of Brooklyn, New York and northern New Jersey
1980 Honoree of The Quilters Hall of Fame
Today it’s hard to realize how little quilt history was available before the influence of our early 20th century pioneer quilt historians. Florence Peto is one of the most influential figures active before 1960. Peto wasn’t alone in her pursuit of quilt history at that time. Marie Webster preceded her and Carrie Hall, Rose Kretsinger, Dr. William Dunton, Ruth Finley, and Berthe Stenge, just to name a few other TQHF Honorees, were each busy in her/his own sphere Each would eventually come in contact with Peto. Yet, Peto remains a unique voice in the quilt world from the 1930s-60s.
Taught by her New York Dutch grandmother to be a fine needlewoman at an early age, Florence Peto had a life-long interest in antique textiles in particular. Born in 1881 and married in 1900, her personal interest in textile research took on an added dimension as a result of her husband’s position as a cotton converter and mill owner. Her access to his fabric sample books stirred her interest in dyes and printing methods, wetting her appetite for ever more knowledge. Her self-directed studies eventually led her to focus on quilts and for that the quilt world can be very grateful.
Page from Lady's Circle Patchwork Quilts, Summer 1983
However, Peto didn’t stop at just studying the fabric and pattern of the quilt. She went in search of the quilt’s story. This is where the contacts she made through her lecturing often paid off. Peto believed that quilts were “cloth documents,” and she wanted to know who, where, why and when about each quilt. Once she found a quilt, she interviewed family members and, when possible, sifted through archives, files, letters and even diaries to get the quilt maker’s story. So great was her passion for these stories, her first book “Historic Quilts” (1939) focused on quilts for which she had personally gathered documentation.
Eventually becoming an excellent quilt maker herself and winning several contests, Peto’s “Calico Garden” was selected in 1999 for inclusion in “The 20th Century’s 100 Best American Quilts”. Peto also wrote about quilts for the popular publications of the time — Antiques, American Home, Americana, Woman’s Day, Hobbies and McCall’s, lectured widely, designed needlework kits and greatly influenced the quilt collecting of several museums. One of those museums—The Shelburne Museum—is holding an exhibit in honor of Peto, May 17-Oct 25, 2009.
Contemporary readers of the earliest quilt history books (such as Webster, Finley and Peto) will note that today’s modern quilt historians have corrected some of the misnomers of these early historians. This in no way disparages their earlier work. We simply correct it and build upon it as new information is uncovered and new understanding develops.
This brief article is but a thumbnail sketch of a very talented productive woman. Surely Peto’s life story presented in a full-length book with lots of photos is long overdue. Seldom seen Peto quilts will be on exhibit for the first time in decades this summer at The Shelburne in Vermont. It’s an especially rare opportunity to see those quilts loaned by the family! When you reach the Shelburne wesbite, click on the Exhibit list on the home page to see photos of Peto quilts inn their collection.
Want to know more? Publications of both the American Quilt Study Group and The Quilters Hall of Fame website and blog may offer more history on all persons mentioned in this article.
Karen B. Alexander
Member of AQSG since 1981
Past President, The Quilters Hall of Fame
Comments or questions? Contact the author Karen Alexander by clicking here.
The original version of this article was published January 26, 2009 in The Quilt Show's Quilting Pioneer series
SOURCES:
Avery, Virginia. "Florence Peto-Renaissance Woman of Mid Century," Quilter's Newsletter, January 1980.
Avery, Virginia. “Florence Peto, Path Finder,” Ladies Circle Patchwork Quilts, Summer 1983: Carter Houck, Editor.
Clem, Deborah. “Florence Peto,” The Quilters Hall of Fame, Rosalind Webster Perry and Merikay Waldvogel, Editors(1984),pg. 125.
Gross, Joyce "Florence Peto and Woman's Day," Quilters' Journal, Mill Valley, CA, Vol. 3, No. 2.
__________ "Florence Peto," Quilters' Journal, Mill Valley, CA: Winter 1979, Vol. 2, No. 4.
Peto, Florence "American Quilts and Coverlets New York": Chanticleer Press, 1949.
_______ "Historic Quilts New York:" The American Historical Company, Inc., 1939.
_______ “The Crib-Size Quilt”. Woman’s Day, December 1951, pg. 72-75, 125-127.
______ “A Textile Discovery”. Antiques Magazine, 1953, pg. 120-121.
Peto, Florence letter to Elizabeth Richardson, March 19, (1951?)
Woodard, Thomas K. And Blanche Greenstein. "Twentieth Century Quilts: 1900-1950" New York: E. P. Dutton and Company, 1988.
