“This work my friends may have when I am dead and in my grave.”

These generous but (to the modern ear) macabre words were set down for future generations by Kiziah Sharp as part of an inscription on the sampler she stitched in 1825.

This exceptional Burlington County, New Jersey sampler exemplifies Sharp’s skills with a needle, in particular, the delicate sway of the weeping willows and the winding rose vine.  The imposingly solid schoolhouse grounds and lends focus to the swirl of surrounding, smaller animal and human figures.

Samplers were an important part of 18^th and 19^th century curriculum in American schools, especially for the education of a genteel young lady.  The purpose was first a practical one – to develop skill with a needle, and later more didactic – to help memorize poems, verses, or proverbs concerning life and death.  After completion, samplers were coveted by the girl’s family, and were often framed and proudly displayed as a record of educational achievements.

Sharp’s exquisite sampler will be offered at METRO Show by M. Finkel & Daughter, one of the country’s foremost dealers in historic samplers and needlework.

This rare and unusually large needlework was stitched by Emma A. Ehrlich in 1865.  Skillfully executed, Ehrlich’s petit point stitching is detailed and expressive.  The tension of such masculine imagery reproduced in the very feminine medium of needlework is slightly jarring, heightening the appeal.