More Eagles for Ideas

 Eagle and Stars Center Medallion,

Martha Randall Chesebrough, ca. 1808, 99” x 93”

Collection of the Fennimore Art Museum

This eagle quilt,  similar to others from the first decades of the 19th century, will be on display through the end of the year at the Farmer's Museum in Cooperstown, New York.

Unfolding Stories: Culture and Tradition in American Quilts "organized by renowned quilt scholar Jacqueline M. Atkins, the Fenimore Art Museum for the first time in over 15 years will display selections from its large collection of quilts. The exhibition will address themes of diversity, ethnicity and culture. Also included are the three award-winning quilts from the 2010 New York State of Mind Quilt Show." Through December 31, 2011.
Click here for more:

http://www.farmersmuseum.org/node

Here's one from the collection of the Benton County Historical Museum in Oregon. Again it's an interpretation of the Great Seal of the U.S. with a combination of cut-out chintz applique (in the border blocks) and conventional applique in the eagle and stars. See their post on it here:

 http://www.bentoncountymuseum.org/horner/artifact.cfm?id=29

" Label on back, bottom right: 'Aunt Maggie gave this 1918 over 100 years old.' "

If Aunt Maggie is right the quilt would be from the teens. The fabric is very worn and the photos don't give us enough detail to determine the age but the quilt could be a souvenir from the patriotic wave of the War of 1812. Or it could be a "Union quilt" from the Civil War era, fifty years later.

Scroll through their collection which features several nice quilts, including another early example, a cut-out chintz medallion with a Greek key border.

http://www.bentoncountymuseum.org/horner/artifact.cfm?id=40

This last one is from an online auction a while back.

Could be early---I see no fabric or patchwork ideas in this snapshot that conflict with a "first quarter of 19th century date" although a detailed examination might reveal those pink and brown prints are late-19th century.