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Wonderful vintage handmade children’s “My Quiet Book” cloth activity book.
This is an individually handmade fabric book rather than a modern mass-produced activity book. It is constructed from heavy natural-colored cloth/canvas pages bound together with red yarn through metal eyelets.
Pages feature hand-drawn and hand-lettered designs along with sewn-on interactive elements intended to keep a child quietly occupied and practice basic motor skills.
Visible activities include a felt “Buzzing Busy Bees” beehive with snaps, a fabric teepee with metal zipper labeled “Heap Big Chief!”, a hand-lettered “My Quiet Book” rhyme, and a “Count All the Beads” page with rows of colored beads sewn directly to the cloth. Other activities may be present throughout the book.
The exact maker and date are unknown. Construction, materials and design are consistent with vintage homemade quiet/activity books. Similar handmade cloth quiet books are documented from the mid-20th century, including examples attributed to the late 1960s.
CONDITION:
Vintage handmade condition with substantial age-related wear. The cloth has widespread discoloration, staining, spotting and soiling as shown. There is wear to the edges, stitching, yarn binding and activity components. Some pieces or components may be missing due to age and previous use.
The book has not been cleaned or washed and is being sold in the condition found. Please examine all photographs carefully, as they are an important part of the condition description.
A unique surviving piece of handmade childhood history and an interesting collectible for vintage toy, textile, folk art, primitive craft and children’s activity-book collectors.
