Sampler
Maker
Sarah Smedley
Period1788
MediumPlied wool thread and plied silk thread on open weave linen
Dimensions16.25 × 10.5 in. (41.3 × 26.7 cm)
SignedThe sampler is signed "Sarah Smedley her Sampler" and dated 1788.
ClassificationsNeedlework
Credit LineGift of Mrs. Julia Hartshorne Trask, 1946
Object number2084.7
DescriptionA rectangular sampler of open-weave natural linen, retaining a selvedge along the right edge and narrow hemmed edges along the top, left, and right sides. A combination of plied wool and plied silk threads have been used, with the majority of the stitching in wool. The wool thread colors include scarlet, clear red, cerise, coral, hot pink, pale pink, purple, dark navy blue, sky blue, turquoise, forest green, olive green, ochre, lemon yellow, and white. The plied silk threads appear in forest green, brown, pale yellow, and off-white. All embroidery is done using either cross stitch or Algerian eyelet stitch. Along the top of the sampler, four stylized cheddar pink flowers, worked in wool thread, are flanked by single small floral motifs worked in silk thread on either end. Below, a half-inch upper case alphabet runs from A through R on the first line, and S through Z followed by numerals 1 through 9 on the second line. The alphabet does not include the letters J or U. Below the alphabet is worked an elaborate one-and-a-half-inch wide stylized scroll and panel band. Under the band is a second alphabet, a half-inch upper case from A through P on the first line and Q through Z on the second. In this alphabet, the letter J is not included, but the letter U does appear. Immediately following the letter Z are two pairs of initials, "GS" and "PS." Another decorative band follows, this one featuring a vine of tiny red flowers. Beneath this band, a large one-inch upper case alphabet worked in Algerian eyelet runs from A through H on the first line, I through R on the second line, without the letter J. Small decorative bands also separate the individual rows of letters. Below the last alphabet, the verse, inscription, motifs, and border are all worked in silk thread. The verse "Firft give to God the flower of thy youth / take for thy guide the blessed word of truth" is worked on two lines, with the words "youth," "truth," and "word" squeezed in along the right edge. Below is the signature line "Sarah Smedley her Sampler," followed by a single diamond spacer motif. A final lower case alphabet from a through x runs below. Along the very bottom of the sampler is a large strawberry vine variation, worked in silk thread with small central tufts of wool thread. The year "17" and "88" is worked in the left and right corners respectively, with a tiny single heart and a tiny diamond as spacer motifs. The entire sampler is border by a single row of cross stitching.Curatorial RemarksThe deceptively simple appearance of Sarah Smedley's 1788 sampler, with its faded wool and silk threads, reveals its original brilliant color scheme when examined on the reverse. There, the vibrant jewel tones give the viewer an idea of what the sampler looked like when Sarah first completed it. The noticeable whitish accretions along the very edges of the sampler's back are residue from the sampler's being glued to a cardboard backing while framed at some point in its history. It is not known where Sarah learned her needlework skills. By 1788, Sarah's design, with its alphabets interspersed with decorative wide and narrow bandings, reflects an earlier embroidery tradition, much closer to seventeenth century English band samplers than the more stylish and up-to-date needlework panels being produced in American city centers and surrounding environs. It may be that Sarah's embroidery instructress was elderly, and was teaching the skills she learned as a girl. Advertisements appearing in early American newspapers indicate that it was common for women, including widows and older females, to offer classes within their homes to small groups of children in order to earn an income. It may well be that Sarah attended one such school, learning her needlework there. It is also possible that Sarah was taught by her own mother, who died the same year Sarah completed her sampler. It is interesting to note that Sarah used a wide variety of colored threads in both wool and silk, even combining the two into the bottom border of her panel. Like many young sampler makers, fourteen-year-old Sarah had difficulty in fitting her verse into the space allotted. She squeezed "youth," "truth," and "word" at the end of her lines by reducing the letter size and stacking the words above one another. Sarah's selected verse appeared on other samplers of the time period, and is listed in Ethel Stanwood Bolton and Eva Johnston Coe, American Samplers (Boston: Thomas Todd Publishers for The Massachusetts Society of the Colonial Dames of America, 1921), 302.NotesThe young girl who worked this sampler in 1788 could be Sarah Smedley of Chester County, Pennsylvania, although the name is also a common one in England. Sarah was born on 28 February 1774 at Chester, Delaware County (originally a part of Chester County), the third of nine children of Quakers Ambrose Smedley (1745 - 1820) and Mary Taylor (1749 - 1788). Sarah's mother died in childbirth in 1788, the same year that the sampler was made. Apparently unmarried, Sarah Smedley died on 1 September 1837. The initials "GS" and "PS" on the sampler could refer to her siblings George Smedley (1778 - 1786) and Phebe Smedley (1779 - 1801). If, however, the sampler was worked by another girl of the same name in England or America, the intials might well refer to her parents. So far, no Sarah Smedley with parents bearing those initials has been identified.
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