TEACHING THE SOLAR SYSTEM
The Solar System quilt is a testament to Ellen Harding Baker's (1847–1886) perseverance of finding ways to express herself and her interests given the constraints imposed on women in the 19th century. Quilt making, the study of astronomy, and teaching were all deemed acceptable activities for women at the time but not activities easily combined.
Taking seven years to make, Baker began stitching the wool-appliqué quilt in 1876, taking inspiration from illustrations of the solar system found in several astronomy textbooks from the 1860s, as well as from her own viewing of the skies at the original Dearborn Observatory in Chicago. Baker used the quilt as a visual aid for lectures she gave on astronomy in the Iowa towns of West Branch, Moscow, and Lone Tree.........................................
Taking seven years to make, Baker began stitching the wool-appliqué quilt in 1876, taking inspiration from illustrations of the solar system found in several astronomy textbooks from the 1860s, as well as from her own viewing of the skies at the original Dearborn Observatory in Chicago. Baker used the quilt as a visual aid for lectures she gave on astronomy in the Iowa towns of West Branch, Moscow, and Lone Tree.........................................
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