Mary Black's Family Quilts: Meaning and Memory in Everyday Life

by Laurel Horton

Foreword by Michael Owen Jones
Published by the University of South Carolina Press, available December 2005

"Mary Black's Family Quilts represents an intriguing blend of South Carolina history, social history, material culture, and women's studies for academics and general readers alike. Laurel Horton's thorough research into the Black family history spans generations and her engaging narrative gives us an incredibly personal portrait of the ordinary women who made these delightful quilts."—Jan Hiester, Curator of Textiles, Charleston Museum

At the heart of this story is a collection of sixteen quilts made by Mary Black and other women in her family. Mary Louisa Snoddy Black was born in 1860 and lived her whole life in the vicinity of Spartanburg, South Carolina. Shortly before her death in 1927, Mary and her daughters sewed onto each quilt a small handwritten label containing information about the maker and the quilt itself. The quilts were then stored in trunks, where they remained until 1996, when they were removed and framed for display in the offices of the Mary Black Foundation.

This book brings together the author's meticulous research, thoughtful interpretation, and stylish writing to set a new standard for the study of quilts and quiltmaking as material behavior within the everyday lives of ordinary people.