were some publicity photos of the judges fire. It’s important to note that the construction of the Fair occurred
with the top three during the Great Depression. The buildings at the Fair went up slowly.
quilts sent to local The replica of Fort Dearborn was erected early and people were encour-
newspapers. For exam- aged to visit. Promotional brochures included line drawings of the
ple, the Lexington, KY buildings that were planned. The Sears Pavilion was on the front of the
newspaper carried an contest brochure and it figured prominently on a number of commem-
interview with orative quilts entered in the contest.
Margaret Caden whose Unfortunately, only two commemorative quilts reached the final
traditional quilt “Star round and neither won the grand prize so the $200 bonus was not
of the Bluegrass” had awarded. Chicago quiltmakers grumbled that their local and regional
been awarded the judges had not treated the Century of Progress quilts fairly. Ida Stow
$1000 grand prize. sent a protest letter to Sears but received only a curt reply. However, in
the summer of 1934, the Fair managers decided to open the Fair for a
second season. Sears had already returned the 30 quilts. Sue Roberts
invited the top 10 winners to send their quilts back to the Sears
Pavilion. They also invited Chicago quilters who made commemorative
quilts to display their quilts. Sears photographed prize quilts as well as
the commemorative quilts. Ida Stow’s quilt was front and center.
Above: Sears’ article on their participation in the Fair and
its announcement of the Quilt Contest
Far left: The flyer for Sears’ Quilt Making Contest featuring the
Century of Progress Building reached out to women by asking
“You can ‘bake a sweet cake,’ but can you ‘sew a fine seam?’”
Left: Photograph of the Century of Progress Building
August 2020 37