Exotic Quilt Patterns and Pattern Names in the 1920s and 1930s

Exotic Quilt Patterns and Pattern Names in the 1920s and 1930s 138 Marin F. Hanson Abstract A strong characteristic of American popular culture in the 1920s and 1930s was its fascination with all things “oriental,” or generally exotic. It was expressed in a multitude of areas, including furniture, fashion, movies and architecture. It was also evident in quiltmaking, an extremely popular pastime of the era, in the preponderance of patchwork patterns that had an exotic theme or name. Sometimes the designs of these patterns directly reflected their exotic names; most often they did not. The reasons for the popularity of exotic pattern names are varied. Certainly, pattern designers were capitalizing on the fashion for anything oriental. But, as this paper will propose, ladies’ magazine publishers and quilt column writers also were reacting to Americans’ ambivalence about Asians—their fear of the “yellow peril” mixed with their admiration for Eastern design. By naming and renaming patterns and, more importantly, by mixing oriental, “colonial,” and modern imagery and verbiage, they diluted the negative connotations of the exotic and potentially made it more palatable to the tradition-centered quiltmaking world. MARIN F. HANSON Marin F. Hanson is Curator of Exhibitions at the International Quilt Study Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, an academic center and museum that encourages the interdisciplinary study of all aspects of quiltmaking and fosters preservation of the tradition. She received her MA in Textile History and Museum Studies from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and focused her graduate research on the influence of Asian art and culture on American quiltmaking. Her most recent publication was a co-authored paper entitled “Quilts as Manifestations of CrossCultural Contact: East-West and Amish ‘English’ Examples.” In Uncoverings 2004, published by the American Quilt Study Group Textile, Volume 4, Issue 2, pp. 138–163 Reprints available directly from the Publishers. Photocopying permitted by licence only. © 2006 Berg. Printed in the United Kingdom. Exotic Quilt Patterns and Pattern Names in the 1920s and 1930s Introduction In the 1920s and 1930s, one of the dominant influences on decorative arts, and on American popular culture in general, was the fascination with anything exotic or oriental. (As a note of clarification, this paper uses the word “oriental” in the way people in the early twentieth century would have used it—as a generic description of a geographic region including North Africa and the Middle East, and extending to countries of the Far East, and as a synonym for exotic.) From gardens to home furnishings to Hollywood movies, an oriental atmosphere was fashionable. The exotic style was even popular in the world of quiltmaking, a somewhat surprising fact as quilts often have been associated with a conservative, traditional American esthetic. The exotic quality, however, was frequently granted through the naming of a quilt pattern rather than through its design or iconography. As quilt historian Barbara Brackman (1989: 165–7) has pointed out, quilt pattern names have always been in flux, varying from region to region and changing with national trends and fashions. In the first half of the twentieth century, pattern designers had free rein, not only to “borrow” designs from one another, but also to constantly rename patterns to suit changing fashions. As Brackman puts it: Competition in the commercial pattern market demands diversity; copyright considerations demand changes in designs originated by others, and marketing demands clever names—all of which have lead [sic] to a long list of patterns and pattern names. (Brackman 1989: 165) Some of the exotically named patterns that appeared in the 1920–40 heyday of quilt pattern publishing included: Arab Tent, Chinese Gongs, Egyptian Lotus, Formosa Fan, Japanese Garden and Oriental Poppy. I first discovered the prevalence of 1920s and 1930s exotic patterns and pattern names in conducting research on the influence of Asian art and culture on American quiltmaking. In searching for Asian-inspired quilt blocks in Barbara Brackman’s Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns, the most comprehensive guide to historical quilt patterns, I found a plethora of exotic/oriental pattern names. I then began to search for these exotically named patterns in their original sources as listed in Brackman’s Encyclopedia: newspaper columns, pattern catalogs, and magazines. While doing so, I discovered that many of the publications in which quilt patterns were common also included images and copy, Exotic Quilt Patterns and Names in the 1920s and 1930s 141 particularly in advertisements, that referred to the exotic nature of Asia and Asians. It was clear that the prevalence of exotically named quilt patterns was taking place in a larger cultural context of the exoticization of Asian cultures. A few of the quilt patterns I found actually referenced a motif or image taken from Asian cultures. Others were patterns that could be interpreted as oriental, but which also had been assigned many other, non-exotic names. A large segment of them, however, had little or no connection between their exotic names and the designs they featured. The reason may simply have been that designers, pressured to constantly and quickly produce exciting patterns, gave mainstream quilt blocks (the basic design unit of a patchwork quilt) exotic names in order to follow the trends of the day without having to create something new. I propose, however, that the reason also went deeper, culturally, and stemmed from American’ ambivalent feelings about Asians. In an age of anti-Asian immigration policies, negative literary and film depictions of Asians (as most clearly seen in the evil Dr Fu Manchu), and Asia’s growing international power, especially that of Japan, Americans often viewed Asians in a negative light. At the same time, they appreciated the exotic quality of decorating and dressing in the oriental style. Americans’ conflicted feelings about Asians needed to be considered in presenting exotically