Page 31 - JOA August 2020

At Right: Massachusetts
family register sampler,
genealogy/verse, signed
“Wrought by Mary A.
Cheever Attleborough July
1817 Aged 11 years; below
signature: Blessed are the
dead that die in the Lord
from henceforth. Yea, saith
the/ spirit that they may rest
from their labours, and their
works do follow them,”
silk/cotton on cotton,
17 ³⁄8 x 16”,
courtesy www.metmuseum.org

British, silk/metal thread/paper/hair/mica on wool, 14¼ x 17¼”,
inscribed Harriot Holt Ended This 1808,” courtesy www.metmuseum.org

to some, these appear identical, additions of biblical motifs, moral verses, groups of
initials (possibly of fellow students), and the occasional image of a small, single
elephant, distinguish one from the next. initials, with admirable precision. In fact, these Quaker
Because British stitchery was so popular, a relatively large number of samplers, school graduates became some of the best needle-
tucked away in trunks, chests, or beneath the eaves of old garrets, have survived intact. women of the 19th century. Since American samplers
Students attending Colonial American “dame schools,” some as young as are far rarer than English ones, they are generally
six, struggled to coax crude woolen thread into simple cross stitches more valuable. Since most were made along
across homespun, a fabric more suited to youthful hands than linen. the Atlantic Seaboard and throughout
So their samplers often featured uneven corners, lopsided images, New England, those from Southern
and crooked borders. Spelling errors were common as well. states are most collectible.
Furthermore, some pieces were left at loose ends – unfinished. Around 1850, as the craze for
Since schoolmarms often favored particular motifs, chose garish Berlin wool work and
designs, sketched them, then supervised their creation, canvas needlework, combined
there was little room left for girlish imagination. As a with the advent of machine-
result, all samplers from a particular school, in Newport, made products, the age of
Rhode Island, or Newburyport, Massachusetts for samplers drew to a close.
example, might exhibit identical stitchery and
content. Seen as a whole, they illuminate the lives of early What To Look For
American schoolgirls. Studied individually, however, American and English
they may reveal local customs, mores, as well as samplers dating from the
personal family histories. 1600s are generally held
Pennsylvania’s Westtown Quaker School, like its in private collections or
British counterparts, also embraced the sampler tradition. museums. Later ones,
Very plain, practical marking and alphabet samplers were however, still surface in flea
most common. Yet from the early 1800s, many students, like markets, antique stores, at
eleven-year-old Rebecca Marsh, rendered restrained, distinctive auction, and in estate sales.
designs, featuring symmetrical floral spot motifs and classmates’
A sampler’s age, however, may be
less critical than its condition, detail,
and design.
Vibrantly hued, pictorial ones are more col-
Above: British map lectible, for example, than those featuring simple num-
sampler, inscribed “Worked bers or alphabets, even if they are intricately stitched.
by my grandchilde/ Rebeka Clear, charming, recognizable motifs—especially ones
Wheeler aged 17/ Worcester that are unusual—also add value. So does stitching that
1822,” silk on wool, reveals the age and name of their creators, along
7½ x 15”,
with their locations and dates of completion. Samplers
courtesy www.metmuseum.org
that feature personalized inscriptions are particularly
endearing. And a having personal connection to a
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX sampler, of course, enhances its value in the eyes of
its beholder.
Though many consider undated, anonymous
At Left: Early 19th century samplers less desirable, their styles and designs, if
British sampler: “The researched at local libraries, genealogical, and historic
Pleasures of Religion/ Tis societies, may reveal their origins.
religion that can give/ Moreover, peeks at their reverse sides may, through
sweetest pleasures while we their degrees of neatness and quality of stitches, offer
live/ tis relig...” (unfinished), tantalizing hints about their creators. These too give
silk on linen, 11¾ x 12½”,
voice to lives once lived.
courtesy www.metmuseum.org
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX THE END XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

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