The Evolution of Samplers by Eileen Bennett

The Evolution Of Samplers...Embroidery and Sampler Time Line... by Eileen Bennett of The Sampler House

"For every student of sampler-making history, there comes a time when questions arise regarding the order in which certain aspects of that history occurred. Every valuable resource contains a portion of the story; but until now, a comprehensive time-line study of the four-hundred years of sampler making had not been compiled. After collecting notes for over 30 years, Eileen Bennett worked actively for four years to compile in chronological order the facts that comprise sampler history. The book opens with the period of early civilization, beginning with the Biblical Genesis account of Adam and Eve sewing fig leaves together. Citing many references to Scripture, the author present interesting information about linen fabric, embroidery, and silk and documents the use of various stitches on Coptic embroidery. Historical facts are presented both by century, a generalization of information, and by year. Extensive footnotes provide source documentation. A wealth of information about printed pattern sources from as early as 1523 is included, with paragraphs detailing specifics about each book. Literary quotes that mention samplers and those who worked them are included, as well as lines from wills and inventories that attest to the handing down of samplers and related sewing materials. Information is presented in chronicle form for the seventeenth, eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries. The author concludes the study with an extensive bibliography, presenting the list under headings for American samplers; British, Scottish, and Irish samplers; Canadian samplers; Dutch samplers; French samplers; Danish samplers; and Norwegian samplers. A listing is included for books about embroidery and samplers, and references for some of the stitch how-to guides are included." (Review by Sampler & Antique Needlework Quarterly Magazine)

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