Inscriptions on this quilt reveal that is was made to raise money, but for what cause? One contributor, author George L. Taylor wrote, “What is in a name? Ah Shakespeare, there you blundered,  Stitched in a quilt, there is hard cash in a hundred!” The quilt includes 255 “celebrity” autographs from politicians, writers, women activists, cartoonists, merchants, Methodist church leaders, and entertainers.  Nowhere, however, is there any indication of the cause to which these notable persons lent their support. Still, the effort to gather autographs from a literal Who’s Who of religious and popular society helps us understand the importance of the cause to the unknown maker.

Pattern: 
Album
Maker: 
Maker unknown
1879
1891
Made in
United States
90
74
IQM, Ardis and Robert James Collection
2006.043.0019