On this day in 1792, President George Washington signed legislation that would renew the 1775 act that made the United States Post Office a cabinet department led by the postmaster general (the first PG was Benjamin Franklin). This act ensured inexpensive delivery of all newspapers and stipulated the right to privacy, and it gave Congress the ability to expand postal services to new areas of the country.
Dorcas Carlough of Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, hand pieced and hand quilted this Pine Tree with Postage Stamp-Sized Triangles around 1880. The historical society that now owns the quilt documented it in 1990 as part of The Heritage Quilt Project of New Jersey. The documenter’s notes about the quilt include: “Stencil designs. Also overlapping circles. Pencil lines still visible. The pine trees have been quilted in a geometric pattern while the background has been quilted in overlapping circles and four-petal “flowers”.
View this quilt on The Quilt Index to find out! Read more about its history, design and construction. Be sure to use the zoom tool for a detailed view or click the “See full record” link to see a larger image and all the data entered about that quilt.
Posted by Amy E. Milne
Executive Director, Quilt Alliance
amy.milne@quiltalliance.org