The Natural History of the Traditional Quilt (Paperback)

~ (Author), Deborah Blincoe (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Traditional quilts serve many purposes over the course of a useful life. Beginning as a beautiful bed covering, a quilt may later function as a ground cover at picnics until years of wear relegate it to someone's ragbag for scrap uses. Observing this life cycle led authors John Forrest and Deborah Blincoe to the idea that quilts, like living things, have a natural history that can be studied scientifically. They explore that natural history through an examination of the taxonomy, morphology, behavior, and ecology of quilts in their native environment--the homes of humans who make, use, keep, and bestow them. The taxonomy proposed by Forrest and Blincoe is rooted in the mechanics of replicating quilts so that it can be used to understand evolutionary and genetic relationships between quilt types. The morphology section anatomizes normal and abnormal physical features of quilts, while the section on conception and birth in the life cycle discusses how the underlying processes of replication intersect with environmental factors to produce tangible objects. This methodology is applicable to many kinds of crafts and will be of wide interest to students of folklore, anthropology, and art history. Case studies of traditional quilts and their makers in the Catskills and Appalachia add a warm, human dimension to the book.

Product Details

• Paperback: 372 pages
• Publisher: University of Texas Press; Paper edition edition (December 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0292724977
• ISBN-13: 978-0292724976
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,218,680 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a scholarly treatise of quilts, January 26, 2008

By	E Rice (western ny state) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

when i first saw this title in my 'recommendations,' i assumed it was a work of humor or fiction. i realized it was a serious study after reading the synopsis.

since this book was aimed at the academic establishment, it is dense and overwhemingly detailed. i skimmed through swathes of verbiage (some of which i re-read in order to follow the argument).

however, lay people will find it well worth reading for any number of reasons--and not just quilters. it is an informed and extremely interesting look at the influences on traditional processes and at the errors of judgement and fact people make when judging familiar artifacts.

the authors treat traditional quilts as living entities--who experience gestation, birth, life and death, and 'interact' with their environment and families. the case study of the quilts of an appalachian quilt born in the late 19th century is fascinating from the viewpoint of how a quilter quilted and why, the changes in the lives of her children and grand- and great-grandchildren, and the attitudes toward her work.

there are various discussions on the effects of quilt revivals upon attitudes, on the effects of commercial interests in quiltmaking, on the differences in attitudes and approaches between the person practicing a traditional craft in the confines of the tradition and those who come to the craft from 'the outside.'

much of the book is invaluable in counteracting the romanticization and simplification of the past that plagues not just quilting. the authors deal with demonstrable facts, not fuzzy-minded, uninformed and frequently patronizing suburban fantasies.

recommended for serious students of quilt, textile, and social history.