A call to embroiderers, designers, and collectors of samplers

Samplers: Museum Exhibition of Historical & Contemporary Needlework

Benton County Historical Society presents a juried exhibition of hand stitched samplers, from March 11-April 30, 2011.

The museum will showcase some of its 18th and 19th century American samplers. To accompany these historic items, embroiderers, designers, and collectors are being asked to submit their creations for exhibition. These can be original historical samplers, original design contemporary samplers, reproductions of historic samplers, or samplers simply displaying a variety of stitches.

All must be hand embroidered. Typically, samplers can include mottoes, alphabets, landmarks, personalization, and a variety of other features. Samplers often (but not necessarily) incorporate a variety of stitches.

Look for submission deadlines and other details on the museum web site: www.bentoncountymuseum.org/samplers

1829 Sampler in museum collection

We are planning an exhibition of needlework samplers to be held next spring. Walter Frankel and Sabriena Michaud have been researching 18th and 19th century samplers from the museum collection. Also, Lynne Anderson, of the international scholarly Sampler Consortium supplied us with this great information about one of our samplers:

Mary Brightwell Fitz Randolph

Born: May 27, 1813 in Redstone, PA

Married: March 1, 1831 to Strickler Forry (born about 1810 to Jacob and Samantha Forry)

Died: August 3, 1834 in Redstone, PA

Father: Stephan Fitz Randolph (born Feb 17, 1772 Perth Amboy, Middlesex, New Jersey to Thomas Fitz Randolph & Abigail Vail.

Married to Pamela Nutt on July 14, 1797 in Redstone, PA. Died 1849.)

Mother: Pamela (Permelia) Nutt (born April 10, 1780 in Redstone, PA to Adam Nutt and Tryphenia Ann Vernon. Died May 10, 1857.

Notes: Mary’s sampler has an alphabet, verse, and motifs that indicate it was stitched under the direction of a teacher who was a Quaker. She was 16 when she completed the sampler: the Quaker way of indicating age begins during the first year. At day 1, an infant is in the first year of his/her life. So, when someone is in the 17^th year of their life, they are actually only 16.

Redstone, Fayette County, PA is about 40 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, PA.