An Upcountry Legacy: The Black Family Quilts
Laurel Horton, Seneca, SC
Construction:
That the dresses Mary reused for the "Save All"
were made of cotton is consistent with what is known about her personal
philosophy. During the 1880s, silk was the preferred fabric for women's
dresses for those who could afford it. The Snoddy family was wealthy by
local standards, but Mary took seriously the virtues of modesty and humility
prescribed by her upcountry Presbyterian faith. She wore a brown silk
dress for her wedding, but as a young woman, she chose to wear cotton
dresses instead of more fashionable silk gowns.
The "Save All" is carefully constructed, indicating that Mary was an accomplished seamstress. The curved seams are pieced by hand with precision and match perfectly. The placement of the blocks, however, suggests that Mary made decisions to expedite the completion of her quilt. The twelve pieced blocks are separated by five-inch-wide strips of the inner-border fabric. She could have made more blocks, twenty perhaps, and joined them with narrower strips to produce a quilt of similar size. Instead, she used more of the dress fabric and fewer small fabric remnants. She seems to have negotiated a balance among various expressions of thrift in regard to available materials and time.
The "Save All" quilt is over 125 years old, but there are no signs of wear to indicate that it was used regularly. In fact, none of the quilts in the Black family collection show evidence of serving what is generally thought to be their primary function. These quilts can be understood as a stockpile, a cache of household goods reserved against future need. They also represent a family archive, or even a repository of personal capital, representing the commerce of women's mutual obligations and relationships.
Mary's "Save All" quilt is the result of an interplay of values and choices. Its theme — starting with sufficient resources and using them efficiently and effectively without waste and ostentation — is emblematic of its maker's orientation to life.
The "Save All" is carefully constructed, indicating that Mary was an accomplished seamstress. The curved seams are pieced by hand with precision and match perfectly. The placement of the blocks, however, suggests that Mary made decisions to expedite the completion of her quilt. The twelve pieced blocks are separated by five-inch-wide strips of the inner-border fabric. She could have made more blocks, twenty perhaps, and joined them with narrower strips to produce a quilt of similar size. Instead, she used more of the dress fabric and fewer small fabric remnants. She seems to have negotiated a balance among various expressions of thrift in regard to available materials and time.
The "Save All" quilt is over 125 years old, but there are no signs of wear to indicate that it was used regularly. In fact, none of the quilts in the Black family collection show evidence of serving what is generally thought to be their primary function. These quilts can be understood as a stockpile, a cache of household goods reserved against future need. They also represent a family archive, or even a repository of personal capital, representing the commerce of women's mutual obligations and relationships.
Mary's "Save All" quilt is the result of an interplay of values and choices. Its theme — starting with sufficient resources and using them efficiently and effectively without waste and ostentation — is emblematic of its maker's orientation to life.
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