Sampler
- Object Name:
- Sampler
- Object ID:
- 1944.005
- Creator:
- Foster, Mary (1774-1869)
- Place of Origin:
- Canterbury, NH
- Date:
- 1787
- Description:
- Sampler. Made by Mary (Polly) Foster (1774-1869), Canterbury, NH; 1787. Embroidery on linen with alphabets and borders in cross-stitch, lower border has basket of flowers, birds and trees in polychrome silks. Legend: "Polly Foster her sampler wrought in the thirteenth year of her age A.D. 1787". This is the first sampler to exhibit paired leaves hovering over the central basket or vase, a motif that was to become a hallmark of the Canterbury style. It also includes, in addition to the large, paired birds (here one male, one female), small songbirds in flight, a detail that appears regularly thereafter. Framed. Stitches used: Cross stitch, Algerian eye stitch, Whip stitch, Buillon stitch, Chain stitch, Tent stitch, Hem stitch, Outline stitch, Flat stitch.
- Material:
- Textile
- Dimensions:
- W-17.25 L-16.25 inches
- Provenance:
- Made by Mary (Polly) (Foster) Gerrish (1774-1869) of Canterbury, NH. She was the great-grandmother of the donor, Vienna D. Pierson (1853-1952).
- Credit Line:
- Gift of Vienna D. Pearson
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