Description:
Needlework sampler done in silk embroidered on linen, which a scalloped cross-stitch cartouche with the inscription: "Wrought by Abigail F. Cook at Miss Pollina Sellon's school / Hadley. Mass AD. 1825. Ae. 10." Abigail Frank Cook (b.1815) was the daughter of Elihu Cook (1790-1867) of Hadley and Elizabeth Sparhawk Hull Cook (1793-1873) who married in 1812. There is yet no record of Miss Sellon's school, but she may be Pauline Sellon (1782-1835), the daughter of Dr. William Sellon (b.c.1753) and Jerusha Woodbury, or she may have been a niece or other relative of Dr. William F. Sellon (1786-1842) of Amherst who married Fanny Williams of Amherst in 1817. For many women in the early 19th century, a primary, personal goal was to make a good marriage, and many parts of their education were tailored to that end. Education for young girls emphasized artistic skills such as dancing, painting, and learning musical instruments as well as sewing, knitting, and embroidery. This sampler includes three cross-stitched variations of the alphabet and numbers; all of which were used to mark household linens, sheets, and towels. It also incorporates verse on the importance of the Bible, the most popular book in early New England. The sampler has five rows of alphabets and the numbers 1-10, over three verses (two side by side, one centered below): "O may the truth my mind engage / Thy Bible be my richest prize, / Jesus do thou explain the page, / And guide me from delusive lies." and "While in a world of sin and woe, / Let me not choose it as my home, / But like a stranger here below, / Look for a better world to come." and "And where my days on earth shall end, / And I go home to be no more. / Grant met eternity to spend / In praising thee - forever more." A band of flowers underscores the verses with two birds and two flowers in the indent to the left of the verse and willow tree in the right indent. The bottom of the sampler has birds perched on four trees with birds, a white dog and two small black dogs; a fruit basket in the center; a large black and white eagle-like bird; and a large black lion with a tufted mane. A woodcut of an Indian lion brought to Northampton was published in the "Northampton Gazette" on July 14-15, 1824, which may have inspired this lion. There is a sawtooth border encircling the edges; all stitches are cross except those the basket and border stitches that are Algerian eyelet. Historic Deerfield owns an earlier sampler with similar design elements made by another school girl, Jerusha West (1795-1889), 2019.12.
Label Text:
Abigail F. Cook was the second of eleven children born to Elihu Cook (1790-1867) and Elizabeth Sparhawk Hull (1793-1873) of Hadley, Massachusetts. Needlework samplers provided a way for young ladies to practice their embroidery skills in preparation for their role as housewives. The identity of Miss Pollina Sellon has remained elusive. Dr. William F. Sellon (1786-1842), of Amherst, Massachusetts, published his intent to marry Fanny Williams of Amherst on March 14, 1817; Pollina may have been a niece or another relative of Dr. Sellon. This sampler includes three cross-stitched variations of the alphabet and numbers, used to mark household linens, sheets, and towels. It also incorporates verse on the importance of the Bible, the most popular book in early New England.
Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+96.002 |
