1882
This block is often called Chimney Sweep because that's what Ruth Finley called it in her very influential 1929 book. Another name is Album as the blocks often featured names and occasionally dates.
1883
I've arranged dated-inscribed examples from 1880 to 1920.
The overall views give us ideas about set styles and color fashion.
1884
The example above seems typical of the brown and pinks
fashionable in the 1880s. New browns in bronzey, golden colors
were quite fashionable for cotton prints in the 80s.
1885
But somewhere in the 1880s taste began to change.
1884 - 1886
1888
Blues became the fashion.
1889
1891
And then blacks, grays and the new wine red, colors synthesized with modern dyes.
1891 - 1892
Brown was no longer the primary palette.
1894
Older dyes like Turkey red and indigo blue were
also synthesized in those years, making the classic shades cheaper and
more accessible.
1895
The standard sets: either on the straight or on point--- separated by white sashing.
1895 - 1898
Blocks on point.
1896
Some of the newer dyes were unreliable. Note the fading red in one block.
Those pale orange blocks may once have been a bright red.
There were probably a lot more greens when these quilts were new
but the green dyes of the era were prone to fade to tan.
1896
Sashing was important.
Each of these three quilts has color loss in the reds.
1896
1897
1897
1899
1900
Comparing these to the earlier quilts at the top of the page
reveals a significantly different color style, particularly in the blocks.
1901
1904
1906
1907
1908
1906 - 1909
1910
1911
1911
1913
Zig Zag or Fence Rail sets were a kind of strip set.
1916
It is interesting how many years this color style persisted.
1916
Shredding brown sash.
1917 - 1918
The design cold be used for a Red Cross, a new
fashion during World War I.
1918
1918
What have we learned?
If I were trying to date a quilt that looked like this I'd feel pretty
confident about estimating 1890-1920
The style was remarkably consistent.
