AboutDARWIN D. BEARLEY Expertise I am considered by many to be an expert on AMERICAN ANTIQUE QUILTS.
My real expertise lies with ANTIQUE OHIO AMISH QUILTS.
I can help with all aspects of identification, dating, repair and cleaning. I also buy, and broker antique quilts.
Experience Over the past 30 odd years, I have bought and sold ANTIQUE QUILTS for a living. I also have a personal collection of Antique Ohio Amish Quilts.
I have sold to the Smithsonian, the LA County Museum of Art, the movie "What Lies Beneath" starring Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer and to Catherine Denuuve.
My Antique Ohio Amish Quilt Collection has been exhibited at The Museum of Our American Heritage, The Akron Art Institute, The Canton Art Museum, Wright State University and The Quilt National in Cincinnati, Ohio. They have also been exhibited in Germany and France and recently at the Quilt Expo in Houston, Texas. Many of the quilts have been published in various books, magazines and calendars. One was even pictured in National Geographic Magazine.
Recently a book on my collection was published by Bernina Sewing Machine Co. of Zurich entitled, "Antique Ohio Amish Quilts, The Darwin D. Bearley Collection"
Expert: DARWIN D. BEARLEY Date: 2/11/2004 Subject: drunkard's path quilt
Question Darwin:
I am interested in possibly buying an antique quilt I saw at an antique store. It is a medium size. I don't know the exact dimensions. It is yellow and blue drunkard's path. The backing is cloth with a small squares pattern. It is ticketed as an1860 quilt. The edges are worn through in a couple places. There are several small solid rust colored stains and some larger light rust color stains.
The colors on the front are bright and crisp. The quilting looks good and has about 7 stitches per inch. Price is $125. My questions:
Is 1860 too early for this design? And would $125 be an acceptable price? Also could this quilt be cleaned?
Thanks for your input. This would be my first quilt.
Answer Hi Ted,
To be honest, I'm not sure when the Drunkard's Path was started but from my experience, 1860 does seem early.
Are the fabrics solid or printed? If they are printed, it is much easier to date. You said the back was but without actually seeing it, I can't date it.
If you really like this quilt and are willing to live with its problems, $125 isn't too much to pay but it won't hurt to ask for a better price.
As for cleaning, here again it hard to say if it can be cleaned. Some stains are just almost impossible to remove, especially on colored and printed fabric.
My suggestion to you would be pay more and get one in excellent condition but buy only one you truly like.
