Customer Reviews

Samplers (Shire Collections)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It's my pleasure to write the first review here because not only is it well-written, it includes truly remarkable original research and connections I've never heard of before. How delightful that for the Preface, the author has located a lovely sampler by a namesake, Rebecca Scott, dated November 1, 1790 with this verse:

"Two things. the needle and the book we find,

HeLP to accomPLish all the female kind.

The shineing needle draws the fine sPun thread

Bedecks the Person and adorns the head.

Since neatness gives the charms that all commend

The needle is the female choiest frend."

(Who needed proper spelling in the 18th century when your embroidery is filled with charming motifs and expertly stitched?)

The author walks us through 3 centuries of samplers with special emphasis on the origins of the designs and the sources of mass stitching such as the girls' schools in both England and America. We've seen many of these gloriously photographed examples but the author has done an exhaustive search to uncover new facts about them.

Then Ms. Scott has a whole chapter on something I've never seen before: Samplers of the Poor. Orphans', prisoners' and females in other countries' samplers are shown and described in great detail. The most fascinating photo in the book, to me, is a hair sampler (ew...but they were popular for a time) on page 87. How did she discover that a drunk named Annie Parker spent most of her life in jail but was a model prisoner and, with her luxurious head of hair, made beautiful stitched and crocheted pieces of art? She gave the one pictured to the prison doctor the day she died at age 35! There are also "punishment" stitched pieces similar to the scarlet letter "A" which a child had to wear proclaiming she was "inattentive during prayers" or a thief.

Remarkable book. Highly recommended.