D4203

American Treasures - Quilts of Gee’s Bend, Alabama

Roman Stripes Variation ', by Loretta Pettway

Blocks and Strips ', by Annie Mae Young

Medallion ', by Loretta Pettway 

Bars and String-pieced Columns ', by Jessie T. Pettway

Collins Cover Announcement 

Gee’s Bend Quilts

Set of Three Covers with

All Ten New Stamps

Limited Quantity Produced

Gee's Bend is a former plantation located along the Alabama River. The small rural community is still mainly populated by the descendants of slaves. For years and years their quilting abilities have been passed down from one generation to the next. The quality and folk art aspects of their collective work have now caught the attention of quilt collectors, museums, and experts in the field. A few years ago, the bold colors and interesting designs caught the eye of Deny Noyes who is the art director of the U.S. Postal Service. Upon viewing them, he commented, "I was bowled over. If this isn't an American treasure, I don't know what is.  As a result, the ten colorful new stamps of this set came into existence.

The cachet designs for this set of three exceeded my expectations. They really capture the feeling of the rural Alabama community with the quilts for which the residents have become famous. The first one depicts two quilts on a clothesline. They flank a farmer who is plowing the soil with his mule. This cover sets the scene of the rural community as home of the famous Gee's Bend quilts and has two of the new stamps affixed. The second cover shows one of the young quilters who is learning the art form from her elders. She is framed by an open window and is examining a recently completed piece. Four new stamps are on this cover. The last cachet sets the geographic location as it shows a map with the now-famous community of Gee's Bend on the Alabama River. A river man poles a primitive ferry to the local landing. A lovely patchwork quilt is overlaid across the scene at the bottom of the cachet, and the remaining four stamps are used on this cover.

Numbers produced for this issue were on the low side, so be sure to order quickly if you don't want to miss three lovely and distinctive Collins covers with ten colorful Americana quilts. It is with pleasure that I announce my three covers for the Gee's Bend Quilts: Clothesline (D4201 — $13.75); Window (D4202 — $14.75); and Map (D4203 — 14.75).