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Title
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Sampler
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Creator
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Kummer, Caroline Louisa
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Publisher
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Bethlehem Digital History Project
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Date
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1828
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Type
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Still image; color
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Format
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Needlework; 14.5 x 17 in.?
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Description
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Wool cross-stitch on linen created by Caroline Louisa Kummer, 1828.
Samplers allowed girls to learn practical stitchery, as proper housekeeping required that all clothing and household linens be marked with the initials of the owner. Beginning in the 17th century samplers included alphabets, signatures, dates and verse. Girls of all classes, ages 5 to 9, would work samplers under the supervision of either a mother, grandmother or teacher. Girls who went to school continued with fancy embroidery if the family could afford it. For the alphabet samplers, depending on the year created, the letter "J" is absent. The German language, commonly used in Moravian schools through the early 19th century, did not have an equivalent sound to the letter "J", and so the letter was not considered a proper letter. The stitcher sometimes added inventive design motifs such as family possessions, pets, birds, houses, or trees. This sampler contains two alphabets -- one with a "J" and the other without.
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Subject
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Samplers--Pennsylvania--Bethlehem
Needlework--Pennsylvania--Bethlehem
Moravian Seminary for Young Ladies
Kummer Sampler