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18th Century American Samplers

© Peggy Pechacek

A Little History

In 18th century colonial America, women's education was limited to skills that would make them good wives. Those skills included sewing and needlework. Plain sewing was necessary to make and mend household linens and clothing. For women of wealthy families, plain sewing was the first step in learning fancy needlework - the most important accomplishment of a "stylish" lady.

Samplers of the 17th century were narrow and long (known as band samplers). These samplers were used as references to learn different types of stitches. A woman might add to an existing sampler as she learned a new stitch, then refer to it later as needed. By the 18th century, samplers became wider and shorter until they were often square or wide rectangles.

The image at left, courtesy of The Scarlet Letter, is a needlework picture stitched by Mary Gail in 1788. Click on the image for more information about this sampler.

Sewing schools for young girls (ranging between 6 and 16 years) became popular during the 18th century. Most girls would work two samplers. A simple marking sampler of the alphabet was usually done in cross stitch. This was in preparation for marking initials on linens and clothing. Then, a fancy sampler and/or a needlework picture would be done. Needlework pictures were elaborately done, generally in tent stitch without verses or alphabets. Fancy samplers would combine a picture with an alphabet or verse and were executed using a variety of complex stitches. Most samplers of this time include the name of the stitcher and the date completed. These projects were often very involved and took months to complete. The samplers became prized possessions, showing off a girl's accomplishment and skill. The families would have them framed and displayed with great pride.

More Sampler History

See the following sites for more historical accounts of samplers:

• History of Embroidery in America
• Simply Samplers
• The Sampler Site
• 2 Busy Stitching
• Rob Firth's Exemplum Sampler page

Collector's Items

Antique samplers are very popular among collectors as described in this 1997 BusinessWeek article. In 1996, the needlework picture stitched by Hannah Otis in 1753 sold at Sotheby's auction for $1.15 million. The March 1996 Maine Antique Digest describes the event.

There are online sites that deal in antique samplers. These are great sites to visit just to see examples of the needlework of early America. The prices for antique samplers depend on such factors as condition, age, and how detailed it is.

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