Needlework Samplers Reveal Stories of the Past

In 18th- and 19th-century America, education looked quite different than it does today, especially for young women. Samplers were a tool to teach letters, numbers, and basic needlework skills. Our collection of 61 samplers spans nearly 200 years, from 1700 to 1880, and several different countries: England, the United States, Holland, Haiti, France, Italy, Spain, Mexico, and Guatemala.

Most examples in our collection were made by girls between the ages of 7 and 19. The content of samplers often includes the alphabet, numbers, Bible verses or quotes, flowers and animals, and other symbols that would be significant to the maker. Although collected and displayed by museums today, the original purpose of samplers was not for decoration but rather to share knowledge. Daniello Gavito, president of the Sampler Guild of the Rockies explains, “In essence, a sampler is a tactile database by which women could reference the alphabet, numbers, or stitches to make sure in the future they would be able to replicate the lessons they had learned.”

This sampler from our collection was created by 15-year-old Polly Hix in September 1834. Zoom in to examine the different types of lettering and other designs Polly experimented with as she sewed.

In 2022, we completed a rehousing project for our samplers, creating double-sided trays so they can be viewed from the front or the back without excessive handling. According to Gavito, studying the back of samplers is essential to understanding how certain techniques are achieved.

“For samplers that incorporate dimensional stitching or padded needlework or lace, the back of the sampler is critical,” Gavito said. “Those stitches require a high degree of mathematical ability. The only way to understand how to get there is to view the back of the sampler to see how the needleworker made calculations for the design.”

In this example, created in Guatemala in 1846 by a woman named Rosa Andreu, the similarity of the front and back images demonstrate the creator’s skill.

Gavito emphasizes that viewers can learn much more than sewing techniques by studying historic samplers like the ones in the Spencer’s collection.

“Samplers speak volumes to what was going on in a society at the time they were created,” she explains. “They show how many women were first able to have access to literacy and to tell their stories.”

In addition to browsing the Spencer’s collection of samplers online, visitors can request to view samplers in one of our study centers with advanced notice.