L TULIP

Made in Ohio about 1840. Beautifully quilted in
medallions and pineapples of original design. Colors:
red, pink, and green]

Applique, or applied work, has never been used in France to the same
extent as in England, even though the French name "applique" is more
frequently used than any other. However, there is one striking example
of applique work, of Rhenish or French origin, now hanging in the
Victoria and Albert Museum in London. This realistic patchwork
represents a fight between an armoured knight mounted on a
high-stepping white horse and a ferocious dragon. The designs are
arranged in a fashion similar to the blocks in a modern quilt, and
depict several scenes showing the progress of the combat. There is
also a border covered closely with figures of monks, knights, and
ladies.

An extract from "First Steps in Collecting," by Grace M. Vallois,
gives an interesting glimpse of an old French attic. An object of
great interest to us is the old, unfinished quilt she discovered
there: "A rummaging expedition in a French _grenier_ yields more
treasures than one taken in an English lumber room. The French are
more conservative; they dislike change and never throw away anything.
Among valuable antiques found in the _grenier_ of a Louis XV house in
the Pyrenees were some rare curtains of white linen ornamented with
designs cut from beautiful old chintz; the edges of the applied
designs were covered with tightly twisted cotton cord. Also, in the
same room, in a drawer of an old chestnut-wood bureau, was found an
unfinished bed quilt very curiously worked. It was of linen with a
filling of rather soft cotton cord about an eighth of an inch wide.
These cords were held in place by rows of minute stitching of white
silk, making the bedcover almost solid needlework. Besides the
quilting there were at rather wide intervals conventional flowers in
peacock shades of blue and green silk executed in chain stitch. When
found, the needle was still sticking in one of the flowers, and many
were traced ready for work. The traced lines appear to have been made
with India ink and were very clear and delicate. What caused the
abrupt interruption of the old quilt no one can tell. It is possible
that the great terror of 1793 caused the patient maker to flee from
her unfinished task."

In the countries of northern Europe there is scarcely any record
concerning the art of quilting and patchwork, and little can be said