named patchwork patterns to the public. Often, in popular magazines and pattern catalogs of the day, exotic styles were juxtaposed or even mixed with the two other most popular styles of the era—colonial and modern. Quilt historian Virginia Gunn (1991: 96), in her article “Quilts for Milady’s Boudoir,” explicates how the mixing of styles—in her case, colonial and moderne—could help produce “cultural change.” Gunn argues that women embraced colonial designs in the early twentieth century, not just as a form of nostalgia or a rejection of Victorianism, but also as a way to allow them to adopt new, and sometimes racy, European fashions. Likewise, this paper will argue that quilt pattern designers and publishers mixed exotic styles with colonial and modern styles in order to subtly introduce oriental—and therefore alluring yet dangerous—qualities into the traditional world of quiltmaking. To argue this point, I will first present an overview of exotically themed quilt patterns from the 1920s and 1930s. I will then discuss the cultural context within which this explosion of exotic patterns occurred—a context in which oriental imagery was used to illustrate everything from short stories in women’s magazines to advertisements for gelatin desserts and women’s corsets. Next, I will examine the frequent mixing and combining of oriental, colonial and modern styles and motifs in advertisements, catalogs, and quilt patterns. To explain the possible reasons for the mixing of these styles, I will then discuss the late nineteenth and early twentieth-century American views and popular culture stereotypes of Asians, which were largely dichotomized between the exoticized “other” and the vilified enemy of the West. Exotic quilt patterns and pattern names in the 1920s and 1930s Some quilts made during this era directly reflect the influence of Asian art and design. Take, for instance, a quilt in the collections of the International Quilt Study Center (IQSC) at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, in which an intricately appliquéd dragon floats on a sumptuous black sateen ground (Figure 1; IQSC: 1997.007.0225). The dragon has five claws and is constructed of brilliant yellow sateen, both of which reflect a knowledge, conscious or unconscious, of traditional Chinese sumptuary laws, as only emperors could wear these symbols and colors. And yet the quilt has an irregular, folk-art feel to it, suggesting that it was an original design, perhaps copied from another source such as a commercially produced embroidered robe or painted shawl, or from printed material obtained from a Chinese attraction at one of the World’s Fairs.1 The maker, therefore, clearly was receptive to the trends of the era, likely without having any direct knowledge of Chinese art or culture. Another example from the IQSC collections is an Art Deco-style quilt depicting plum blossoms, typical motifs in both Chinese and Japanese art (Figure 2; IQSC: 1997.007.0857). The blossoms sway asymmetrically in a stylized, Japanese fashion while the linear border designs resemble Chinese 142 Marin F. Hanson Figure 1 Dragon quilt, c. 1920–1935. Collection of the International Quilt Study Center, 1997.007.0225. fretwork, background patterns seen in many Chinese textiles. A pattern source has yet to be found for this quilt, though it does look professionally designed. These two quilts indicate that some quiltmakers attempted to create quilts that at least somewhat accurately portrayed symbols or motifs of Asian origin. Often, though, the patterns offered to quiltmakers were based on inaccurate or incomplete knowledge of Asian arts and culture. Stereotyped images of Asians, particularly Chinese, have been standard fare in America at least since the influx of Chinese immigrants during the nineteenthcentury construction of the transcontinental railroads.2 A typical example of representation of Asians in popular culture can be seen in a Designs Worth Doing craft catalog, a production of McKim Studios, the commercial outlet for Ruby Short McKim, one of the most popular pattern designers of the era. In the McKim project entitled “Chinee Phone Pad” (Figure 3; Designs Worth Doing 1931a), the figure of a young Chinese boy, given the contemporary slang moniker of “Chinee,” is appliquéd onto muslin and a wool braid is attached to his head to represent his queue—the long braid non-Manchu males were required to wear during the Manchu dynasty (1644–1911). A Exotic Quilt Patterns and Names in the 1920s and 1930s 143 Figure 2 Plum Blossoms quilt, c. 1925–1940. Collection of the International Quilt Study Center, 1997.007.0857. pencil is tied to his queue and a paper pad is placed below him. In the illustration of the project, a phone message has been taken in a script that is intended, but fails, to resemble Chinese. While it is true that pre-1911, non-Manchu Chinese men would have worn a queue, by 1928 most Chinese would have cut off their queue, certainly those in the United States (Cook 1931: paras 28–29; Godley 1994: 70). The hairstyle and the pseudo-Chinese script, however, provided a distinctive look with which to immediately identify and differentiate Chinese people, helping to signify them as the exotic “other,” rather than a people to whom Americans could truly relate. The Kansas City Star, another popular source for craft and quilt patterns, offered a similar project in the 1930s. Place cards feature a Chinese male figure painted onto cardboard with an embroidery floss queue attached to the back of his head. The author suggests that you “let this Chinese with his braided yarn queue help liven up a chop suey luncheon . . He is also at your service as an embroidery pattern” (“For Your Oriental Luncheon”). A recipe for “American Chop Suey” is given as well. Patchwork patterns and kits also featured stereotyped Asian images. A 1928 Woman’s Home Companion patchwork kit called “Ching and Chow” depicts a Chinese man with a queue accompanied by his dog (Figure 4; Woman’s Home Companion 1928). A quilt pictured in Thomas Woodard and Blanche Greenstein’s Crib Quilts and Other Small Wonders features an extremely similar block to the “Ching and Chow” pattern, except that in this version