Mary R. Shell, Madison, Morgan County, Georgia, 1930, pieced quilt, cotton, “Circle Saw” pattern, 75 x 62 in. overall

Note: In the catalog description from Shaping Traditions: Folk Arts in a Changing South, John Burrison, University of Georgia Press, 2000, pg. 138, cat. no. 433, Burrison writes, “This unique design was inspired by circular blades at the sawmill where the African American maker’s husband worked. The “teeth” are made from sewing scraps; the top was dyed with red clay and salt “on a cloudy day, so the color is cloudy.”; 

Georgia, late 1800s, pieced and appliquéd quilt, cotton, “Cotton Boll” pattern, 78 x 69-1/2 in. overall

Note: In the catalog description from Shaping Traditions: Folk Arts in a Changing South, John Burrison, University of Georgia Press, 2000, pg. 138, cat. no. 434, Burrison writes, “Wear of the pattern’s colored material reveals that it was stitched onto the white top.”; 

Ms. Sidney Fowler, Blount County, Georgia, 1870s, fabric, cotton, plaid pattern, 89 x 33 in. overall. 

Note: In the catalog description from Shaping Traditions: Folk Arts in a Changing South, John Burrison, University of Georgia Press, 2000, pg. 136, cat. no. 406, Burrison writes, “This bolt of homespun, eight yards long, was stored away just as it came off the loom, never to be used for warm-weather dresses or shirts.”; 

Annie B. Howard, Madison, Morgan County, Georgia, 1957, pieced quilt, cotton, “Brick Work” and strip pattern, 82-1/4 x 77 in. overall

Note: In the catalog description from Shaping Traditions: Folk Arts in a Changing South, John Burrison, University of Georgia Press, 2000, pg. 138, cat. no. 433A, Burrison writes, “This African American quilt was made as a light cover, its thin middle layer apparently a quilt top. With its framed center and improvised strip border, Anglo-American and African American design elements are combined.”

Illustrated: Shaping Traditions: Folk Arts in a Changing South, John Burrison, University of Georgia Press, 2000, plate 13, description on pg. 138, cat. no. 433A.

Exhibited: Previously on Loan at the Atlanta History Center for viewing in the exhibition Shaping Traditions: Folk Arts in the Changing South from 1996 to 2024

Provenance: From the Folklife Collection of Southern Pottery Scholar, Author and Professor of English at Georgia State University, Dr. John Burrison, Atlanta, Georgia