About this artwork
In the early twentieth century, ladies’ magazines and tobacco companies encouraged women to collect and use fabric premiums to make decorative items for the home, such as quilts and pillows. The premiums, which included items such as the printed cotton flags seen in this quilt, either came with a tobacco purchase or could be redeemed with coupons collected from the packages. The promotion was designed to incentivize tobacco consumption and encourage brand loyalty. Although many social commentators of the time regarded smoking as unladylike, men were free to indulge without fear of judgement.
—Making Memories: Quilts as Souvenirs, October 20, 2017-April 1, 2018
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Status
- Currently Off View
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Department
- Textiles
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Artist
- Theresa Zett Smith
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Title
- Tobacco Premium Quilt
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Place
- New York (Object made in)
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Date
- Made 1913
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Medium
- Pieced and embroidered quilt; napped and printed cotton plain and twill weave fabrics and silk satin weave fabric; silk embroidery threads
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Inscriptions
- Inscriptions: UNION JACK [TWICE], JAPAN, CONFEDERATE STATES, SPAIN AND IRELAND; AUSTRIA-HUNGARY, AUSTRO HUNGARY, FRANCE, GREECE, ITALY, JAPAN, MEXICO, POLAND, AND SCOTLAND; ARGENTINE REPUBLIC, AUSTRALIA [TWICE], AUSTRIA, BELGIUM, BOHEMIA, BOLIVIA, BRAZIL, BULGARIA, BURMAH [TWICE], CANADA, CHILI, [THREE TIMES], CHINA [THREE TIMES], CHINA [EMPIRE], CHINA [REPUBLIC], COLUMBIA [TWICE], CONGO, COREA [SIC], COSTA RICA, CRETE, CUBA, DENMARK, ECUADOR, EGYPT, ENGLAND, FRANCE, GERMANY [FIVE TIMES], GREAT BRITAIN, GREECE [TWICE], GUATEMALA [TWICE], HAYTI [SIC], HOLLAND, HONDURAS [THREE TIMES], IRELAND, ITALY [TWICE], JAPAN, LIBERIA, MEXICO, MOROCCO, NETHERLANDS, NEW ZEALAND, NICARAGUA, NORWAY, ORANGE FREE STATE, PANAMA, PARAGUAY, PERSIA [TWICE], PERU, PHILIPPINE, POLAND, PORTUGAL, RUSSIA, SALVADOR, SAMOA, SAN DOMINGO [TWICE], SCOTLAND, SERVIA [SIC] [TWICE], SIAM [TWICE], SO. AFRICAN REPUBLIC [TWICE], SOUTH AUSTRALIA, SPAIN, SWEDEN, SWITZERLAND, TUNIS, TURKEY, TURKEY-EGYPT, URUGUAY, U.S. OF COLUMBIA, VENEZUELA [THREE TIMES], AND ZION [TWICE]
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Dimensions
- 226.7 × 181.3 cm (89 1/4 × 73 3/8 in.)
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Credit Line
- The Textile Society and Dr. Lawrence S. Thurman Memorial Fund
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Reference Number
- 1990.131
Extended information about this artwork
Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.
