Object Record
Images
Metadata
Title |
Greer Family Cigar Band Pillow, c. 1890s-1910s |
Object Name |
Pillow |
Description |
Greer Family Cigar Band Pillow, c. 1890s-1910s. Greer family pillow made from silk cigar bands which have text and image of manufacturers. Cigar bands sewn on front diagonally, sewn together with decorative embroidery in yellow thread. Some of the brands include "Grand Master," "Sandow," "Reina Victoria," and "Uncle Phil." Most of the bands are cream, yellow, and orange, with the notable exception of one red and one light blue. Square with mustard yellow ruffled edge. Back is a solid pale yellow silk. |
Date |
c. 1890s-1910s |
Creator |
Unknown |
Role |
Fiber Artist |
Medium |
Textile |
Catalog Number |
1968.071 |
Dimensions |
H-22.5 W-22.5 D-4.25 inches |
Collection |
3D - Bedding |
Inscription Text |
Has tag with further information: "Pillow with case made of silk cigar bands for bundling 5 or 10 cigars. Once prop. of Greer family. Later, Mrs. Robert Gerlough, Palo Alto." |
Provenance |
Given to donor by Mrs. Robert Gerlough of Palo Alto when she moved out of her house on Dana Street. Mrs. Gerlough got it from the Greer family. |
Notes |
"Not just up in smoke: cigar band silks and the crafty Victorians get geometrical in the 19th-century Women of Victorian America frugally saved them. They pieced them together. They designed, arranged and attached them together to create a variety of fanciful table covers, quilts, and decorative pillow tops. ... "When were cigar band quilts at their zenith? Their heyday seems to be during the 1890s and into the 1910s." [https://www.rareamericana.com/cigar_band_quilts/ 06/15/2017] |
Search Terms |
Pillows Quilts |
Subjects |
Cigar industry Quilting Sewing |
Credit line |
Courtesy of Mrs. H.B. Crittenden Jr. |