Embroidered Sampler 1827

This Embroidered Sampler was made in 1827 by Barbara Landis, who was likely a young girl at the time, in the United States. Samplers like this were often made by young women as demonstrations of their needlework skills, an important aspect of their education and preparation for domestic life. Landis’s sampler includes the alphabet, numbers, and various decorative motifs, all stitched with remarkable precision. These samplers offer insight into the lives and expectations of young women in the 19th century. As objects they embodied the virtues of diligence, patience, and skill, qualities highly valued in women of the time. Below the building is an inscription which reads “Barbara Landis is work do ne who is to see remember me when I am do ne and gone. 1827”. The piece is tinged with a sense of mortality, a poignant meditation on remembrance and the passage of time. What do we leave behind? What parts of ourselves do we hope will survive us? The sampler speaks to the emotional and personal dimensions of girlhood, and the quiet hopes and dreams stitched into the fabric of everyday life.