Philadelphia Floral Brown

100% Cotton, 44″ wide

This dark brown on light taupe print is copied from an original in the DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum in Colonial Williamsburg, from the backing of a Philadelphia made bed quilt that was later turned into a petticoat. Several of these Philadelphia bed quilts survive with simple block printed backings, providing insight into the plainer prints available in North America in the last quarter of the 18th century. The repeat on this is 8 3/4″ (22 cm) high x 4″ (10 cm) width. For example in The New-London Gazette of 1764, “Stolen or Run-away . . . a Negro Woman . . . carried off with . . . one quilted [petti]Coat, one Side brown, the other striped” from personal communication with Mike Barbieri. Off white 60/2 linen thread will work well for hand sewing this fabric.