Milford chronicle., 1951-01-26
Sampler Exhibit
AT State Museum

Last week at the Delaware State
Museum in Dover a special loan
exhibit Of Delaware Samplers omen
with preview by Friends Of old
Dover. A talk: "Stitchery by Girls
of Long Ago" was given by Miss
Helen S. Johnson, the Museum
Curator.
The Exhibition which will con-
tinue to March 14th has been as
sembled by the following Commit
tee: Mrs. NJ Hayes Wilson. Jr..
Chairman, Miss Muriel Scbwartz
Mrs. Horsey Lea, Mrs. Max Terry.
MRS. Paul Kellogg, Miss Alice
Brown, and Walter Lehman. From
all over Delaware the Committee
nave collected needlewOrk execut-
ed by grandmothers and great
great grandmothers Of the lenders.
Visitors to the Museum have an
opportunity to see how girls from
SIX to sixteen occupied themselves
IN school and out. In early dame
schools the primary pupils learned
AbC's from Horn Books and later
transferred them to cross stitch
samplers. The majority Of sampl-
ers that have come down to us
however, were done by older girls
IN finishing schools, often called
select female seminaries. We know
Irom Advertisements in early news
papers Of the subjects offered at
private schools. A Wilmington pap
er OF 1916 notified the public that
Margaret Morton of 215 Market
Street taught "draying, tambour-
ing, marking, plain sewing. and a
variety of kinds of needlework:
also reading, writing, English,
Grammar, etc" In many of the
samplers on display at the Musem
the child has recorded the name Of
the school or the name of the teac@
ner under whom the work was
done. Fwo of the little girls had
oeen sent to Philadelphia to Mrs.
brodeau's and Mrs. Capron's
schools. In the last few years of
me 18th century the Capron School
moved to Wilmington where IL
lOurished. While attending the
Wilmington Boarding school eleven
years old Martha Taylor stitched
ner alphabet sampler. One little |
Quakeress made hers while attend
ng the Southern Boarding School
- Smyrna. In Lewes both Mrs.
Thompson's and Mrs. Bowers
schools are recorded in fani1v, ra
,ord samplers.
There are several examples of
leediework featuring vital statis-
ics Of two generations of the
NAPLES, the Paynter, the Clifton
md Marshall families. Several
iamplers record the initials of ali
he members Of a family, mostly
arge ones.
Executed on homespun linen in.
loft colored silk, Cross stitch which
ends itself well to the rigid warp
md watt threads of cloth, is the
ayorite stitch. But strawberries
we're usually made in queen stitch.
md Sleeps wool in bullion stitch,
While satin stitch lent itself best to
,rass ald clouds.
Before the American Revolution
'astoral scenes with shepherds
md shepherdesses, sheep and
ogs, trees and other outdoor ele-
nents engaged the attention of
many school girls. The fact that the
heep are as big as the house and
he birds on the tree large enough
o break it down mattered not a
ut. These spirited scenes must
ave been much more fun than
multiple alphabets.
The school mistresses. seem to
ave held the girls rigidly on the
rescribed "stint" of alphabets.
verses, and borders on
he upper part of the canvas. On
ne lower area an opportunity for
rec choice was probably looked
onward to and enjoyed thoroughly
'lants and animals, crowns, angels
carts and other gay motifs com
for the serious and moral
one of many Of the verses stitched !.
q tiny letters in the center of the
ectangle. While God doth spare
or death prepare" Is a sample of
he notices used.
While original samplers in Eng
and and America were strictly
attern books for preservation of
order designs for future use (ex-
cuted by gentlewomen with great
by the 18th century
hese "samcloths" were in the
ands of the young, and served as
atterns books of letters for mork-
lg the hope chest linen. Many a
9th century household treasures
heets and other linen heirlooms
marked with petite
lue cross stitch monograms. ta-
en- direct from the ancestress's
Viewing the exhibit at the Mu-
cum one cannot help but contrast
he lift of girls of today with that
{ several generations ago. The
Nenty-six samplers on display !
Tier a revealing glimpse into fem
line lives of another time. We
ave few enough opportunities to
omprehend the way Of life that is !
one.
A gallery talk: "Stitchery BY /
little Girls of Long Ago" will be
lyen at $3.50 on Sunday, February
lth at the Museum.
The January aPlant of tn e j
lonth," display in the window of
le original circular staircase of
le old Presbyterian Church is an I
arrangement Of Cedar and Bayber-
z both native to Delaware. Mrs.
Paul Jones, Mrs. Harry HaIlo- Il
ay and Mrs. Harry Mayer formed
le committee. III
Visitor may visit the Museum at iii
IS So. Governors Avenue, Dover
week davs lnxcont Alnnnaa Lll