The facing birds, tulips, lilies, hearts, baskets, leaves, stars, and rosettes seen on this quilt are all designs that are found on a wide array of Pennsylvania German folk art. Information received by the museum may confirm the conclusion, previously based solely on visual evidence, that the quilt was made in Pennsylvania. A descendant of a woman named Gertrude Knappenberger saw a photograph of the quilt and notified the museum that her great-great-grandmother was remembered in the family as an excellent quiltmaker. According to family information, Gertrude Knappenberger lived in Emmaus, Pennsylvania, and would have been between 60 and 70 years old in 1876, the year of the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition.

Stacy C. Hollander, "Centennial Quilt," exhibition label for QUILTS: Masterworks from the American Folk Art Museum. Stacy C. Hollander, curator. New York: American Folk Art Museum, 2010.