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Cigarette Ribbon Quilt

Cigarette Ribbon Quilt - Quilt
Accession #: 3747.1
Title: Cigarette Ribbon Quilt
Object Type: Quilt
Participants:
Physical Description: This quilt is made from ribbons that were included in tobacco products. Images on the ribbons include: women, Egyptian queens, butterflies, and state flags (California, S.D., Arkansas, Montana, Tennessee, N.C., New Mexico, Vermont, Georgia, Wisconsin, Iowa, Alaska, Oklahoma, Delaware). It is bordered on three sides with a wide purple ruffle.
Description: Tobacco companies first introduced collectible cards as premiums to promote sales of cigarettes. By the 1890s nicely printed fabric premiums began to replace the cards, with subject matter appealing to women consumers. These rectangles, printed most often on silk, became popular for use in quilts, pillow covers, and other decorative items from the 1890s until the 1920s. This quilt, said to have been created at a Walla Walla Washington brothel, is comprised of hundreds of these "silkies."
Category: Textiles
Subjects/Topics/Concepts:
Bedding (Furnishings); Smoking (Personal Artifact->Personal Gear)
Geographical Reference: Walla Walla (Washington->Walla Walla County)
Dimensions:
Object L x W 97 x 97 1/8"
Object L x W 80 x 80 1/8"
Materials/Techniques:
silk (Material)
ribbon (Material)
Related Exhibits:
Credit Line: Gift of Washington State Quilters, 1994

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