1880 - 1890 Eva Shaw's Crazy-patch Piano Cover: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This crazy-patch piano cover or runner was constructed of two rows of 12 ½-inch blocks pieced of silks, satins, velvet, and ribbon. The patches were embellished with embroidered, painted, and beadwork motifs. Among the decorations are painted flowers, a painted frog, printed and painted "Kate Greenaway" figures, and silk ribbon flowers. The blocks are constructed on muslin squares and held in place by embroidered fancy stitches. The lining is a loose-weave cotton, roller-printed with a floral and scroll design. The embroidered initials “E.S.” probably refer to Eva Gibbs Shaw, who made the piano cover.

Eva Gibbs was born in Iowa in 1859. She married William Shaw in 1885. They had two daughters and lived in Washington, D.C.

Materials, dates and provenance

• date made: 1880-1890
• maker: Shaw, Eva Gibbs
• Object Name: quilt
• Object Name: piano cover
• Object Name: crazy patchwork
• Physical Description: fabric, silk, satin, velvet (overall material)
• Physical Description: thread, silk, cotton, chenille, metallic (overall material)
• Measurements: overall: 92 in x 30 in; 232 cm x 76 cm
• place made: United States: District of Columbia
• Subject: Quilting
• ID Number: 1990.0092.01
• accession number: 1990.0092
• catalog number: 1990.0092.01
• Credit Line: Gift of Adelaide S. Earle
• Data Source: National Museum of American History

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of American History through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed.