Whether you're a textile historian, needlework enthusiast, or genealogist, understanding historical samplers opens a fascinating window into women's lives across centuries. These intricate pieces reveal stories of education, social values, and artistic development in both American and European contexts.
Want to dive deeper into sampler research? Below is a curated bibliography of essential texts that cover everything from basic identification to deep historical analysis, and I will add to it as I find more resources.
These resources can help identify dating techniques, regional styles, and historical context for samplers you may encounter. From professional embroiderers' pattern books to schoolgirl projects, each text offers unique insights into this rich textile tradition.
Whether starting your research journey or expanding your existing knowledge, these books provide invaluable reference material for understanding both American and European sampler traditions.
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Bassett, Lynne Z. "Massachusetts Schoolgirl Samplers: Their Origins and Makers, 1700-1850." Yale University Press, 2012.
Bolton, Ethel Stanwood. "American Samplers." Massachusetts Society of the Colonial Dames of America, 1921.
Browne, Clare and Jennifer Wearden. "Samplers from the Victoria and Albert Museum." V&A Publications, 2003.
Carlano, Marianne. "Early American Textiles." Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, 2007.
Clabburn, Pamela. "Samplers: Five Centuries of a Gentle Craft." Thames & Hudson, 1998.
Cooper, Grace Rogers. "The Invention of the Sewing Machine." Smithsonian Institution, 1968.
Earle, Alice Morse. "Home Life in Colonial Days." Macmillan, 1898.
Edmonds, Mary. "Samplers and Stitches: A Handbook of the Embroiderer's Art." Dover Publications, 1991.
Fischer, Marilyn. "Linens and Lace: American and European Traditional Needlework." Doubleday, 1979.
Fitzwilliam, Pauline. "American Quilts and Coverlets." Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1974.
Gardner, Joan. "Sweet Gum and Blue Stars: Memory and Making in a Colonial Virginia Sampler." UNC Press, 2009.
Harbeson, Georgiana Brown. "American Needlework: The History of Decorative Stitchery from the Late 16th to the 20th Century." Bonanza Books, 1938.
Humphrey, Carol. "Quaker School Girl Samplers from Ackworth." Needleprint, 2006.
Humphrey, Carol. "Samplers and Samplermakers: An American Schoolgirl Art 1700-1850." Thames & Hudson, 1997.
King, Donald and Santina Levey. "The Victoria and Albert Museum's Textile Collection: Embroidery in Britain from 1200 to 1750." V&A Museum, 1993.
Krueger, Glee. "New England Samplers to 1840." Old Sturbridge Village, 1978.
Lockwood, Sarah M. "Samplers: Historic Needlework from the Pennsylvania German Community." Penn State Press, 2002.
Luscomb, Sally C. "The Collector's Encyclopedia of Buttons." Bonanza Books, 1967.
Masaschi, Susan P. "Victorian Fancywork: Nineteenth-Century Needlepoint Patterns and Designs." Dover, 1986.
Parker, Rozsika. "The Subversive Stitch: Embroidery and the Making of the Feminine." Women's Press, 1984.
Purefoy, Nina. "Embroidery and Samplers from Islamic Egypt." Ashmolean Museum, 2001.
Ring, Betty. "Girlhood Embroidery: American Samplers & Pictorial Needlework, 1650-1850." Knopf, 1993.
Rogers, Gay Ann. "An Illustrated History of Needlework Tools." John Murray Publishers, 1983.
Synge, Lanto. "Art of Embroidery: History of Style and Technique." Royal School of Needlework, 2001.
Tarrant, Naomi. "The Development of Costume." Routledge, 1994.
Taylor, Lisa. "European Samplers: Cross Stitch and Other Decorative Stitches." B.T. Batsford, 1990.
Ulrich, Laurel Thatcher. "The Age of Homespun: Objects and Stories in the Creation of an American Myth." Vintage, 2002.
Van Horn, Jennifer. "The Power of Objects in Eighteenth-Century British America." UNC Press, 2017.
Waugh, Norah. "The Cut of Women's Clothes, 1600-1930." Routledge, 1968.
White, Margaret E. "American Samplers in the Collection of the Cooper-Hewitt Museum." Smithsonian Institution, 1985.
Digital Archives & Collections:
- Metropolitan Museum of Art's Textile Collection: metmuseum.org/art/collection/search#!?department=16
- Victoria & Albert Museum Samplers Database: collections.vam.ac.uk
- Winterthur Museum Digital Collection: winterthur.org/collections/online-collections
- Cooper Hewitt Sampler Collection: collection.cooperhewitt.org
Research Resources:
- The Sampler Archive Project: samplerarchive.org
- Textile Research Centre: trc-leiden.nl
Historical Society Collections:
- Massachusetts Historical Society: masshist.org/collection/textiles
- Colonial Williamsburg Foundation: history.org/history/museums/collections/textiles
#needlework #textilehistory #samplers #antiquetextiles #womenshistory #genealogy #historicalresearch #textileart #embroidery #antiquecollecting