Abigail Staples,
Prospect, Maine,
1841

Sampler size:
10¾" x 17¼"

Price: $1400

Enlarged and Printer Version

Worked in Prospect, Maine, this is a handsome horizontal format sampler made by Abigail Staples, who was 12 years and 9 months old in 1841. Born on November 7, 1828, she was the 8th out of the 13 children born to Alexander Staples, a farmer, and his wife, Mary Ellingwood Staples. The Staples family settled in Kittery, Maine, by 1671, and many ensuing generations stayed in Maine, residing in coastal or inland towns. Prospect is located in an agricultural area along the Penobscot River, 52 miles northeast of Augusta. In 1846 Abigail married Capt. Levi Griffith, but died just two years later, at age 21.

This would be considered a marking sampler; schoolgirls were expected to learn to make these samplers, working the alphabets in various stitches. This basic skill would serve them well as married women running households, as they would be marking their valuable bed linens to rotate their usage properly.

The sampler was worked in dark blue silk on linen and is in excellent condition. It has been conservation mounted into a molded and painted frame.

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