Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Harriet Tubman's Shawl from Queen Victoria Donated

The beige silk and linen shawl Queen Victoria gave to Harriet Tubman was recently donated by famed collector and expert on the Underground Railroad Charles L. Blockson to the National Museum of African American History and Culture. In a Washington Post article Blockson shared that he was willed the the shawl and other Tubman items from Mariline Wilkins, a great grand-niece of Mrs. Tubman. Blockson is quoted in the article, "My ancestors escaped with Harriet Tubman...I was shocked... Then I prayed and put them in a vault. Then I put them under my bed and her spirit was with me." Enjoy!

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Very cool how you are able to continually share new information about historical and African American quilters and quilts. Well done with this news about Harriet Tubman!

peace, Villager

G said...

I’m a member of a lace-knitting group and someone recently posted about this shawl. We’ve been trying to figure out what pattern was used, but have come up empty, due to the low resolution photos. Do you have any more information on the shawl’s origin? Who manufactured/made it? Who was the designer?