Nineteenth Century Owl Motifs
Chapter 1
Examples
of Antique Owl Designs – A Smile for You
We will begin
with a look at some of our favorite Redwork Owl designs. These images
are derived from antique sources in our collection. Owls were
predominant motifs in Redwork quilts during the last two decades of
the nineteenth century. Some owls were large, some were small. No
matter what size they are, or how quaintly they are depicted, owls
have a certain charm, and a definite association with wisdom. In
these designs, we certainly see a bit of humor.
Sayings often accompany these nocturnal birds which so frequently show up in Redwork. Examples of added messages are: “We're from the Owl'd Country,” “The Owl'd Owl'd Story,” “Where Were You Last Summer,” “A Quiet Talk,” and “Two's Company, Three's a Crowd.”
Owl
Poem in Needlework
Hung in President Coolidge's Home
A
wise old owl lived in an oak;
The more he saw the less
he spoke;
The less he spoke the
more he heard.
Why can't we all be like
that wise old bird?1
-Anonymous
On July 4, 2005, at the annual wreath-laying ceremony at President Coolidge's grave, Martha Rainville, Adjutant General of the Vermont National Guard, recited the poem above. She stated that an embroidered version of the poem once hung in the home of President Calvin Coolidge.
Martha's remarks were presented after uniformed military members of the Vermont National Guard, and veterans from the Ludlow, VT area, and citizens alike, formed a parade to the Coolidge family cemetery. There, in the peaceful hills of the “Green Mountain State,” President Calvin Coolidge, the only United States president to have been born on the 4th of July, is laid to rest. He served in office from 1923-1929.
After my
inquiry about the stitched poem, William W. Jenney, Regional Historic
Site Administrator, President Calvin Coolidge Historic Site, searched
for the artifact, with no success. He does not recall having seen
this item at any time during his seventeen year tenure at the site. However, the theme of
the poem, that of “seeing much, saying little,” could be
considered an apt analogy to the president's personality.
Jenney reports that the poem did appear on postcards that were sold in Vermont area gift shops in the 1920s. Coincidentally, he tells us that the Snowy Owl was the mascot of the late president's college fraternity (Phi Gamma Delta), and that this was the reason that he had wanted to restore a mounted owl specimen that is located in the “Summer White House” office, on the grounds of the historic site.
Editor's Note: On January 3, 2006, an additional note arrived from William Jenney. He came across a reference to the Owl Sampler in the book, Coolidge: An American Enigma by (the late) Robert Sobel (Regnery Publishing, 1998), on page 235. The needlework is said to have hung on the living room wall of a Northampton, Massachusetts home, that the Coolidges rented during his presidency. Further information is being sought, but at least the mystery of the elusive piece is partially solved.
Additional Owl Motifs
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Source of design: quilt in the collection of Patricia Cummings. Click on the link for a full sized image.
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Click picture to see larger image.
Directions for making the Church Banner above appear in the 1889 Belding Bros. & Co. Souvenir – Hints on Art Needle Work book. The company which sold silk thread, provided detailed instructions as to which colors to use.
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1 If The Owl Calls Again: A Collection of Owl Poems, selected by Myra Cohn Livingston (NY: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1990), 14.
Go to Chapter 2
©Copyright 2006/2007. Patricia and James Cummings, Quilter's Muse Publications, Concord, NH. All Rights Reserved. Please enjoy the designs contained in this pages, and make lots of fun projects, but we ask only one thing, PLEASE DO NOT REPRODUCE THE DESIGNS FOR SALE. Thank you.
If you have any questions, please contact us at: pat@quiltersmuse.com