Quilt
PeriodCirca 1880-1890
Place MadeMatawan, New Jersey, U.S.A.
MediumSilk, cotton and silk velvet, silk embroidery thread, silk satin
Dimensions57 × 56 in. (144.8 × 142.2 cm)
ClassificationsQuilts and Coverlets
Credit LineGift of Katherine C. Cowles, 1976
Object number1976.2
DescriptionA square quilt in a "Crazy Quilt" variation, comprised of individual blocks straight set five by five. Each square includes a wide variety of colorful solid and patterns silks and silk brocades, wide silk ribbon, and black and dark green velvet, all embroidered in floral and natural motifs including daisies, roses, spiderwebs, and decorative borders. The quilt has no binding. Instead, a narrow red silk cord is whip stitched along all four edges as trim. The back of the quilt is a deep red silk satin solid. The batting may be cotton. In two areas, the initials "S" and "J" are worked in bright red silk embroidery floss.Curatorial RemarksCrazy quilts became popular after the Civil War, particularly in the early 1880s and into the 1890s. The wild use of silk, velvet, plush, and other colorful scraps cut and pieced into a "crazy" non-pattern, often enhanced with embroidery, ribbon, and lace, resulted in a dizzying variety of combinations. Newspapers published numerous editorial pieces on this new fad. In 1884, the Matwan Journal newspaper noted "the crazy quilt fever has reached such a height in some sections that the young ladies insist on having the new spring ties of the young men." The Red Bank Daily Register, reporting on the displays of handiwork at the 1884 Monmouth County Fair, commented that "suspended from wires stretched across the room are a score or more of crazy quilts of every conceivable pattern, which have been made by the fair dames of Matawan and Freehold when they should have been darning socks or getting the dinner." The following year, the same newspapere included a quote from a County Fair judge who said "That's a good name they call those things by. I'm crazy now from trying to pick out the quilt that's crazy enough to deserve the prize." Magazines and mail-order companies offered kits including a mix of silks and other fabrics, embroidery thread, and suggestions for patterns and layouts. Crazy quilts lost favor with quilters by the turn of the century.NotesThis beautiful crazy quilt was made by Sarah Bertha Johnson Cowles (1865-1956). Sarah, the daughter of Matawan residents Henry W. Johnson and Katharine Conover, was born on December 1, 1865. She grew up in "Cherry Hall," the Matawan family homestead originally owned by her grandfather Garret P. Conover. Sarah's father Henry Johnson worked as the head cashier for the Long Branch Banking Company. She married Herbert Towne Cowles in 1891 and moved with her husband back to his home town of Amherst, Massachusetts, where he worked as a bank manager. The couple had several children including daughter Katharine C. Cowles, who donated her mother's quilt to the Association in 1976. Katharine Cowles also donated the extensive "Cherry Hall" papers to the Association, which include hundreds of 18th and 19th century deeds, documents, business and personal correspondence, notes, receipts, ledger pages, and much else, all related to the Conover/Holmes families of Monmouth. Sarah's grandfather was Colonel Asher Holmes, a recognized Revolutionary War hero and respected Monmouth County resident.
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