Images(2)

Quilt

PeriodCirca 1852

Place MadeNew Jersey, U.S.A.

MediumCotton

Dimensions90 × 82 in. (228.6 × 208.3 cm)

ClassificationsQuilts and Coverlets

Credit LineGift of Miss Jennie L. Van Mater, 1936

Object number913

DescriptionA whole cloth quilt hand pieced both front and back with lengths of the same 30-inch wide fabric in a large-scale floral print in shades of red, orange, gray, and brown with a bright blue background. The batting is very thick and tied with orange yarn at regularly spaced intervals. The edges are bound with a woven cotton tape, known as "Trenton tape."
Curatorial RemarksThis brilliantly colored "comfortable" was constructed of roller printed cotton, with virtually all of the original glazed finish intact. The edges of the quilt are bound with Trenton tape. Based on the lack of wear, it would seem that this comfortable was not used often if at all. Trenton tape is a term given to a particular woven cotton ribbon or "tape," in tones of tan or brown with a blue or green stripe running through the weave. It appears most often on New Jersey-made quilts. The specific origin of this quilt binding, seen in quilts from about 1830 through the 1850s, is currently unknown.NotesThis bright and cheerful whole cloth "comfortable" was most likely made by Frances "Fanny" Louisa Dennis Grove Van Mater. Born in Connecticut in 1834, Fanny was the daughter of Reverend Rodney Grove and Mary Parker Dennis. Fanny married Holmdel farmer Daniel H. Van Mater (1824-1908) on February 19, 1852. The couple had four children: Mary (1855-1909), Joseph (1860-1924), Frances Louisa "Fannie" (1863-1939), and Hulda (1868-1962). Many young women sewed quilts, sheets, and "comfortables" for their future households. The quilt could also have been a wedding present to the young couple. Daniel Van Mater was a successful farmer. Born in Matawan, Van Mater "spent several years in the South in mercantile business"most likely in Georgia, where his first daughter Mary was born in 1855. The couple returned to New Jersey by 1860, settling on a farm in Marlboro. Among much else, Van Mater raised pigs, winning a blue ribbon in the 1860 Monmouth County Agricultural Fair. He was also active in local politics, serving as a Democratic member of the Legislature in 1869-1870 as well as local offices. Daniel and Fannie were both interred in the Van Mater family plot in Maplewood Cemetery, Freehold, New Jersey.

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