How to Document "Boxes"
Procedures for Inventorying the Boxes' Contents
If you discover a collection of quilt ephemera:
Make a list of the contents in the order they appear in the box. Be aware of the order of the items in the box as you remove things to study. Sometimes an undated or unnamed quilt item will be identified by another piece that is next to it in the pile.
If time is limited, do a taped recording of your vocal description of the box contents. If the box owner is present, have her/him relate where and when items in the box (and the box itself) were acquired. If the quiltmaker who compiled the box is present, by all means, do a taped recording of your conversation.
Again, depending on time, photograph important pieces in the box or photocopy items with the owner's permission.
Soon after the box documentation session, review the list and notes you have made. Transcribe the tape-recording.
Use a Boxes Under the Bed™ Inventory of Contents Form checklist to catalog and sort the materials. This checklist can be opened, downloaded, and printed out in three different formats.
Finally, try to determine the range of years the box was compiled. As you complete your documentation be sure to list the owner's name as well as the compiler.
To add even more value to the information you are gathering, describe the box in a paragraph giving as much information as possible: date, compiler's name, place, and general types of quilt ephemera. Note the special aspects of the collection.
The Relative Importance of Quilt Ephemera
All quilt ephemera is important on one level or another, but some types deserve special notice due to their rarity.
A local newspaper clipping with a date and photo that pertains to a quilt, quiltmaker, or quilting group is a rare and important finding.
An exhibit catalog with a small print run is rare and important because it might contain quilt photos and information about rarely seen quilts.
Quilters' scrapbooks are usually very rich sources of localized information.
Letters and diaries with references to quilts and quilting are also valuable documents--especially ones pertaining to nationally known quiltmakers.
When is a large comprehensive collection not so important on a national level?
Let's take the example of the Kansas City Star patterns. Round robin collectors in the 1960s and 70s were particularly keen on collecting the full set of patterns. All have been indexed and republished by various individuals and organizations in the Midwest. If you come upon a scrapbook or box of original Kansas City Star clippings from the 1930s, their relative importance on the national or regional level are next to nil-unless you happen to find the ONE elusive pattern that people are searching for in your region! However, if the clippings were the source of patterns a quiltmaker used and her quilts are still owned by the family's descendants, these clippings are very important at the individual, and therefore local, level. When in doubt as to the importance of a collection, the best thing to do is to document what you find while you are there to see and study it. You may never have a second chance to do so.