Sorry I don't have any tips for construction, but I did find this block in Jenny Beyer's "Quilter's Album of Patchwork Patterns", on page 383. It is called "Block and Ring Quilt" and also called "A Friendship Quilt". According to Jenny B., the first appeared as a Nancy Page pattern in the "Detroit Press" in 1933; the latter appeared in the "Kansas City Star" in 1945. Hope this solves at least one part of this mystery. Hope you will find constrction tips from others on this board.