The Spider Web Quilt
Unidentified Quilt Maker
Circa 1880
76 x 86 inches
Origin Unknown
Set within an indigo and butterscotch "Garden Maze" sashing, the blocks in this exceptionally handsome quilt are a good sampling of the printed cotton fabrics available to mainstream 19th century women for their sewing. The fabric this quilt maker used for the back is another beautiful print.
Excellent Condition with all fabrics intact. Hand quilted, thin and lightweight, and separately bound with the indigo print of the sashing.
As for theme of the block ... in 1940, the Kansas City Star newspaper published it with the name, "The Spiderweb Quilt." A good example of the 20th century practice of commercial entities taking a design that had been around for decades, and naming (or re-naming) it as their own. This one appears in Brackman #2544, with the later name.