there are 144 Marin F. Hanson two human figures facing each other rather than a human and a dog (Figure 5; Woodard and Greenstein 1981: 42). According to the quilt’s owner, the quilt was made in the 1930s by her grandmother, probably from a pattern (personal communication, K. Bresenhan, 3 April 2006), a pattern which might have been based, at least in part, on the 1928 Woman’s Home Companion “Ching and Chow.” Also pictorial, but less stereotyped, were paper lantern patterns. Advertisements of the day show paper lanterns in a variety of settings (Figure 6) and women’s magazines provided a multitude of projects using the paper lantern motif.3 Indeed, a 1931 Needlecraft—The Magazine of Home Arts article told women that “Japanese paper lanterns offer numerous suggestions for Figure 3 “Chinee Phone Pad,” McKim Studios, 1931. Figure 4 “Ching and Chow,” Woman’s Home Companion, 1928. Exotic Quilt Patterns and Names in the 1920s and 1930s 145 Figure 5 Circus Quilt, c. 1930–1940. Courtesy: K. Bresenhan. decorative novelties . . . [and] possess a certain charm which assures their popularity at bridge parties or bazaars” (Stevens 1931: 9). The article goes on to give directions for embellishing tablecloths, napkins, and cushions with colorful embroidered and appliquéd lantern motifs. Several paper lantern quilt patterns appeared throughout the 1930s. They were usually called Chinese Lantern or Japanese Lantern, although in one case the pattern is called Japanese Garden (Figure 7; Brackman 1993: 134–5; Cabot 1933a; Kansas City Star 1934). Aunt Martha—a quilt pattern catalog, Nancy Cabot—the Chicago Tribune’s quilt pattern designer, and the Kansas City Star all offered their own lanterns (Brackman 1993: 134–5). Several of these lanterns, however, are exactly or virtually the same pattern, providing evidence that pattern purveyors commonly “borrowed” from one another. Other patterns with exotic names were less clearly oriental in style, but could, if the designer wished, be interpreted that way. For instance, the McKim Studios catalog offered an Oriental Poppy pattern in 1931 (Figure 8; Designs Worth Doing 1931b). Although the poppy motif provided McKim with a direct visual link to the orient, it is clear from its streamlined, modern appearance that names were somewhat arbitrarily assigned. Further evidence for this is the fact that Carrie Hall, in her 1935 book coauthored with Rose Kretsinger, The Romance of the Patchwork Quilt in America, named the very same pattern Modernistic California Poppy (Hall and Kretsinger 1935: 106–7). Along with Dresden Plate, Grandmother’s Flower Garden, and Double Wedding Ring, fan variations were the most popular quilt patterns of the era. After their popularity during the late nineteenth-century crazy quilt fad—a trend for making elaborately embellished and asymmetrically pieced quilts that were largely influenced by Asian art and design —fans reappeared in the 1920s and 1930s. Usually they were either given oriental names such as Formosa Fan (Figure 9; Cabot 1936a), Japanese Fan, and Imperial Fan or old-fashioned ones such as Grandmother’s Fan (Brackman 1993: 398–9). A design called Chinese Fan was offered by Nancy Cabot, the pseudonymous 1930s– 1940s quilt pattern designer for the Chicago Tribune (Figures 10 and 11; Cabot 1943); however, this Chinese Fan pattern greatly resembles Cabot’s own Path of Fans and Mohawk Trail patterns (Brackman 1993: 404–5; Cabot 1933b). Pieced somewhat differently but having the same block setting and overall appearance, the three patterns look remarkably alike, again 146 Marin F. Hanson Figure 6 P. N. Practical Front Corset advertisement, 1925. Exotic Quilt Patterns and Names in the 1920s and 1930s 147 Figure 7 Japanese Garden quilt pattern, 1934. Courtesy: Kansas City Star. Figure 9 Nancy Cabot’s Formosa Fan quilt pattern, 1936. Figure 8 Oriental Poppy quilt pattern, McKim Studios, 1931. 148 Marin F. Hanson Figure 10 Nancy Cabot’s Chinese Fan quilt pattern, 1943. pointing to capriciousness in pattern naming. While some quilt patterns exhibited Asian-inspired motifs or could be interpreted as “oriental,” others seemed to be exotic in name only. One designer with an affinity for exotic pattern names was Loretta Leitner Rising, the writer of the Chicago Tribune’s Nancy Cabot pattern column. Because the Nancy Cabot column was so widely Exotic Quilt Patterns and Names in the 1920s and 1930s 149 Figure 11 Quilt in the Chinese Fan pattern, c. 1930–1940. Collection of the International Quilt Study Center, 1997.007.0366. syndicated (under many different names), with a pattern count eventually numbering over two thousand, her designs would have been seen by women all over the country (Brackman 1991: 22). In writing about Nancy Cabot’s frequent publication of “colonial” patterns, quilt historian Barbara Brackman states, “Interest in colonial antiques during the 1930s dictated that quilt patterns have a historical connection, accurate or not . . . therefore the Cabot column is a poor source for quilt history; the newspaper writer tossed in dates and facts with abandon” (Brackman 1991: 23). The same could be said for her presentation of “oriental” patterns; more often than not, her exotically named patterns had little or no connection to their appearance. 150 Marin F. Hanson Figure 12 Nancy Cabot’s Oriental Star quilt pattern, 1933. She was not alone in doing this, however. Pattern designers from many different publications assigned exotic names to generic patterns. For example, one simple four-pointed star, an elaboration on the common Periwinkle pattern, was named Oriental Star by Nancy Cabot (Figure 12; Cabot 1933c) and Dervish Star by Grandma Dexter (Brackman 1993: 474–5). Another set of stars—variously called Chinese Star or Oriental Star by farm newspaper Rural New Yorker, pattern catalogs Grandmother Clark and Grandma Dexter, and author Carrie Hall—is a very close relative of a series of patterns based on a circular crown-like motif. In fact, some of its more popular names are Caesar’s Crown, King David’s Crown, and Victoria’s Crown (Brackman 1993: 436–7). When the magazine Home Art’s hexagonal Oriental Splendor blocks are put together in a whole quilt, they create a