? A stunning display of over 50 colored plates, with additional details?Features an essay on the history and social context by leading quilt scholar Rod Kiracofe?Accompanied an exhibition at the Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian American Art MuseumA stunning color presentation of over 50 nineteenth-century quilts made and/or lovingly transported by women and their families during the great migration west. Going West: Quilts and Community Along the Trail accompanied a major exhibition which opened in October 2007 at the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Renwick Gallery, Washington, D.C.This striking book, with its 75 color photographs, highlights the importance of quilts and quilt-making in the lives of the frontier women. The Great Platte River Road was the principal route for America's western expansion as early as the 1830s. Pioneers heading for a new life in the Nebraska Territory packed their wagons with necessities that almost always included quilts which served an important purpose along the difficult journey. Whether used as sturdy domestic bedding along the trail or packed tenderly in the trunk, they served as a nostalgic reminder of all that had been left behind. Over 50 quilts have been chosen for this book by co-author Sandi Fox, the guest curator for this exhibition which was held at the Renwick Gallery from October 5, 2007 to January 21, 2008.