Watched Antique Road Show today and a gentleman had a vintage quilt.
The expert says it was made around 1850 and called the Baltimore blocks .A few women worked on it together so each block had been stitched a little differently. Now this is what surprised me....It's value was $ 5000-$7000 dollars.Wow!

But... if it had NOT been washed it was worth between $8000-12,000!! It had puckering from being washed.

The expert told him to insure it!!

We always knew what we did had great value in many ways (smile). Thank you so much for sharing this.

I saw that same show and I thought to myself that it was a bunch of hooey! How many quilts made in 1850 have never been washed?? I think ALL of the antique quilts I've ever seen have the soft, puckered look of being washed a hundred times!

I think the Baltimore album quilts were mainly made as showpieces. They were appliqued with minute care and took a long time to make. I will bet the original maker never washed it, just used it on the guest bed as a conversation piece, then folded it up and put it away when company was actually going to sleep in the bed.

That's amazing!