wonderfully graphic image (Brackman 1993: 52–3). Nancy Cabot, who also published the pattern under the same name, introduced it by stating, “strangely enough, this pattern, which originated in Connecticut in the earliest days of its history, and which was then called ‘Many Paths,’ is now called ‘Oriental Splendor’” (Figure 13; Cabot 1933d). Also strangely enough, a 1935 issue of the magazine Progressive Farmer called the pattern Smoothing Iron, again demonstrating that designs were subject to broad interpretation and could be given a wide variety of names, some of them exotic, some of them prosaic (Brackman 1993: 52–3). Figure 13 Nancy Cabot’s Oriental Splendor quilt pattern, 1933. Nancy Cabot’s inspiration for the naming of Chinese Coin (Figure 14), a pattern with a “hole” (a lighter-colored square) in the center of it, is clearly based on its resemblance to traditional Chinese coins, which had holes in the center and would have been held together on long strings. She fancifully described the pattern’s development this way: An adventurous wanderer returned from the Far East, landed in New York about 1869 and brought with him many souvenirs of his wanderings. He presented to his lady fair, Exotic Quilt Patterns and Names in the 1920s and 1930s 151 Figure 14 Nancy Cabot’s Chinese Coin quilt pattern, 1934. “historical” nature. The pattern is a well-known traditional one whose name Double Wrench dates from as early as 1884. It is known most commonly, however, as Hole in the Barn Door, Monkey Wrench, or Churn Dash (Brackman 1993: 234– 5). It seems likely that most people would have known this pattern by its other, older names, but reintroducing it with an oriental title gave it an exotic allure. Chinese 10,000 Perfections is one of many names given to swastika variation patterns (Hall and Kretsinger 1935: 94–5). The swastika is a symbol common to many cultures, and in China it is similar to the character “wan,” signifying 10,000. A common expression in China is “wan sui,” meaning “may you live 10,000 years.” Chinese 10,000 Perfections is therefore an appropriate name for this pattern; however, the pattern was also called Indian Emblem, Flyfoot, Battle Ax of Thor, Mound Builders, and Wind Power of the Osages (Brackman 1993: 158–9). Many cultures are represented in these names and an exotic effect seems to be the common denominator. among other gifts, a rare curio, a Chinese coin. Intrigued with the then unusual token, the enterprising young lady worked the coin into a quilt design. Today we still have the lovely pieced block, Chinese Coin. (Cabot 1934) By telling this story, Nancy Cabot made the pattern appealing both in its exotic and its in the 1910s and 1920s, Paul Poiret became famous for his exotic, and sometimes risqué couture designs. His fashions, inspired by Leon Bakst’s costumes for the popular Ballets Russes production of Scheherezade, were clearly based on oriental imagery. The desire for exotic costume trickled down into the everyday culture of America, resulting in “boudoir” fashions for women that included harem pants, kimonos, and turbans (Gunn 1991). The broader decorative arts were similarly influenced. Motifs such as Chinese and Japanesestyle fans and butterflies were popular, as were new Art Deco designs that displayed a variety of oriental influences. Eighteenthcentury Chinese Chippendale-style furniture experienced a revival in the 1920s and 1930s and featured Chinese “fretwork”— linear background designs—that became part of the Art Deco design vocabulary. Even popular architecture reflected the influence of exotic cultures. For example, Chinese and Egyptian-themed movie theatres sprang up all over the country, including the famous Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. Cultural Context for the Women’s magazines were Abundance of Exotic Pattern another source of oriental Names imagery. Early twentieth-century Attraction to an oriental mystique popular magazines often featured in the quilting world did not, representations of Asians, both of course, occur in a vacuum. in literary and artistic format. Americans, in general, were Pearl S. Buck, author of The fascinated with Asian cultures and Good Earth, was responsible peoples throughout this period. In for several of these, with short the nineteenth century, national stories such as “The Exile,” the magazines had helped the crazy tale of a woman who becomes a quilt—another oriental-inspired missionary in China (Figure 15), quilt style—become one of the first and “Hearts Come Home,” the quilting fads. A few decades later story of a foreign-educated 152 Marin F. Hanson Figure 15 Illustration from Pearl S. Buck’s “The Exile,” Woman’s Home Companion, 1935. Chinese couple who falls in love in Shanghai (Buck 1935a: 15; 1935b: 5). Other stories with exotic themes included those about Westerners living in India or about the desert life of Arab sheikhs (Caher 1931: 13; Bercovici 1931: 8). All of these stories featured lavish illustrations depicting the exotic, and sometimes depraved, lives the Asian characters led. Advertisements in women’s magazines also used oriental imagery and fashions to help sell their products. For instance, an advertisement in the October 1925 Ladies’ Home Journal pictures a brilliant yellow, white and orange molded Jell-O brand gelatin dessert with a bronze statue of a Chinese mandarin (government official) towering behind it (Ladies Home Journal 1925a). Also in 1925, Kodak Cameras ran an advertisement featuring a group of vacationers at the seaside, one relaxing under the shade of a Japanese parasol (Ladies Home Journal 1925b). In the same year, Palmolive advertised their soap using the image of a white woman outfitted in harem garb, accompanied by a darkskinned female servant (Ladies Home Journal 1925c). Department store catalogs offered oriental knick-knacks to add an exotic flair to home interiors. The 1927 Sears, Roebuck catalog, for instance, featured a three-page spread entitled “Gifts Exotic Quilt Patterns and Names in the 1920s and 1930s 153 from the Orient” and “Decorative Oriental Pottery.” In it, one could find dragon-shaped brass dinner gongs, Buddha incense burners, and silk parasol-shaped lamp shades (Mirken 