Shelburne Museum

A selection of samplers from the Northeast collected by Dr. Paul Cubeta and his wife Beth from 1954 to 2004.

American samplers were, with few exceptions, the products of school instruction in lettering. Until about 1840, every girl who had received the slightest education had made a sampler and was thereby prepared to mark the linens of her future household. The samplers featured in this exhibition are largely the work of young girls beginning to learn their craft.

First samplers were executed on linen with a low thread count (about 24 threads per inch of linen), seldom had borders, and used only cross stitch. As the girls developed skill and confidence, the linen thread count increased (over 44 threads per inch in many samplers), borders were added, and the types of stitches became more complex. In the hands of the most accomplished needle workers, samplers became works of art.

Dr. Cubeta’s interest in collecting started with two samplers he inherited from his great-grandmother that hung in the living room of his Vermont home.