Originally Posted by
JustRetired
I think this may be a cigar ribbon quilt. Prior to the advent of cedar boxes, cigars were sold tied in bunches with ribbons bearing brand names; thousands of brands existed in the 19th-early 20th centuries. Victorian-Edwardian periodicals showed quiltmakers how to reuse the ribbons in decorative household accents, most often pillows or tablemats ranging in size from about 20" to 36" Larger quilts are rare.
I had not heard of cigar ribbon quilts, so thank you for bringing that bit of history to my attention. It's fascinating that quilters have been making things out of whatever is available for generations, kind of like the Crown Royal bag quilts.
Reading up on the cigar ribbons, it appears that they were usually only 3/4" wide, and had the cigar company's name on them. (And that reminds me of making a quilt with fabric selvages.) The strips in this quilt appear to be about 2" wide and don't have any writing, so I don't think it's made from cigar ribbons. But now I'm wondering if those strips are some other type of wider ribbon. I found a quilt on ebay made with horse show ribbons, and while part of the ribbon had printing, much of it did not. Maybe this is something similar?