1970: 238–40). In addition to purchasing ready-made oriental objects, women were encouraged to make their own decorative handwork following patterns with Asianinspired designs. A set of Japanese lantern table linens in the author’s collection was made over 75 years ago by her great-grandmother from a 1927 McCall Needlework and Decorative Arts pattern (Figure 16; McCall Needlework and Decorative Arts 1927a). The McKim Studios’ Designs Worth Doing catalogs offered several oriental-inspired projects, including: “Table Mats in Chinese Design” (1930a), “A Beautiful Persian Monogram” (1930b), and, for the children, “Charming Dollies from Japan” (1931c). The Kansas City Star featured embroidery designs called “The Pines of Japan” (1933a) and “The Sacred Mountain in Japanese Motif” (1933b). It is no surprise, then, that so many exotically named quilt patterns also appeared during this era. quarter of the nineteenth century, the Colonial Revival eventually spread to all areas of the decorative arts and interior design, affecting quilts and quiltmaking by the turn of the twentieth century. Reacting to the fussiness of the late-Victorian Aesthetic Movement, colonial styles emphasized clean and spare decorating. Modern styles The Mixing of Oriental, Colonial also stressed cleanliness and and Modern Styles functionality. Inspired by the Arts What is surprising is the frequent and Crafts, Art Nouveau, and Art mixing of oriental styles with Deco movements, modern styles colonial and modern styles. At first presented streamlined surface glance, these styles do not seem to decoration and placed a greater mix readily. The colonial style was emphasis on practicality and a product of the Colonial Revival, usefulness. The esthetic of both a design movement that reflected colonial and modern styles was Americans’ growing interest in very different from the lush, exotic their colonial and republican look of oriental styles—which made past. Originally an architectural for interesting results when they movement begun in the last were mixed. Figure 16 Embroidered Japanese lantern table linens. Collection of the author. 154 Marin F. Hanson The cover of the March 1928 issue of the magazine Woman’s Home Companion exemplifies these odd juxtapositions. It pictures a miniature tableau of artfully arranged porcelain statuettes. A blue and white Chinese mandarin sits behind two colonial-style figurines, a Little Bo Peep-type female and a chimneysweep male in a top hat (Figure 17). Admittedly, this unexpected combination most likely portrays the 1845 Hans Christian Andersen tale of the Shepherdess and the Chimney Sweep; however, no indication of this fact is given in the magazine and it does not directly relate to any of the articles inside the issue. Readers probably would not have immediately made the fairy-tale association and on a purely esthetic basis would have viewed the tableau for what it was, a mixture of some of the most common styles of the day. Although the combination may seem anomalous to us today, an examination of 1920s and 1930s needlework sources reveals a pattern of similar style mixtures.4 For instance, the 1930–31 edition of McKim Studios’ Designs Worth Doing catalog advertises a pattern for “Chinese Appliqué Towels” embroidered with “Japanese [not Chinese, as the pattern name stated] lanterns on one and a parasol on the other” (Figure 18; Designs Worth Doing 1930c). Pictured putting away the towels into a colonial-style chest is a modern woman, as signified by her short skirt and pumps, depicted in silhouette (a popular way to visually reference colonialera silhouette profile portraits). In the same issue, McKim presents a pattern for decorating furniture with painted “discs of Chinese type” and “typical pagodas, small figures, willow trees and a bridge” (Figure 19; Designs Worth Doing 1930d). The furniture pictured, however, is clearly in the colonial style, with one example being a colonial tilt-top table, the type with a top that tilts to a vertical position for easy storage. In the world of quilt patterns, the Chicago Tribune’s Nancy Cabot often mixed exotic pattern names with descriptions that included colonial or modern references. In some cases, she used references to the original thirteen American colonies to add an air of antiquity. For instance, of Oriental Poppy she says, “The early history of this pattern has Connecticut as its locale” (Cabot 1935); and of Oriental Splendor she says it “originated in Connecticut in the earliest days of its history” (Cabot 1933d). In other cases, she uses words like “birthplace” and “coverlet” to evoke the pride in American history that was at the core of the Colonial Revival. Describing Japanese Poppy, she says, “Ohio is identified as the birthplace of [this] quilt . . . a coverlet composed of a combination of pieced and plain materials” (Cabot 1936b). Cabot’s headlines for the Oriental Tulip (Figures 20 and 21) and Oriental Poppy patterns exhibit her mixing the exotic with modern. For the one she states, “Out of Ancient Egypt Comes Gay Design for ‘Modern Quilt” (Cabot 1933e) and for the other, “‘Oriental Poppy’ is Quilt Showing Modern Harmony” (Cabot 1935). Creating your own heirloom to pass on to future generations Exotic Quilt Patterns and Names in the 1920s and 1930s 155 Figure 17 Cover of Woman’s Home Companion, March 1928. 