Description

This quilt in the Whig Rose pattern features a white field, sixteen blocks with red and yellow appliqued flowers with green leaves, and red and green swags around the border with flower buds. It is quilted with a harlequin diamond and square grid pattern. Blue pencil lines are still evident from the quilter's work. A handwritten label on the reverse reads: "Mrs. Ben Taylor, Fairfield, IA; The Whig Rose." A second label is typed and reads: "Whig Rose. Made by a relative of the Chester family in Eldon, Iowa, around 1875--the top only. This is a pieced quilt though usually it is all applique. Quilted by Mrs. Tobe Bontrager at Colona, IA in the 1960s. From the collection of Ben and Lucile Taylor, Fairfield, IA." A third label depicts a black building and reads: "Registered with the Iowa State Historical Museum, 1988. ID# F20." Forms part of The Lincoln Financial Foundation Collection.