bedspreads & coverlets
hidden in plain view a secret story of quilts and the underground railroad
the fascinating story of a friendship a lost tradition and an incredible discovery revealing how enslaved men and women made encoded quilts and then used them to navigate their escape on the underground railroad . br a groundbreaking work . emerge br in hidden in plain view historian jacqueline tobin and scholar raymond dobard offer the first proof that certain quilt patterns including a prominent one called the charleston code were in fact essential tools for escape along the underground railroad . in 1993 historian jacqueline tobin met african american quilter ozella williams amid piles of beautiful handmade quilts in the old market building of charleston south carolina . with the admonition to write this down williams began to describe how slaves made coded quilts and used them to navigate their escape on the underground railroad . but just as quickly as she started williams stopped informing tobin that she would learn the rest when she was ready . during the three years it took for williamss narrative to unfold and as the friendship and trust between the two women grew tobin enlisted raymond dobard ph.d. an art history professor and well known african american quilter to help unravel the mystery . br part adventure and part history hidden in plain view traces the origin of the charleston code from africa to the carolinas from the low country island gullah peoples to free blacks living in the cities of the north and shows how three people from completely different backgrounds pieced together one amazing american story .
reveals the secret codes woven by african american slaves into quilts providing directions to those traveling north on the underground railroad .