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Sampler (Fancy sampler)
Ruthey Putnam, Sarah Stivours
Category
Textiles (Needlework)
Creator/Artist/Maker
Ruthey Putnam (Maker)
Place of Origin
Salem; Massachusetts; Essex; New England; United States; North America
Materials
- Canvas
- Silk
- Linen
Museum Object Number
1986.0164.001
Credit Line/Donor
Gift of LaBelle Tenenbaum, Karen Tenenbaum and Samuel Tenenbaum in memory of Meyer Warren Tenebaum
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Complete Details
Object Number
1986.0164.001
Object Name
Sampler (Fancy sampler)
Category
Textiles (Needlework)
Creator (Role)
Ruthey Putnam (Maker); Sarah Stivours (School mistress)
Place of Origin
Salem; Massachusetts; Essex; New England; United States; North America
Secondary Place of Origin
Salem; Massachusetts; Essex; New England; United States; North America
Secondary Origin Notes
Ruthey worked this sampler while attending Sarah Stivours' School in Salem, Massachusetts.
Mark/Signature/Inscription/Label
Type: Inscription
Location: on sampler
Inscription: "RUTHEY PUTNAM HER / SAMPLER WROUGhT NOV / EMBER ThE 27 1778 IN / ThE 10 YEAR OF HER AGE / SARAh STIVOURS SCHOOL MAM" (embroidered thread)
Mark/Signature: Yes
Materials
- Canvas
- Silk
- Linen
Techniques
- Embroidered
- Woven (plain)
Construction Description
Hand-embroidered
Dimensions (inches)
14.5 (W) x 16.93 (L)
Dimensions (centimeters)
36.83 (W) x 43.002 (L)
Measurement Notes
Dimensions refer to area of needlework visible within frame.
Bibliography and Bibliographic Notes
Book: Swan, Susan Burrows. 1995 Plain and Fancy: American Women and their Needlework, 1650-1850.
• Published: p. 66, fig. 32Book: Ring, Betty. 1993 Girlhood Embroidery: American Samplers & Pictorial Needlework 1650-1850. I.
• Similar samplers from Sarah Stivours' School: pp. 105-109Article: Garrett, Elisabeth Donaghy. 09//1978 The Theodore H. Kapnek Collection of American Samplers. Antiques. 540-559.
• Published: p. 541, plate IIIArticle: Nguyen, Patricia Wilson. 2025 On Female Education: Projects of Mastery in Seventeenth-Century English Boarding Schools. Winterthur Portfolio. 59, No. 1 (Spring 2025): 5-64.
• Piblished: p. 14, fig. 3