Object Number 1972.0057

Object Name

Quilt (Pieced quilt)

Category

Textiles (Furnishing)

Credit Line/Donor

Gift of Mrs. John W. Avirett

Creator (Role)

Fanny Johnson McPherson (Maker)
1799-1893
Fanny Johnson was the granddaughter of Governor Thomas Johnson (the first Maryland governor after the Revolution). She married John McPherson in December, 1823 and spent her entire life in Frederick, Maryland. She was "regarded as one of the most beautiful women of the land," and was a favorite at the White House, where her cousin Louisa Catherine Johnson Adams was married to John Quincy Adams. Fanny married Col. John McPherson (1796-1874) in 1823. Her husband was the son of another Col. John McPherson, the "largest manufacturer of iron and owner of real estate in Western Maryland." Her husband at one time owned the Catoctin Furnaces (originally founded by Catherine's family), whose products are represented in Winterthur's collection by a fireback (63.75) and a ten-plate stove (60.771). Fanny was closely involved with the December 1825 celebrations attending the visit of Lafayette to Frederick, where he stayed with her father-in-law. Her husband, then a captain, contributed "a keg of his fine old peach brandy of rare flavor" to the banquet held to honor the French hero of the American Revolution at Talbott's Tavern. She probably attended the ball held at Mr. Talbott's, which is said to be "the most famous that ever took place in Frederick County.

Boott Mills (Printer)
1835
Now part of Lowell National Historical Park

Place of Origin

Frederick, Frederick, Maryland, Mid-Atlantic, United States, North America

Date

1835-1850

Mark or Signature or Inscription or Label

1. Signature; Backing on end of one shorter side; Stamped "BOOTT MILLS/ LOWELL" within a floral and leafy wreath with a banner below
2. Signature; Backing on end of one shorter side; Illegible stamped inscription

Materials

Cotton

Techniques

Pieced, Quilted, Roller printed

Dimensions (inches)

117 (L) , 121 (W)

Dimensions (centimeters)

297.18 (L) , 307.34 (W)

Object Description

Text available soon.

Bibliography and Bibliographic Notes

[Book] Swan, Susan Burrows. 1977 Plain & Fancy: American Women and Their Needlework, 1700-1850.
• Published: p. 206, 207, fig 117
[Book] Eaton, Linda. 2007 Quilts in a Material World: Selections from the Winterthur Collection.
• Published: Chapter 3, pp. 86-87
[Article] Eaton, Linda. 2007 Winterthur Primer: A Look at Fabrics on Early American Quilts. Antiques and Fine Art.
• Published: p. 310, fig. 3, 3a.
[Book] Scharf, John Thomas. 1882 History of Western Maryland;. I-II.
• Vol. I has information on Fanny Johnson
[Book] Montgomery, Florence. 1970 Printed Textiles: English and American Cottons and Linens 1700-1850.
• Related chintz patterns, p. 307-308