codes in slave quilts

[savant365]

Hi all, my Mother asked me to do some research for her on quilts used by slaves and members of the underground railroad to leave coded messages for each other. I have found a few websites that explain the different patterns and what they meant but I would like to find a book about it to give to her for her birthday next month. If any of you know of a good book on this subject please let me know. I really value everyones opinion here on Tnet so I thought I would ask for advice here. Thanks, Charlie

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[Kentucky Kache]

I assume you've checked ebay and google. That's about all I can think of, unless you have a local historical soc. that can help you. Maybe even a library.

Now you got me thinking...
I wonder if there was ever a quilt made with a treasure code? A treasure map on a quilt. It's not impossible.

[PBK]

Here are a couple at Amazon.com:

http://www.amazon.com/Hidden-Plain-V.../dp/0385497679

http://www.amazon.com/Facts-Fabricat.../dp/1571203648

http://www.amazon.com/Stitched-Soul-.../dp/0807849952

[savant365]

Thanks guys, I would really like to know if anyone has actually read one and would recommend or not. I know absolutely nothing about this subject so I was hoping to find someone with some first hand knowledge. I would hate to order one and get the wrong thing. Charlie

[boogeyman]

Are there any Barnes & Noble book stores near you? Or any sewing machine stores? Some of them have classes & might be a source of info on where to find a book you can actually see. Hope that gives you an idea or two!

[Gypsy Heart]

Be very carefull in what you buy for her to read...many of the so called CODES in quilts were as fabricated as the material they were sewn with. Story upon story about underground maps in quilts have been told and personally I think its a bunch of hogwash.
Many of the so called Code Quilts have been found to have material in them that was not even available during the thirty year time frame that the underground railroad ran.
Could a slave have made a map in a quilt ...yes....I believe so....but where would they have gotten the abundance of material needed to make it? And hundreds of quilts are being sold at vendors claiming they are slave quilts ,when in fact the material used is from the twentieth century.
Many of the patterns used in the Slave Quilts ,were also not available or even known until after the slave era was gone.

For some reason ,many people refuse to believe the facts on the history of these quilts even tho historians disagree with the theory that quilts were used as codes or maps.

[savant365]

Thanks Gypsy, I don't know thing 1 about them. The little bit I've read seems a little hokie to me. But my Mom is interested in it and it's almost impossible to find her presents that she doesn't already have. She is gonna be 79 next month and she is the WORST pack rat in the world LOL. She grew up in the depression and believes that there is no such thing trash. Her house doesn't have an empty corner or shelf in it. Her and my sister have been doing quilts for years and the subject of slave quilts just came up so I am looking for a book on it for her whether it's pro or con. Ideally a book that covers both sides would be great.

Thanks, Charlie.

[boogeyman]

Gypsy,

You hit a very good point! It doesn't matter what you're buying if you don't do your homework, you're gonna get taken. What ever your area of interest in collectible & antiques there are fakes & frauds.

Savant,
Just think your Mom is not a pack rat! She's preserving many many really neat things to pass on to the family Every thing she has has a purpose, she just hasn't figured out the purpose.

Do you have a Barnes & Noble close? If you can't find the Slave Quilt book you might be able to make up a nice little collection of pattern books for her!

[cw0909]

i agree with Gypsy, if there are real slave quilts they prob were made by
Abolitionist ladies, as they could afford to make one, and that info passed
on to other Abolitionists, in order to help the cause
i think the slaves passed most of their info through song. link for more info
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/african/afam005.html

[Gypsy Heart]

I agree and as a quilter I had great interest in this subject....when quilts were going for over 2500 at auctions and people calling them Slave quilts or Amish quilts or whatever , it peaked my curiosity....and as a historical researcher I wanted to find the right answers....even the leading Black American historians say there were no underground maps sewn into quilts......logic tells us that they werent and history proves it.

As for quilting books....anything out there with 1800s patterns are great....I am a fan of Crazy quilts myself

There are great and great priced books on the subject at abebooks.com

[corklabus]

I have had the great fortune of reading many things about Slavery.
I would like to add that true slave quilts DO exist, but not in the coded sense as to maps and such. The real quilts were meant to record family history and heritage and were added to piece by piece by each sucession of family members as they were passed down through the generations. I would imagine that those still in existance are extrememely valuable to the families who have them and probably as rare as hens teeth on the common antiquities markets.
Each new piece of these quilts was chosen to depict something significant to the family as it applied to its' heritage and genealogy. Many times these quilts were the only thing these people had to help them know who their relatives really were after being torn apart from their homelands and sold indisriminately throughout the slave trade.
I would believe anything else to be totally fake.
Hope this helps.