Object Details
- Tormey, Margaret McNamara
- Description
- It took Margaret Tormey sixteen years to carefully craft this 86-inch quilt top, dated 1886, and two matching pillow shams. She included campaign and club ribbons that name New York and Brooklyn; printed silks from the Robinson Company with such motifs as the Statue of Liberty; and brocaded silk pictures to personalize her project. Examples of chromolithograph printing on silk are also found on the quilt top. A multitude of embroidered motifs typical of the era embellish the crazy-patchwork.
- Margaret McNamara was born in Ireland (about 1835) and immigrated with her family to the United States about 1848. In 1861 she married Patrick Tormey, who was also born in Ireland (about 1835) and immigrated as a teenager. They lived in Brooklyn, N.Y. Patrick, a Civil War veteran, was keeper of the Brooklyn City Hall for many years. He died in 1900. Margaret died in 1910.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Credit Line
- Gift of Miss Miriam M. Tormey
- 1870-1886
- ID Number
- TE.T12927
- accession number
- 247329
- catalog number
- T12927
- Object Name
- quilt
- quilt top
- Physical Description
- fabric, silk, velvet, satin, ribbon (overall material)
- thread, silk, cotton, chenille (overall material)
- Measurements
- overall: 86 in x 86 in; 218 cm x 218 cm
- See more items in
- Home and Community Life: Textiles
- Government, Politics, and Reform
- Cultures & Communities
- Quilts
- Textiles
- Domestic Furnishings
- National Museum of American History
- Subject
- Quilting
- Record ID
- nmah_556415
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746b4-9c1c-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa
