Textile, "Crazy" suffrage quilt, 1870's

Crazy quilt, circa 1870's. "Crazy" quilts, like this one from Laura Reynolds, became popular after the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition, possibly inspired by the asymmetrical Japanese designs exhibited there. These elaborate quilts often featured silks, velvets and hand-painted segments. Although the patterns appear random, they were carefully planned and pieced. Decorative needlework was used to join the pieces and show off the quilters skill. These quilts were more decorative than utilitarian and often were of a smaller size. It was not unusual for such quilts to be sold or raffled as fundraisers. Laura Reynolds wrote to Susan B Anthony requesting fabric pieces from the great reformer that might be incorporated into a quilt to increase its value. Though we have correspondence between Reynolds and Anthony that verifies that Anthony did send wool and silk fabric pieces to Reynolds, we do not have any evidence that they were sewn into this particular quilt. (This quilt is one of several given to the National Susan B Anthony Museum & House by Jean Waddell, descendant of Laura Reynolds. The correspondence between Anthony and Reynolds is also a part of this 2009 accession.)