1876 Solar System Needlepoint Quilt

Harding Baker likely began creating the Solar System Quilt in 1876 as evidenced by the "A.D 1876" embroidered in the lower right corner. It apparently took her until 1883 to complete the project. In September of that year, New York Times picked up a quote from an Iowa newspaper that "Mrs. M. Baker, of Lone Tree, has just finished a silk quilt which she has been seven years in making. It has the solar system worked in completely and accurately." The quilt has a wool top embellished with wool-fabric applique, wool braid, and wool and silk embroidery. The design of the quilt resembles the illustrations found in astronomy books of that time period. The quilt shows the Sun at the center and the eight planets of the Solar System (with indicated orbits around the Sun), as well as the asteroid belt. The myriad of stars that exist beyond the Solar System are also shown. The Galilean moons of Jupiter, as well as moons of Earth, Saturn, Neptune and Uranus are included, as are Saturn's rings. The upper left of the quilt shows a large comet, which is likely C/1874 H1, discovered in 1874 by Jérôme Eugène Coggia.

None

Category:
Astronomy - Education

Completion Status:
yes

Patent Number:
N/A

Co-Inventor:
None