Sampler
Periodca. 1820 - 1825
MediumPlied cotton thread on linen
Dimensions15.5 × 15.13 in. (39.4 × 38.4 cm)
SignedThe sampler is signed only with the maker's initials "J. L."
ClassificationsNeedlework
Credit LineGift of Mrs. J. Amory Haskell, 1941
Object number1579
DescriptionThis simple square sampler contains eight separate alphabets in both upper and lower case, ranging from a large, bold one-inch high alphabet to a tiny half-inch upper case alphabet. A string of numerals from 1 through 9 and 0 and "f" [s] combinations "ff," "fs," "fi," and "fh" are also included. All alphabets are worked in dark brown (probably originally black) cross and Algerian eyelet stitches on a relatively rough unbleached linen ground fabric. The linen is hemmed along the top, right, and bottom edges, while the left side is the selvedge edge. The initials "J L" are worked in blue cross stitch beneath all alphabets, and the inscription "ANNABELLA LAING BOARDING SCHOOL" is worked along the bottom of the sampler. A single letter "F" is stitched above the letter "a" in "Boarding," and an embroidery fragment line is visible slightly above the "S" in "School," possibly an unfinished element by the maker. A simple cross stitched meander border runs along all four edges.Curatorial RemarksFounded in 1799 by the Friends' Philadelphia Yearly Meeting and modeled after English schools, Westtown was originally a boarding school for the education of Quaker youth and has continued to accept students, now of any faith, to the present day. By the end of its first year of operation, Westtown had enrolled about one hundred boys and girls, all of whom studied subjects including geography, history, writing, arithmetic, and astronomy. Students came from the middle Atlantic states and from as far as North Carolina, Michigan, and Ohio. From its founding in 1799 to 1850, Westtown also welcomed 37 students from Monmouth County Quaker families. Girls spent less time on arithmetic in order to devote one-third of their time to sewing. With "a pair of scissors, thread-case, thimble, [and a] work-bag" brought from home, Westtown girls stitched practical marking and darning samplers, decorated thread-cases and pin cushions, and worked display samplers featuring "extracts" or verses combined with floral, animal, and geometric motifs. Several female Westtown School graduates went on to open both day and boarding schools of their own, and it is likely that Annabella Laing drew upon the skills she learned as a student at Westtown to teach to her own charges in Perth Amboy. According to original donor records, Annabella Laing's boarding school was located near the Blazing Star Ferry in Perth Amboy. The area was once a bustling ferry area serving Staten Island and other points in New York harbor. It is not known how long Laing kept her boarding school or where she went in later life.NotesBoarding School preceptress Annabella Laing was born on 28 November 1790 to Quakers Isaac (1759-1822) and Catharine Laing in Middlesex County, New Jersey. The couple was married in 1788 and had eight children. Annabella's father was a successful farmer, and his 1822 estate inventory mentions six of his eight children, including Annabella. Isaac apparently remarried at some point, as his will includes his "beloved wife Sarah," and does not mention Annabella's mother Catherine. Annabella appears listed as a student in 1805 at the Westtown School in Chester County, Pennsylvania. Annabella's older brother Joel also attended Westtown School the same year. Her first cousin Margaret (b. 1806), daughter of Isaac's brother Thomas, attended Westtown in 1821. As part of the curriculum for female students, Annabella would have learned both plain and decorative sewing and probably completed several projects of her own, including a decorative sampler which may have featured an alphabet, a verse, decorative elements, a pictorial image, or a combination of any of the former. This alphabet sampler's maker is known only by her initials "J L." Samplers such as this one were practice pieces, used to teach younger girls basic cross stitch while combining lessons in memorizing the alphabet.
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