A reader has sent some photos of her recently-acquired “Mammy” quilt found to purchase in an antiques mall in Texas. The quilt is full-size and features a “Mammy” image on each block. All the sashed blocks are set “on point,” are signed with a first name only, and each “Mammy” has teeth showing, a seemingly unusual feature.

Mammy quilt close-up, photo courtesy of “Deborah.”

I know of two other finished quilts that depict the faces of Black women, in the style of the early “Aunt Jemima.” One was given to a museum in Chicago by a prominent collector. Another was collected in Texas recently by the former owner of a Texas quilt shop.

There is a file on my website, “,” that shows some “Mammy,” pre-made, appliqué pieces (recently made) that I purchased on eBay and appliquéd onto an ochre-color background. These shapes are “face-less,” that is, no features are delineated.

Some would argue that all of these types of quilts are representative of degradation, prejudice, or hate. Somehow, to me it does not seem possible for anyone to construct a quilt, with the motive of hate in mind. I can’t wrap my mind around that idea. I view these kinds of quilts as part of American quilt history, whether one agrees with the subject matter or not. We can’t change history.

Well, now we have seen four examples of the use of Aunt Jemima or Mammy figures in quilts. I wonder how many more such quilts are “out there,” waiting to be found. I bought my appliqués from someone in Texas, so that state seems to have been the source for these four examples. Has anyone seen similar items made elsewhere, or know specific dates that they were constructed?

Patricia Cummings

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