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!