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Essex County, Virginia
Quilt designs with alternating printed and plain, or printed and pieced, strips were among the earliest both in England and throughout America. The cottons used here represent a colorful array of dress and other prints of the 1830s.
The quilt is from Essex County, but its maker is unknown.
Block- and roller-printed and solid cottons; cotton filling and backing
Vertically oriented designs seen here were typical of early roller prints, with smaller repeats and fewer colors than the developing technology produced later on.
The brown strips were covered many years ago with netting to protect the deteriorating fabric. Today, conservators would use a smaller and less intrusive netting. Replacing it, requiring much handling of the quilt, would not be prudent.
