Quilt, Red and White "Carpenter's Square"
Dateca. 1900
MediumCotton
Dimensions88 inches H X 83 1/2 inches wide
Credit LineGift of The Valentine Museum, Richmond, VA
Object number2024.609.20
DescriptionRectangular pieced quilt of red and white cotton. The pattern, sometimes referred to as "Carpenter's Square," consists of narrow 1 1/2 inch-wide strips of solid red cotton positioned at angles to create intersecting diamonds. The running stitch quilting stitches, about 9 per inch, outline the geometric strips and also include straight feathers and scallops in the white areas. Thin batting. The quilt is backed with white cotton brought to the front and stitched to form a narrow edge finish.Label TextIntroduction to Folk Art:Sisters Atha and Bertha Spitzer taught at the Dayton Graded and High School in Rockingham County in the early 1900s, heading both the primary and intermediate grades and working as principal’s assistants. They earned praise in the local papers for their teaching efforts. In 1907, the Rockingham Register congratulated Atha for earning one of the highest grades in a teaching course held in Charlottesville.
Out of the classroom, the Spitzer sisters quilted. They pieced this striking red and white quilt in a “Carpenter’s Square” pattern, known for its use of lines and interlocking squares.Provenanceca. 1900, Quiltmakers Bertha Spitzer [1876-1952] and Atha Spitzer [1878-1944] (Broadway, VA); dates unknown, Gerry (Mrs. Richard) Lewis (Richmond, VA); 1992, given to Valentine Museum (Richmond, VA); 2024 given to Colonial Williamsburg (Williamsburg, VA)
1850-1870, backed with ca. 1790 Copperplate
1766
1835-1850
ca. 1775, textile; quilted later
Dated 1889
ca. 1875