156 Marin F. Hanson Figure 18 “Chinese Appliqué Towels,” McKim Studios, 1930. was another theme of the Colonial Revival. The 1933 edition of the catalog Hope Winslow’s Quilt Book advertised a page of patterns under the heading, “A Quilt Created by Your Own Hands Becomes a Greater Treasure as the Years Roll On.” Among these patterns are the colonially named Lafayette Orange Peel, the pioneerthemed Rocky Road to California, and the exotic Oriental Splendor (Hope Winslow’s Quilt Book 1933a). A few pages later, the Chinese Lantern Quilt—“one of the modern patchwork quilt designs that you will enjoy making” (Hope Winslow’s Quilt Book 1933b)—is on the same page as Dolly Madison Stars and opposite the page entitled “Early American Quilts Are First in Favor Today” (Early American Quilts 1933c). Another reason why oriental, colonial and modern references were so easily mixed in patchworkrelated publications is that many of the exotically named patterns could have fit stylistically into either of the other two genres. Some of them are very basic, geometric quilt blocks that reflect the spare simplicity embodied by the Colonial Revival. For instance, The Chinese Block Quilt, published by the Kansas City Star in 1938, is an uncomplicated geometric pattern that would have looked right at home in a colonial-style bedroom, especially if it were completed in a red and white or blue and white color scheme, thereby referencing colonialera two-color woven coverlets (Figure 22). Indeed, the Star admitted that “The Chinese block is a new name for an old pattern,” granting the pattern both an exotic and an old-fashioned air (Kansas City Star 1938). Other patterns, such as Oriental Tulip (Figure 20; Cabot 1933e) and Japanese Poppy (Figure 23) by Nancy Cabot (1936b), and Oriental Poppy (Designs Worth Doing 1931b) by McKim Studios, revealed a basis in modern design despite their exotic names. Nancy Cabot claims Figure 19 Chinese decoration on colonial-style furniture, McKim Studios, 1930. Exotic Quilt Patterns and Names in the 1920s and 1930s 157 Figure 21 Quilt in the Oriental Tulip pattern, c. 1930–1940. Collection of the International Quilt Study Center, 2003.003.0141. Figure 20 Nancy Cabot’s Oriental Poppy quilt pattern, 1935. Figure 22 The Chinese Block quilt pattern, 1938. Courtesy: Kansas City Star. 158 Marin F. Hanson Figure 23 Nancy Cabot’s Japanese Poppy quilt pattern, 1936. catch the quilt fever, I’ll have to see a pattern that’s entirely different and stunningly beautiful!’ The Oriental Poppy is in answer [to her request] . . .” (Designs Worth Doing 1931b). If the juxtaposing of oriental styles with colonial and modern styles was so common, what were the reasons? One might be that by referencing the most popular decorating styles of the day, publishers could hedge their bets and sell more patterns. But deeper reasons emerge when we examine how Asians were perceived in late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century America. American Perceptions of Asians in the Late-Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Century Ever since Chinese workers first started immigrating in large numbers to the United States in the mid-nineteenth century, first drawn by the gold rush and then by employment in building the transcontinental railroads, Americans have exhibited antiAsian sentiment. Opposition to Asian immigration was often stated in economic terms, citing the flood of Chinese workers into in her description of Oriental Tulip the American labor force. The that it is a “reproduction of an old Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882— Egyptian design that used to be which severely restricted Chinese embroidered on robes and temple immigration into the United hangings” (Cabot 1933e). What is States—and other anti-Chinese more apparent, however, is the legislation reflected many people’s pattern’s Art Deco sensibility, with frustration over a perceived its geometric stylization of the loss of jobs due to the influx of tulip form. The McKim Studios’ Chinese workers (Hing 1993: description of Oriental Poppy 22–3).5 Soon, anti-immigration and (Figure 8) ignores its exotic name anti-naturalization laws spread to entirely, emphasizing instead the cover other Asian nationalities, for new and modern aspect of the instance the 1917 Immigration Act, design: “One woman said, ‘Before I which included an “Asiatic Barred Exotic Quilt Patterns and Names in the 1920s and 1930s 159 Zone” (Lee 1999: 108). By 1924, almost all Asian nationalities were virtually barred from immigrating to the United States (Hing 1993: 33). Anti-Asian sentiment was also based in nativist, racist and xenophobic fears. Americans in the late-nineteenth and early twentieth century were engaged in a process of attempting to define what it meant to be American and many people wanted to exclude Asians from this definition, thereby retaining “racial purity” (Hing 1993: 22). For instance, despite the fact that Irish immigrants had been severely discriminated against back East, on the West Coast many of them were the most vocally opposed to Asian immigration (Hing 1993: 21). Historical events also increased Americans’ unease about the East, in particular the 1900 Boxer Rebellion, in which hundreds of Westerners were held siege in Beijing by rebels opposed to growing western influence in China. Just five years later, “this anxiety over a ‘Yellow Peril’ assumed the status of a nightmare after Japan’s stunning military victory over Russia” (Lee 1999: 106). The evil, plotting Dr. Fu Manchu was born out of these fears. Originally a character in a series of novels by the British author Arthur Henry Sarsfield Ward (using the pseudonym Sax Rohmer), Fu Manchu became a frequent movie character as well. His character was that of a sinister genius, head of a worldwide organization dedicated to the downfall of Western institutions and power. Indeed, the “‘Asiatic’ threat that. . . [the character of] Fu Manchu represents is explicitly the threat of racial annihilation” (Lee 1999: 114); he is the personification of the ‘Yellow Peril.’” Providing a counterpoint to Fu Manchu was Charlie Chan, who, though extremely stereotyped, represented the grudging respect Westerners still had for the wisdom supposedly inherent in the Chinese culture. Originally a figure in popular fiction, Charlie Chan (the creation of author Earl Derr Biggers) also became a movie character, ironically first being played by Warner Oland, the Swedish actor who later played Fu Manchu in several movies. The Charlie Chan character was a Chinese-born Honolulu detective who, using his ancient and wise Eastern knowledge, solved cases that his white counterparts were unable to. While still a caricature, speaking in pidgin English and supposedly Chinese aphorisms, he represented a moral contrast to Fu Manchu. He and Fu Manchu came to embody the West’s ambivalence about the East, the former a member of an ancient and refined culture, the latter a symbol of the Yellow Peril. Ironically, during this same period, Asian-inspired fashions and decorating styles went