At age 43, John Gage was a prosperous bachelor, living with his parents on the family farm. His women friends and relatives presented him with this quilt at a party given in his honor. According to the family, many of those who signed the quilt were singles hoping to win his favor. Gage died in 1904, still a bachelor.

Quilter’s Corner
Fashion magazines endorsed the crazy quilt when it appeared in the early 1880s, and their readers in larger Ohio communities produced elaborate examples. By December 1887, Godey’s Lady’s Book “regretted much the time and energy spent on the most childish, and unsatisfactory of all work done with the needle, ‘crazy’ patch-work.” Rural Ohioans made simpler, woolen crazy quilts into the twentieth century.

Contained Crazy Quilt, July 5, 1888
Made by Friends of John A. Gage
Fairfield Township, Washington County
Silk, pieced, embroidered, and painted
80" wide x 80" long
H52350