As I was looking through my 1924 Ladies Home Journal Pattern Catalog, I immediately recognized the quilt at the bottom of this page, probably because a copy of the original quilt appeared on the cover of the book, “American Folk Art Quilts” by Maggi Gordon (possibly made from the LHJ pattern).
I’m sorry I don’t have a pattern for this quilt. It would be so great if we could still order them from this catalog; even better if they were the original price of 75¢.
The original quilt (Cherry Trees and Robins Bride’s Quilt), upon which this pattern was based, was made in the first half of the 19th century (1820-50), and was donated to the Art Institute of Chicago by the owner and quilt collector, Emma B. Hodge.
I was able to find a digital copy of the 1922 Ladies Home Journal magazine in which the original quilts in the catalog were featured before they were offered as patterns. The article was a little difficult to read, and because I enjoyed it so much, I retyped all of the text to make it more readable (click to enlarge).
Seventy-five cents was probably a goodly sum of money at the time. Would be wonderful to have the tree quilt pattern. It looks very folk art style.
That is awesome! My great-grandmother made a similar quilt that had one big tree centered on a full-size(?) quilt – it was gorgeous. I wish I had a picture of it, but one of my aunts inherited and I’ve not seen it since. 🙁
Thank you for the information about the Cherry tree & robins quilt. Last year was the first time I saw the quilt on the cover of the book American Folk Art Quilts and last week I finally was able to track down a copy of the book. Such a pity that there is no pattern available, as it is such a stunning quilt.
I am researching this pattern – its orgins and evolution. If anyone knows of existing quilts of this pattern please contact me at demsing@msn.com. I have identified and examined several cited in current publications and held in larger museums but am looking for those in private and smaller museum collections. I have a 30s version that is one tree in the center, possibly like Lauren’s grandmother, so I would be interested in learning what info she has about that quilt. Thanks for your help. Lenna DeMarco