Sampler (Pictorial sampler)

Description

This is a linen sampler worked with silk threads in 1796 by Mary Geyer of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Mary's sampler belongs to a distinctive group of samplers worked at an unknown school. The stepped terrace with house design was first popular in Philadelphia, but became a dominant theme throughout the Delaware Valley. Only one group of Philadelphia house samplers can be attributed to a known teacher, Mary Coleman Zeller. Her designs include common characteristics such as a stag or Lamb of God, a well house, and an asymmetrical arrangement of motifs. Mary's sampler is very formal, symmetrical, and orderly, and includes elements common to this group - human figures with plumed hats strolling in the garden, a red mansion with checkered foundations, small animals, and similar borders. The style of dress on her costumed figures speaks to the early date the design was worked. The inscription on Mary's sampler follows: "Mary Geyers Work Done In the 14th Year of her Age"