Ida Belle Merryman and Eleanora M. Merryman
Crazy Quilt with Christmas Bookmark
1884-1894
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Physical Qualities
Silk, cotton foundation fabric, silk and metallic embroidery threads, silk ribbon, 78 x 70 1/2 in. (198.1 x 179.1 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of Merry Gladding Highby, Baltimore, MD.
Object Number
2010.20
Crazy quilts of the 1880 to 1890 period were often created with irregular pieces of rich fabric and were copiously decorated. Many crazy quilts included personal souvenirs of the makers, which may explain the presence of the ornate black ribbon bookmark including the message “MAY YOU HAVE a HAPPY CHRISTMAS and many of them” as well as the smaller gold silk ribbon with the word “Washington” at the top and a heraldic design related to Baltimore. The influence of Japanese art common to most crazy quilts is found in the irregular piecework, as well as in designs such as fans, pitchers, butterflies, spiders, and spider webs. Outline embroidery, ribbon work, appliquéd and embroidered animals and floral designs, and elaborate stitches over seams speak to the makers’ desire to display their needlework skills.
Baltimore Museum of Art by gift, 2010; Merry Gladding Highby, Baltimore, MD by descent; Merryman family by descent; Ida Belle Merryman (1867-1921) and Eleanore M. Merryman (1870-1953).
Rena Hoisington, New Arrivals: Gifts of Art for a New Century, Baltimore Museum of Art, February 7, 2016 to May 8, 2016.
Inscribed: Woven on ribbon in multi-colored silks using various fonts with shadowing: "MAY/ YOU HAVE/a/HAPPY CHRISTMAS/and many/of them" Printed on gold ribbon with design similar to that of the Maryland flag: "Washington"
