An American Quilt: Unfolding a Story of Family and Slavery

(Hardback)

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

When we think of slavery most of us think of the American South. We think of chattel slavery, of back-breaking work, and of cruel and inhumane treatment on plantations. We don't think of slavery in the North, nor do we think of urban and domestic/house slaves. Rachel May's remarkable book sheds new light on the far reach of slavery, from New England to the Caribbean, and the role it played in the growth of mercantile America-all through the discovery of a remarkable quilt. While working in a textile archive, May opened an old box and discovered a literal treasure-trove: along with a carefully folded unfinished quilt there was a disarray of 1830s-era fabrics, crumbling papers with the dates 1798, 1808, and 1813 the words "shuger," "rum," "casks," and "West Indies," repeated over and over along with "friendship," "kindness," "government," and "incident." And then there were hundreds of letters between the Crouch-Cushman families of Charleston, South Carolina and Providence, Rhode Island. Stitches in Time is a beautifully written and resonant history that takes this tactile connection to the past and stitches together a forgotten legacy of slavery with the rich lives of Minerva, Juda, and Eliza-urban slaves-and their owner, Susan Crouch.

Reviews

"In this far-reaching history, the discovery of an unfinished antebellum quilt becomes an investigation of the fragile scraps of documents used to make its backing. A meticulous and insightful account of slaverys role in early mercantile America." * New Yorker *
"Deeply researched and vividly written, Mays creative achievement casts new light on the often ignored contributions enslaved people made to American society." * Booklist (starred) *
"While acclaimed writer Rachel May was studying a textile collection, she stumbled on an unfinished quilt that took her on a journey from the Caribbean to New England and into the dark depths of slavery. May decided to piece together this history, which she unveils in this rich book.An American Quiltdrives home how little we actually know about slaveryand how much history we can still uncover." * Bitch Magazine *
"An American Quiltis a scholarly accomplishment." * Clyde Fitch Report *
"May draws both history lessons and intimate secrets from her analysis of letters and domestic objects in the antebellum world. Her commitment to recovering the experiences of the enslaved people at the storys heart is admirable." * Publishers Weekly *
"May follows the footsteps of Linda Lipsett and Cuesta Benberry, who revealed a more thorough picture of the contribution the African American quilt maker. These storiesneedto be shared over and over again and Rachel May does so brilliantly, intelligently, and with care.The history of enslaved peopleand todays on-going racismis not glossed over in this deeply researched and beautifully written text.An American Quiltis a major contribution to the multilayered and complex history of quilt making in America." -- Roderick Kiracofe, author of 'Unconventional & Unexpected'
"An American Quiltcleverly weaves together the disparate fields of material cultural, northern industrialization, mercantilism, trade and slavery. Deeplyresearched history, May reveals the multifaceted economic and personal relations between northern textile manufacturers and southern enslavers. Moreover, May reminds us that the handmade quilts of white antebellum slave-holding and non-slave-holding women carry unlikely histories, including those of enslaved African Americans whose labor and stories are usually unacknowledged or overlooked." -- Christy Clark-Pujara, Associate Professor of History in the Department of Afro-American Studies at the University of Wisconsin, author of Dark Work: The Business of Slavery in Rhode Island

Author Bio

Rachel May is the author of Quilting with a Modern Slant, a 2014 Library Journal and Amazon.com Best Book of the Year. Her writing has received multiple awards, and she's been awarded residencies at the Millay Colony and the Vermont Studio Center. She's an assistant professor at Northern Michigan University and lives in Marquette, Michigan.