The "Sampler" Story

It was an ordinary day.  I had just finishing putting in the ninth stitch on the sampler that I was preparing for framing.  A week or so ago a woman brought a remarkable piece of history into Grebinger Gallery where I work part-time matting and framing customer's work.  The sampler carried a date of Friday December 12, 1794 in the bottom left hand corner.  She told Keith, the owner of the gallery, that she had paid $600 for the piece and would like to have it preserved.  A sampler as old and beautiful as this needed to be matted and framed with preservation materials.  The sampler had been taped to a piece of cardboard that wasn't acid free and had been framed directly against the glass.  The work was beginning to discolor and slightly deteriorate. When I was sewing it to a piece  

of acid-free mat board, I could not straighten the edges for every time I pulled slightly the piece would wrinkle.  I sewed it to the board as it was brought to us.  The sampler, or needlework, is a piece of embroidery that is a test of skill in needlework.  Some of the oldest samplers were constructed in the 15th and 16th centuries.  At that time in history there were no pre-printed patterns that could be purchased so a needlewoman or seemstress would create a stitched model.  This sample for others, that was stitched on a small piece of cloth, was known as her "sampler."  16th century English samplers were stitched on a narrow band of fabric that was usually six inches by 9 inches.  They became known as band samplers which were often mentioned in wills and passed down in families through the centuries.  What I am working on reminds me of a band sampler.  It carries the approximate measurements and the geometric designs in it that were also a trait of samplers in that time in history.  The piece that I have finished is sewn to a mat board that has a fabric covering.  I use fishing line so you will only miminally see the stitching. The mat board is them attached to a piece of preservation foam board with acid-free tape.  Around the work is a double mat, using the same mat that I sewed the piece to as the main mat and then a second, or accent, mat of burgandy.  Again, both of these mats are acid-free.  Conservation glass will go on top of that, but will not touch the sampler.  The glass will stop UV rays from damaging the sampler.  The owner of the piece must now choose a frame to finish the historic piece.  I'm happy and honored that she trusted us to do the job and hope she will enjoy what we did for her.  PS - click on the sampler to enlarge it.