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| New England Linsey Woolsey / Calamanco Whole Cloth Quilt, c. 1800 |
Back when I first discovered eBay, more than ten years ago, I used to get a big rush when bidding in the last moments of an auction. As I entered my one sniper bid hoping to win without paying too much, my heart raced as I clicked the bid button and refreshed the screen. It was an exhilarating moment, but since then, it's really become routine. I've won 100% of the eBay auctions I've bid on for several years running, and I can't recall the last time I didn't win.
But Live Auctioneers is relatively new to me, and I've never bid on any auctions through their site until this week. Sue Reich had notified me about a quilt to be auctioned off at the end of the month, and that got me poking around. There aren't a lot of quilts, but I found a rare one listed as a coverlet. It's a tan New England Linsey Woolsey / Calamanco Whole Cloth Quilt, T-shaped for a four-post bed, made around 1800. It was being auctioned through Pook & Pook.
Quilts like this don't come around very often, so I bid to win, and win I did. As the bids climbed from $150 to almost $1000, I wasn't sure my bids were going through, but at $1100 I ended up the high bidder. It was over in an instant, and once again, I had that exhilarated feeling! Can't wait to see this old, rare quilt in person. I could tell from the picture, it's a keeper. What a lucky day Friday the 13th was this year!
Congratulations!
ReplyDeleteThank you. Can't wait to get some better pictures. The quilting is divine.
ReplyDeleteI cannot wait to see more close ups of those feathers. They are my kind of feathers and am possibly even more excited than you to see more of this beauty!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful quilt! There is very similar strippy Quaker quilt at Winterthur. It reminds me that soon the new book on the connection between Welsh and Amish Quilting will be on my shelf.
ReplyDeleteRe LAuctioneers -- Yikes, now you are sneaking around looking over my shoulder there too. Is nothing sacred? Happy hunting!
Congrats - it really is beyond divine. Please make sure to let us know when you take some more detailed pics - I am drooling already!
ReplyDeleteYou described my feelings as I bid on ebay all those years ago..... never did get into live autions... a bit scarey to me.... looks like you are on to something new.... or at least one new quilt we all want to see more of.
ReplyDeleteWill post more pictures as soon as the quilt is here.
ReplyDelete@ Sandra- LOL! I think people have been keeping Live Auctioneers a secret from me until now. Wouldn't it be great to actually attend the auctions in person? I learned a lot from watching. It's the first time I've bid live on a quilt in a real auction other than eBay. It was fun seeing the furniture and decorative objects, needlework samplers, etc. I saw one piece of furniture skyrocket up to $95,000!!
Anxious to see if there are any numbers on it. My linsey woolsey has initials in the quilting and the same initials and the number 2 in tiny cross stitch on the back.
ReplyDeleteVery nice Bill! it looks like an amazing quilt!!
ReplyDeleteThere are a few things I'm eager to see. I'm presuming it's a knife-edge binding, but haven't seen the detail. No idea what the back fabric is. Will look for numbers, initials or other messages in the quilting. Eager to see the weave of the fabric, and feel it. Also eager to see the signs of age, which I love. Initials and date would be amazing, but we'll have to wait and see. One of my very old pieced wool quilts has tiny cross-stitch initials on one block, tucked discreetly in the corner. Didn't really notice it until well after I'd bought the quilt.
ReplyDeleteOh so incredible to see this one close-up! Great find!
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