Rebekah White Sampler

Embroidered sampler, 1766 Rebekah White (American, born ca. 1753) Salem, Massachusetts Silk on linen; 16 1/2 x 17 1/4 in. (41.91 x 43.82 cm) Inscribed: [two full alphabets, two partial alphabets] / Rebekah White Wroug / ht This is The 13th Ye / ar of Her Age 1766 The pastoral courting scene embroidered beneath the lettering on this sampler relates to the more formal tent-stitch needlework pictures created by Boston girls during this decade. Salem samplers are characterized by long filling stitches made from untwisted silk floss. This early sampler is one of a small group made in the school of an unknown teacher who may have introduced this technique, which remained popular in Salem into the nineteenth century.

Date: 1766