A Maryland Sampling

Book excerpt: This is an extraordinary assemblage of Maryland samplers and pictorial embroideries that will appeal to scholars, collectors, antiques dealers, and modern day embroiderers, written by an accomplished textile historian. Students of women's history and of the decorative arts will discover more about the role of needlework in early female education and in the lives of ordinary women in the changing currents of Chesapeake regional history. Genealogists will gain valuable insights into Maryland families and their migration patterns. The appendices document all known Maryland needlework samplers and embroideries. The samplers presented in this beautifully illustrated, handsome volume will inspire and awe readers with the skill, talent, seriousness, and occasionally irrepressible humor of their young creators.