Sampler 1822

This sampler was embroidered by Naomi Rebekah Stevenson in 1822. In it, she stitched the alphabet in various fonts along with moralizing verse on a plain linen ground. Samplers like this were common in the 19th century, particularly among young women in America and Britain. They served not only as demonstrations of needlework skill, but also as a means of instilling literacy, discipline, and moral values. The stitch work, the verse, and the religious and moral sentiments expressed were all aimed at educating young women in their roles as wives, mothers, and keepers of the domestic sphere. The phrase "Shun Idleness" is a direct reflection of these values. Samplers like this one offer valuable insights into the social history of women’s education and the gendered expectations of the time. Scholars use archival resources such as school records and personal diaries to better understand how art education was linked to specific social and institutional contexts and served to reinforce existing social norms.