Mary Eddy's Sampler

Description:

The verse that Mary Eddy included on her sampler was written by an English poet named William Oland (1723-85) around 1763. It was probably selected by her teacher, and the verses were generally chosen to express the ideals to which young ladies should aspire to, according to her contemporary society.

“The Contraf[s]t
Virtue alone has that to give,
Which makes it joy to die or live
But vice can only that supply
Which makes it pain to live or die.”

The sampler is stitched with silk embroidery thread on a linen ground with a thread count of warp 27, weft 32/in. The stitches used are cross, crosslet, tent, Algerian eye, and stem.

Mary Eddy was born on April 16, 1804, to Samuel and his second wife Martha Wheaton Eddy in Providence, Rhode Island. Samuel Eddy’s first wife was Betsy Bucklin. (See Betsy Bucklin’s sampler.) Mary married William Chase (1786-1875) as his second wife on March 15, 1854. They did not have any children.

Date Made: 1816

Maker: Eddy, Mary

Place Made: United States: Rhode Island, Providence

See more items in: Home and Community Life: Textiles, Samplers, Textiles

Exhibition:

Exhibition Location:

Data Source: National Museum of American History

Id Number: 2008.0161.01Catalog Number: 2008.0161.01Accession Number: 2008.0161

Object Name: sampler

Physical Description: linen (ground material)silk (thread material)Measurements: overall: 12 11/16 in x 8 1/2 in; 32.1945 cm x 21.59 cm

Guid: http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746ac-67de-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

Record Id: nmah_1341532

Our collection database is a work in progress. We may update this record based on further research and review. Learn more about our approach to sharing our collection online.

If you would like to know how you can use content on this page, see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use. If you need to request an image for publication or other use, please visit Rights and Reproductions.