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Maryland Album Quilt

Dated 1851

Made by Mary Mannakee Nicholls (1827-1916)

101 in. W x 102 in. L; 16.5 in. by 17 in. blocks
15-16 stitches per inch

Gift of Loris Sand Catchings
7124

Location

Sandy Spring, Montgomery County, MD

The Album style spreads to Western Maryland

Design

The Baltimore Album’s popularity spread to the rest of Maryland. This quilt’s blocks are all unique to this quilt (as opposed to many album designs which can be found in several quilts). Compared to Baltimore blocks, these from Montgomery County have an overall more delicate and airier quality.

Maker

The quilt was presented to Mary in 1851, three years before her marriage to Charles Nicholls. Probably Mary’s mother and sisters, Delilah, Catherine, and Octavia contributed blocks or organized the project. Unlike many albums, this one has only a few inscriptions. William Johnson, a neighbor, stitched “Mary, remember me.”

Look for Mary’s sister Octavia’s quilt in the Pieced section of the exhibition.

Material

Roller-printed and solid cottons; silk embroidery thread; cotton backing, filling, and binding

New advances in dyes were making relatively fade-proof reds and greens available at this time. The color combination was enormously popular in quilts in the mid-1800s.