Classic Quilts from the American Museum in Britain

Housed in Georgian splendour at Claverton Manor in Bath, The American Museum in Britain remains the only museum outside the United States to showcase the nation’s decorative arts. The museum’s collection of textiles is acclaimed as the finest of its type in Europe and the equal of many premier collections in the United States. In addition to weavings and embroideries, the museum boasts an extensive collection of over two hundred quilts. Ranging from the eighteenth to early twentieth centuries, these exuberant works of art and craft are visually bold, technically assured and often proudly patriotic. Fifty-five quilts from the museum’s collection that demonstrate a variety of block patterns, fabrics and key moments in American history are showcased in this book. They include pieces sewn by slave seamstresses, a Baltimore album quilt over ten feet square and boldly patterned Hawaiian and Amish examples. Each quilt has its own story, which is supported by crisp colour illustrations of the quilts, in full and in detail.