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Quilt Notes: also called SPOOLS, this version of SECRET DRAWER (#2), set on a 12 x 12 grid, is illustrated in Rhoda Ochser Goldberg's QUILTING AND PATCHWORK DICTIONARY, 1998 (p.213).
The secret part of the drawer is the narrow panel at the front or back, as illustrated left — compare with a fascinating photo of a drawer with secret compartments at Wikipedia (new window) and explained as follows:
"A spring and latch mechanism holds the wooden panel in place, concealing two small drawers beneath the pen and inkwell compartments. Once the latch is released... the wooden panel springs out and can be removed completely."
An original 1938 Carrie Hall SECRET DRAWER block, set on an 8 x 8 grid with much wider insets (illustrated right, and looking more like SPOOLS) is available online at the Spencer Museum of Art. Barbara Brackman's ENCYCLOPEDIA (#2804) traces the pattern back to the Kansas City Star, 1930, and aligns it with other designs based on variations of this same layout of five squared diamonds, and including at this site:
CHUCK-A_LUCK
SARAH'S FAVORITE
OLD FASHIONED PIECED BLOCK
TOAD IN A PUDDLE
NEXT-DOOR NEIGHBOR
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SECRET DRAWER
