Silk Quilts at St. Patrick's Cathedral Fair

Throws and bedcoverings pieced of silk were quite the fashion in the last

quarter of the 19th century, a fad reflected in accounts of an 1878 New

York City social event.

Catholics of the metropolitan area threw a fundraising fair in celebration of the opening of their new Gothic cathedral on Fifth Avenue for six weeks in the fall.

In the grand tradition of ladies' bazaars women from neighboring parishes made food, decorative items and knickknacks to sell. Each church sponsored a table. Quilts were among the items sold and raffled, according to the Journal of the Fair,  a special daily newspaper.

The newspapers were bound into souvenir volumes.

The building designed by architect James Renwick had been under

construction since 1858 with work interrupted by the Civil War. 

By the time of the dedication in 1878 all work but the main spires were finished.

The cathedral as it appears today.

The Fair raised money to retire the debt and perhaps

pay for those Gothic spires.

The daily newspaper described various ladies' tables with silk quilts often mentioned. The silk quilts pictured here, mostly from online auctions, have nothing to do with that fair, but it's all a good excuse to show some terrific examples of the style.

"At the St. Joseph's table (of Manhattanville) can be seen the handsomest patchwork quilt of silk in the city. It was presented by Mrs. Thos. Bennett, one of the ladies attached to the table. It contains six thousand pieces and was finished just in time for the Fair, after a persevering work of four years."

Many raffles were held and the newspaper announced the winners.

James H. Grattan (?) of East 12th Street won a "silk quilt, log cabin design"

at the Immaculate Conception table.

Several drygoods companies advertised in the newspaper.Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

"Rich novelties in silks, for dress & garniture."

The editor was much impressed by Mrs. Bennett's quilt:

"Who can doubt woman's perseverance....He would be a poor votary of Somnus who could not revel in glorious and health-giving slumber for a whole night, and half a day, under such a comforter. 'Blessings on the man who invented sleep,' said Sancho Panza---we say blessing on the woman who invented quilts and the more patches the better."

One mysterious reference: "There is a quilt of silk patches, wherein 'the green is above the red,' made by a lady upward of 80 years of age," alludes to Irish green above British red, a little politicking.

A log cabin quilt is mentioned, but 1878 was before the crazy quilt fad so I saw no mention of crazy quilts or Japanese patchwork although the ladies of St. Francis of Assisium offered a "Japanese silk fire-screen, richly embroidered...." as did the ladies of St.Francis Xavier.