Object Record
Images
Metadata
Title |
Quilt, James Buchanan |
Place of Origin |
Pennsylvania |
Artist or Maker |
Unknown |
Date |
c.1860 |
Materials |
Cotton, Linen, Wool |
Dimension Details |
Height: 96" Width: 99" |
Description |
This quilt celebrates the life of James Buchanan (1791-1868), the fifteenth president of the United States. The front is comprised of sixteen colorful square scenes, bordered by a green fence pattern, that are artistic interpretations of various events and places connected to Buchanan over the course of his life. These vignettes are created in woven and printed cottons in calicos, plaids and solids with applique and embroidery, and bound by diagonal quilting stitches to a homespun backing. James Buchanan graduated with honors from Dickenson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, not far from Mercersburg where he grew up, and went on to a successful law career. During the war of 1812, he joined a volunteer calvalry company and also won a seat in the Pennsylvania legislature. He subsequently was elected five times to the House of Representatives, became Minister to Russia, and then served for a decade in the U.S. Senate. He became Secretary of State under President James Polk and Minister to Great Britain during the presidency of Franklin Pierce. Buchanan was inaugurated as president in 1857, and was in office during the tumultuous era just prior to the Civil War. |
Provenance |
H. Richard Dietrich Jr. (1938-2007), Chester Springs, Pennsylvania, by 1980 Bequest to The Dietrich American Foundation, 2007 |
Object Name |
Bedspread |
Object ID |
4.2.HRD.1704 |
Search Terms |
Pennsylvania German textiles |