2011 Quilt Calendars

Cyril Nelson 1927-2005

It's the time of the year to lament the passing of Cyril Nelson and his great Quilt Engagement Calendar series.

Every year for 20 or more years quiltlovers would scour the bookstores for next year's desk calendar (there was no internet I will remind you.)

Nelson edited the calendars for Dutton, finding absolutely terrific quilts from all the New York dealers.

He bought a few himself as he was a great collector of antiques and folk art.

Collection of the American Folk Art Museum,

gift of Cyril Irwin Nelson in loving memory of his grandparents

 John Williams and Sophie Anna Macy, 1984.33.1

This pieced calimanco (glazed wool sateen) quilt from about 1800 is from his collection. He donated over a hundred pieces of folk art, including many textiles, to the American Museum of Folk Art in New York City. The Museum has declared this the Year of the Quilt and two shows featuring some of his donation are up in Manhattan now. It's always a treat to see the quilts that were featured in the Quilt Engagement Calendar up on the wall. It's like seeing a celebrity in person.
See more by clicking here: http://www.folkartmuseum.org/masterworkquilts
 
We pored over the calendars, which seemed to be a catalog of the best quilts ever made with some of the best photos available at the time. The old calendars are very collectible right now, so keep an eye out for them at garage sales, etc. You can also find the book that Nelson and Carter Houck wrote featuring selected quilts from over the years.
 

But the problem at hand is:

Without Cyril Nelson where can we find 2011 calendars with antique quilts?

Here are a few suggestions:

For an engagement calendar with weekly photos you'll want the Victoria and Albert Museum's Diary 2011 (Americans would call it a desk calendar)

The photos are from the 2010 exhibition at the V and A. Although it's a British publication, you can easily find it through American distributors. Here's some of their description.

The diary illustrates a selection of quilts from the exhibition and also includes some previously unseen images including reverse sides plus sewing equipment such as needles, étuis and other ephemera....

For wall calendars you have two options. Lang has annually published a calendar featuring the collection at Colonial Williamsburg. This year's edition has a good selection of antique quilts.

The American Folk Art Museum's collection of Amish quilts (some undoubtedly donated by Cyril Nelson) is featured in a calendar from Pomegranate publishing.

If you are looking for a calendar with contemporary quilts you'll find many by doing an internet search for the words Quilt Calendar 2011. But those with antique quilts are a little harder to find.

To read Cy Nelson's obituary in the New York Times, click here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/22/arts/design/22nelson.html