Delectable Mountains, about 1920
Cottons
Kentucky
81 x 69 in.
Collection of Eleanor Bingham Miller L2010.42.11


Rather than dividing the quilt's surface into a flat-looking grid, patterns like Delectable Mountains use concentric rectangles to create three dimensional effects. The pattern's name comes from the English author John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress, which was first published in 1678. Bunyan's religious allegory depicts the pilgrimage towards salvation. His "delectable mountains" offer refuge and refreshment to the pilgrims.