In the middle of the nineteenth century, the pattern books and needlework instruction sheets were available through Harper's Bazaar, Ladies Home Journal and other fashion publications. Except as practice pieces, a homemade reference of individual needlework samples was no longer needed. The form has now become an important part of society, a symbol of home, hearth and most of all, feminine accomplishment. The completion of a needlework picture was considered the crowning achievement of a girl's education. A beautifully finished needlework picture was the parents' proof that they had invested wisely in educating their daughter. In addition, these objects, were meant to be framed and hung as decoration in the most important rooms of the house, were clear signals to potential suitors that the young ladies who had sewn them were accomplished, refined and ready for marriage.
Samplers, especially those of English and Dutch origin, often appear in the textile auctions in London. Prices for fine quality American schoolgirl samplers reached new highs. The highest sold at auction was one of stylized motifs, birds, animals and a large central building with a verse. Anna Braddock stitched it at the tender age of twelve in 1826 while she was at the Westtown School in Burlington County, New Jersey. This was sold at auction for a whopping price of $145,500. A sampler by Anna's sister, Jemima, is in the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Recommended reading:
American Samplers, Bolton and Coe; Pyne Press
Girlhood Embroidery, Ring
Here are two web-sites that feature beautiful "Samplers"
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