through successive waves of popularity. In 1876, for instance, the US centennial exposition in Philadelphia introduced Americans to Japanese art and design, which fueled the popularity of decorating with Japanese/Chinese (distinctions between these two cultures were often blurred) fans, parasols, porcelain and silks. An obsession with Asian art and design also led to the first quilt fad, the craze for crazy quilts between 1880 and 1900. Fashions were similarly influenced: articles of clothing such as kimonos and Chinese-style robes and accessories such as parasols and fans became de rigeur in the early twentieth century, eventually becoming so embedded that the styles began to be combined with each other and with other, non-Asian styles (Kim and DeLong 1992: 27). Conclusion Because of Americans’ mixed feelings about the moral character of Asians, women may have been equally unsure of how to view the prevalence of Asian styles and motifs in fashion, advertising, decorating catalogs and even in their quilt patterns. On the one hand, the American public appreciated the exotic quality associated with the Orient, especially when sanitized and safely incorporated into their daily lives, as in architecture, interior decoration or fashion. On the other, the allure of the East was often associated with fears of Asian world domination and also with a sinister and deviant sexuality. Film historian Gina Marchetti points to two common movie characterizations of Asian women to explicate this threatening sexuality. These archetypes, in turn, symbolically represent the entire oriental world: The “dragon lady” and the “lotus blossom” form two halves of one coin in the popular Western imagination. Seductive and exotic, the former must be forced into submission, while the latter innately recognizes 160 Marin F. Hanson cropped-pants pajamas and flowing Japanese-style kimonos for American women to purchase and decorate with embroidery or paint (McCall Needlework and Decorative Arts 1927b,c). In 1930, Sears and Roebuck offered ready-to-wear “Stylish Japanese Lounging Garments” to American women (Sears and Roebuck 1930: 348). By mixing the three component As presented in the movies and boudoir styles in their advertising various other pop cultural forums, and articles, women’s magazines the East was viewed as a place made the exotic and modern that needed to be conquered, not components more acceptable to culturally incorporated. their audience. But, as demonstrated in Gunn’s If the strategy of using the study of “milady’s boudoir,” the apparent safety of the “traditional” hesitation about adopting new, colonial style to introduce art somewhat suspect fashions could moderne and sexy, orientalbe overcome. Gunn refers to inspired lingerie to American the new early twentieth-century women was successful, why boudoir fashions—which, although couldn’t it be used to introduce inspired by France, included exotic quilt patterns to them as oriental kimonos, turbans, and well? The quilt designers and harem pants—as being perceived pattern publishers were not merely originally as “scandalous and following trends by giving so many languorous” (Gunn 1991: 84). She of their quilt patterns exotic names. claims, however, that women, They were also participating in encouraged by ladies’ magazines, a strategy to make the exotic, simultaneously adopted colonial with its partly sinister, morally styles in order to soften the ambiguous, and sexy subtext, indecent nature of the boudoir more acceptable to the American attire and to bring in the new, public. Quiltmaking was perceived moderne styles from Europe. She as a wholesome activity, an says that, “American women used expression of the solid, frugal and the colonial revival emphasis, morally sound character of early which at first glance looks like Americans. Pattern designers and a rejection of modern ideas, publishers could not risk sullying it as a strategy to rationalize the with too strong an oriental flavor. adoption of new French fashion Publications therefore used a and furnishings” (Gunn 1991:83). range of methods to tone down Therefore, by the 1920s and 1930s, exotic styles and make them more these fashions had become fairly acceptable to American readers. By widespread, despite their exotic, simply giving traditional, standard sexy overtones. Indeed, in 1927, quilt blocks oriental names, McCall Needlework and Decorative designers diluted any overtly exotic Arts presented Chinese-style qualities. By constantly renaming Western superiority and freely acquiesces to the will of her white master/lover. However, both represent equally taboo desires that must be contained, and their inevitable deaths symbolize the vanquishing of those desires in the name of white “civilization.” (Marchetti 2004: 188) Exotic Quilt Patterns and Names in the 1920s and 1930s 161 quilt patterns, sometimes with oriental names and sometimes with ordinary ones, they weakened their exotic character. And finally, by juxtaposing and mixing oriental styles with colonial and modern styles in advertising, patchwork designs and quilt descriptions, they made the exotic styles palatable to the American quiltmaking public. would further add to this research. 5. See http://www. ourdocuments.gov/doc. php?flash=true&doc=47 for the original full text of the Chinese Exclusion Act 1882. ——. 1934. “Adventurer’s Coin Forms Inspiration of Unusual Quilt.” Chicago Tribune, 7 April: 21. ——. 1935. “‘Oriental Poppy’: Is Quilt Showing Modern Harmony.” Chicago Tribune, 29 April: 14. ——. 1936a. “Simple Quilt Has ‘Formosa Fan’ As Attractive Theme.” Chicago Tribune, 20 August: 15. ——. 1936b. “Quilt Pattern is Popular One in Rural Districts.” Chicago Tribune, 28 March: 19. References Bercovici, Konrad. 1931. “Thirst.” Ladies Home Journal, January: 8. Brackman, Barbara. 1989. Clues in the Calico. McClean, VA: E.P.M. Publications. Notes 1. Asian motifs often were used on women’s dressing gowns and shawls; for instance, the Spring 1927 McCall Needlework and Decorative Arts advertises an exotic peacock outline transfer to be used in painting on an “exquisite evening wrap” (p. 29). World’s Fairs also provided images that could have been used as inspiration for quiltmakers; for instance, visitors to the Chinese Lama Temple at Chicago’s 1933–4 Century of Progress World’s Fair could obtain a pamphlet with an impressive dragon on the cover. For an image, see http://www. ccamuseum.org/Jehol_Temple_ Pamphlet-web.jpg (accessed 30 March, 2006). 