Saturday at the Quilt Museum - New York Beauty (Rocky Mountain Road, Crown of Thorns)

Wow, what a lot of information there is out there on this quilt pattern!

After quite a bit of reading, it seems that Barbara Brackman has best summed up the history:

"The pattern has many vernacular names in the South, commonly "Rocky Mountain Road" or "Crown of Thorns" (also "Rail Through The Mountains,” "Rising Sun," and "The Great Divide"). A similar pattern was published and sold by Mountain Mist in 1931 as "New York Beauty", which is today's standard name nationwide. An 1854 diary refers to a "New York Beauty" quilt but whether it is the same design is unknown."

There is a longer article by the DK Quilt Guild on the Daily Kos that gives more fun history on the pattern.

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New York Beauty/Crown of Thorns

Mrs. Haynes

Stone Mountain, Georgia

75.25" x 99.25"

This quilt is quite different than most of those I've seen, but I like the earthy feel it has.  The many names of this pattern seem to be represented in the color choices. It makes me think of saddle leather, sunrise over the mountains, and evergreens - western travel through the Rockies.

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Rocky Mount Quilt of Scotland

Elmira Duncan Pearce

Tennessee

1850

66" x 79"

This is my favorite of those that I've seen of this type with the vines in the sashing, a center sunburst, and two or three color arcs (in this case yellow, tan, and white).  It is probable that the tan color was once green and has faded.

This quilt belonged to the four Pearce sisters, aunts of the current owner at time of survey. 

"These ladies were of pure Scottish Covenenter background, from Pearces, Birdwells, Browns, Douglases and Gordons. Their grandmother, Elmira Duncan Pearce, had a quilter who lived in the house and made quilts, sometimes spinning, weaving and dyeing material for them; sometimes using 'boughten' goods."

You can see and read more at the Quilt Index

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New York Beauty

1870's
Bill Volkening Collection

This one caught my eye, I think because of the wonderful contrast in color.  There is no information about it other than that it was made in the 1870's and resides in Bill Volkening's collection in Oregon.

You can look at more on his blog Wonkyworld.

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New York Beauty

Amish-made

I am partial to red, white and blue - and stars  - so this one caught my eye!  It's fun to see the different treatments the intersection blocks receive in these quilts.  Most have sunbursts, occasionally a LeMoyne star, but this is the only one I've seen that has sawtooth stars.  The white background gives a lovely space to showcase quilting.

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There are so many New York Beauty quilts out there.  This is just a smattering.

If you are really interested in seeing and reading more about them, here are some links to follow:

Beauty Secrets - A 7 1/2 minute short documentary on the Volckening Collection of New York Beauty Quilts

Sue Garman's Blog
Scroll WAY down the page for a look at New York Beauty quilts which it sounds like are in her personal collection.

Pinterest

Thanks for joining me on this tour of New York Beauty Quilts!

Happy Quilting!!

PLEASE NOTE:

- I am not a quilt historian.  I simply enjoy finding interesting quilts and sharing them with you!

- The quilt images on this post were sourced from Pinterest unless otherwise noted, and are linked to their origin whenever possible.