Paper Quilts, Part 1

 A few weeks ago, a simple sentence that appeared in antique newspapers piqued my curiosity: 

"There are paper quilts."

The sentence was syndicated in many newspapers across the U.S. in the miscellaneous sections of gazettes in the 1890s and was repeated well into the early 20th century.   I thought of dresses made of paper in the 1960s and had to research it further!

What made it more intriguing was late 19th/early 20th century articles even cited "paper quilts" that had won premiums at fairs:

(1895: Girard, Kansas)

The newspapers were misleading.  One of the challenges of reading older articles on quilts is that the writers (usually men) had no idea about quilt making or even the parts that constitute a quilt (top, batting, backing).   Despite this, broad generalizations were published about "paper quilts":

1912: Akron, Ohio

So here's the actual story/technique that was employed.  Some U.S. newspapers reported in the early 1890s a British trend that had taken hold in quilting.

"In some parts of England there is quite a trade carried on by poor people in making paper quilts for their poorer neighbors.  They are simply composed of sheets of brown paper sewed together and perforated all over at distances of an inch or two apart, covered with chintz or cretonne on one side and lined with patchwork or old sheets--anything available, in fact.  The make surprisingly warm covers and are much appreciated--London Tid-Bits." 1891, South Dakota.

And if you guessed this became a real trend-- well by 1903, manufacturers jumped on the band wagon and a new company was formed make "paper quilts."

From North Carolina:

"The National Fibre and Paper Quilt Company was organized here recently for the purpose of manufacturing paper bed quilts.  A paper bed quilt is something new under the sun.  The quilts are made of two sheets of crimped paper, with cloth outsides.  The quilts are absolutely air tight, and are said to be as warm or warmer than woolen blankets.

The paper used will be disinfected, and many prominent physicians say the quilts will be more healthy than the quilts now in use.  

The rustling noise noticeable about paper is absolutely done away with by the use of the crimpled paper, and when finished the quilts are very pliant and almost as soft as woolen blankets.

They are to be quilted by sewing machine.  The cost of manufacture will be small, and the quilts will retail at from $1.50 to $3.00 per dozen."

Part 2 tomorrow!

Have a safe and happy day!

Story Time Stiches: Bertha Corbett Melcher, Part 1

 

Bertha Corbett Melcher (1872-1950)

Bertha Corbett was born in Denver, Colorado but grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  Her father was a sign painter and Bertha showed an aptitude for art and studied at the Minneapolis School of Art and spent a year studying with Howard Pyle at the Drexel Institute.

Bertha set up a studio when she returned from her studies and like many illustrators began to establish her career by illustrating cards and stationary.  Her greatest and most well known work are the Sunbonnet Babies.  She herself relayed to many people that she had been challenged to show that the human face need not be seen to show emotion.  In 1900, she self-published The Sun-Bonnet Babies:

Shortly afterwards, she partnered with a school teacher named Eulalie Osgood Grover and the women made history with their primers and text books.

The books were an immediate success and not only were the books sold to school districts but they were sold in book stores as well.

Together Bertha and Eulalie would publish 8 books which were reprinted for well over a decade.  The characters expanded to include the Overall Boys:

Like many illustrators, Bertha marketed her characters.  They were  featured on sheet music, calendars, and even ink blotters.  She was shrewd and always signed her name to her work with a copyright date.  Soon her babies were being used to market all kinds of things:

 I've read that when she moved to Chicago to set up a studio there, she benefited from a friendship with Robert F. Outcault. 

 Outcault was an illustrator who had created a popular comic strip named "The Yellow Kid" but was most popular for his  Buster Brown:

Buster Brown and his dog Tige, from a redwork crib quilt in my collection.

In 1907 and part of 1908, Bertha had comic strip of her own featuring the Sunbonnet Babies.

Bertha also gave "chalk talks" to different social groups, hospitals, and schools.  She would tell a story and illustrate it on the chalk board.  

Bertha was also an artist but I have never been able to find any of her other work.  In 1910, she met and married George Henry Melcher.  Melcher was artist from Pennsylvania who had moved west.  The couple lived in California, had two daughters, and were married until 1932 when they divorced.  

Most people don't realize that Bertha suffered from severe arthritis which eventually ended her professional art career.  Over at the Sunbonnet Sue website, there is actually a photograph of Bertha in a wheelchair that was shared by Bertha's granddaughter.  You can see it here.

Bertha passed away in 1950 but she is adored by many (including me).  Tomorrow I will talk about her sunbonnet influence on quilting and illustration.