Description:
This needlework sampler was embroidered by George Nichols Lincoln (1834-1865) of Boston, Massachusetts, in 1846. It is made from polychrome silk floss embroidered onto an open, plain-weave, unbleached linen ground. The embroidery depicts alphabets, verse, and motifs. The first four lines of the verse was taken from Massachusetts poet Hannah Flagg Gould's work "The Golden Vase: A Gift for the Young." Additionally, Lincoln stitched out George Washington's birthdate, and identified himself and his location.This is a rare example of a sampler wrought by a boy in the tradition of those made by girls at academies during the early 19th century. Lincoln appears to have trained or apprenticed to be a mason like his father (perhaps even learning alongside Mitchell Lincoln (1803-1886). Lincoln died just age 30 in 1865 from pthisis, a disease related to tuberculosis. Upon his passing, George's sampler was kept by his mother, Mary Nichols Lincoln (1810-1890), who then passed it along to her daughter (and George's eldest sister) Mary Ella Lincoln Dolbeare (1832-1909) around 1880.
Label Text:
American needlework samplers made by girls exist in far greater numbers than those made by boys, whose education centered around more academic subjects, rather than ornamental arts. The dexterity that needlework required may have served Lincoln well; he later trained to be a mason like his father, Mitchell Lincoln (1803-1886).
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