2. For various perspectives on how Asians have been viewed throughout American history, see: Lee (1999) 3. See, for example, “Design for Rainbow Bridge Set,” advertisement in McCall Needlework and Decorative Arts (Spring 1927: 46). 4. Although numerous sources were examined for style-mixing content, a more thorough and analytical study of an even wider range of publications ——. 1991. “Who was Nancy Cabot?” ——. 1943. “Fan Design for Quilt.” Quilter’s Newsletter Magazine, Chicago Tribune, 13 April 1943: 23. January/February: 22. Caher, Marion. 1931. “Party Treat.” ——. 1993. Encyclopedia of Pieced Ladies Home Journal, January: 13. Quilt Patterns. Paducah, KY: Cook, Jesse B. 1931. “San American Quilter’s Society. Francisco’s Old Chinatown.” Buck, Pearl S. 1935a. “The Exile, San Francisco Police and Peace Part Two.” Woman’s Home Officers’ Journal, June. From the Companion, November: 15. Virtual Museum of the City of San ——. 1935b. “Hearts Come Home.” Francisco: http://www.sfmuseum. Ladies Home Journal, August: 5. org/hist9/cook.html (accessed: 28 March, 2006). Cabot, Nancy. 1933a. “Interesting Quilt Will Utilize All Small Designs Worth Doing. 1930. Remnants.” Chicago Tribune, 20 “Table Mats in Chinese Design.” June: 19. Designs Worth Doing 1930–31. ——. 1933b. “‘Mohawk Trail’ Easier to Make than It Looks.” Chicago Tribune, 9 August: 23. ——. 1933c. “Here’s another pretty addition to star quilts.” Chicago Tribune, 10 August: 15. ——. 1933d. “Many Paths Quilt Changes its Name; Oriental in Tone.” Chicago Tribune, 18 December: 21. ——. 1933e. “Out of Ancient Egypt Comes Gay Design for Modern Quilt.” Chicago Tribune, 20 August: D3. Independence, MO: McKim Studios, p. 15. ——. 1930. “A Beautiful Persian Monogram.” Designs Worth Doing 1930–31. Independence, MO: McKim Studios, p. 13. ——. 1930. “Chinese Appliqué Towels.” Designs Worth Doing 1930–31. Independence, MO: McKim Studios, p. 4. ——.1930. “Easily Applied Painting Designs.” Designs Worth Doing 1930–31. Independence, MO: McKim Studios, p. 8. 162 Marin F. Hanson ——. 1931a. “Chinee Phone Pad.” Designs Worth Doing 1930–31. Independence, MO: McKim Studios, p. 37. ——.1931b. “Oriental Poppy.” Designs Worth Doing: Fall and Winter Catalogue, 1931–32. Independence, MO: McKim Studios, p. 18. ——. 1931c. “Charming Dollies from Japan.” Designs Worth Doing, Fall and Winter Catalogue 1931–32. Independence, MO: McKim Studios, p. 33. Godley, Michael R. 1994. “The End of the Queue: Hair as Symbol in Chinese History.” In Geremie R. Barme (ed.) East Asian History (Vol. 8). Canberra: Institute of Advanced Studies, Australian National University, pp. 53–72. Gunn, Virginia. 1991. “Quilts for Milady’s Boudoir.” In Laurel Horton (ed.) Uncoverings 1989. San Francisco: American Quilt Study Group, pp. 81–101. Hall, Carrie and Rose Kretsinger. 1935. The Romance of the Patchwork Quilt in America New York: Bonanza Books. Hing, Bill Ong. 1993. Making and Remaking Asian America through Immigration Policy, 1850–1990. Stanford: Stanford University Press. Hope Winslow’s Quilt Book. 1933a. “A Quilt Created by Own Hands Becomes a Greater Treasure as the Years Roll On.” Hope Winslow’s Quilt Book. DesMoines: Home Art Studios, p. 9. ——. 1933b. “Gay Swinging Lantern Quilt.” Hope Winslow’s Quilt Book. DesMoines: Home Art Studios, p. 12. ——. 1933c. “Early American Quilts Are First in Favor Today.” Hope Winslow’s Quilt Book. DesMoines: Home Art Studios, p. 13. International Quilt Study Center (IQSC), University of NebraskaLincoln, accession number 1997.007.0225. ——. 1997.007.0366. ——. 1997.007.0432. ——. 1997.007.0857. ——. 2000.007.0058. ——. 2003.003.0141. Kim, Hae Jeon and Marilyn R. DeLong. 1992. “Sino-Japanism in Western Women’s Fashionable Dress in Harper’s Bazar, 1890– 1927.” Clothing and Textiles Research Journal 11(1): 24-30. Kansas City Star. Date unknown. “For Your Oriental Luncheon.” Kansas City Star: page unknown. ——. 1933a. “The Pines of Japan.” Kansas City Star, 11 October: page unknown. ——. 1933b. “The Sacred Mountain in Japanese Motif.” Kansas City Star, 11 October: page unknown. ——. 1934. “A Japanese Garden.” Kansas City Star, 8 August: page unknown. ——. 1938. “An Old Pattern with a New Name.” Kansas City Star, 13 July: page unknown. Ladies Home Journal. 1925a. “A Fitting Climax to the Perfect Dinner.” Advertisement for JellO brand gelatin, Ladies Home Journal, October: 114. ——. 1925b. “Let Kodak Save the Day.” Advertisement for Kodak Exotic Quilt Patterns and Names in the 1920s and 1930s 163 Cameras. Ladies Home Journal, July: 120. ——. 1925c. “Beauty from Trees.” Advertisement for Palmolive soap, Ladies Home Journal, July: 45. Lee, Robert G. 1999. Orientals: Asian Americans in Popular Culture. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. Marchetti, Gina. 2004. “From Fu Manchu to M. Butterfly and Irma Vep: Cinematic Incarnations of Chinese Villainy.” In Murray Pomerance (ed.), Bad: Infamy, Darkness, Evil, and Slime on Screen. Albany, NY: State University of New York. McCall Needlework and Decorative Arts. 1927a. “Modern Needlework and Old Time Patchwork.” McCall Needlework and Decorative Arts, Spring: 49. ——. 1927b. “Dainty Lingerie Creations for Intimate Wear.” McCall Needlework and Decorative Arts, Spring 1927: 21. ——. 1927c. “The Fashionable Designs for Painting.” McCall Needlework and Decorative Arts, Spring: 29. Mirken, Alan (ed.). 1970. 1927 Edition of the Sears, Roebuck Catalogue. New York: Crown Publishers, Inc. Sears and Roebuck. 1930.“Stylish Japanese Lounging Garments.” 1930. Sears and Roebuck Catalogue, Fall/Winter 1930–31. Chicago: Sears and Roebuck Company, p, 348. Stevens, E. Marion. 1931. “Suggestions for Summer Bazaars or Bridge Parties.” Needlecraft—The Magazine of Home Arts: 9 (issue number and page extent unknown). Woman’s Home Companion. 1928. “Pillows Are Popular.” Woman’s Home Companion, November: 67. Woodard, Thomas and Greenstein, Blanche. 1981. Crib Quilts and Other Small Wonders. New York: Dutton.