Emma Merkesell’s Large Hand Appliquéd Tulips Linen Quilt Square, Signed, 19th c. alaskan but possibly gouache

but possibly gouache

with these carved and painted stars against orange grounds

In pencil on the back of is a notation of its location: 98 Hawthorne Avenue in Yorkers

and though I believe Pluto in the back was once painted

to making paper planes

Emma Merkesell’s Large Hand Appliquéd Tulips Linen Quilt Square, Signed, 19th c. alaskan but possibly gouacheI find this an exceptionally beautiful thing, wonderfully bold and at the same time every bit as tender and expressive as the 19th c school girl drawings I love so much. Sewn onto the linen at lower left is a piece of ruled paper signed by an Emma Merkesell; I have done some searching and the only Merkesell I have found is an Emily Merkesell of Cass; County, Iowa, who married in 1877 it seems possible to me that that Emily could be our Emma, though I