Victorian Crazy Quilt Boot

The decades between 1860 and the beginning of the twentieth century were a time of great change in the lives of Americans. People were leaving their remote farms to make new lives in the cities, the Industrial Revolution was in full swing, Darwin had initiated a whole new era of scientific thought, Dickens wrote his famous A Christmas Carol, and Queen Victoria’s sentimental and romantic taste dictated the style and fashion of home decorating. A new middle class was emerging, and for the first time, leisure activities became part of daily life. Home was the center of the family, and women were eagerly reading periodicals for patterns and ideas on how to enhance the beauty of their parlors.

This article is from the November/December 2014 issue. For more information on our issues, check out our issues page.