In Female Worth and Elegance Sampler and Needlework Students and Teachers in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, 1741-1840

Portsmouth, NH: Published for the Portsmouth Marine Society by P.E. Randall, 1996. Hardcover. VG+/VG+. Green cloth with glossy green color-illustrated dustjacket. xviii, 155 pp. 22 bw pictures and images, 18 full color reproductions. Instruction in needlework played an important role in the education of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, females well into the nineteenth century. Judged on technical merit, the work of these young students (the average age of the girls is eleven) exhibits a range of capabilities. In schools both formal and otherwise, the girls were taught to make colorful samplers, working alphabets and decorative elements and designs, and producing articles which are highly collectible today. For ten years, the authors researched both the teachers and the needlework students of Portsmouth. When they began their research only about a half dozen Portsmouth samplers were known, but ultimately the trail led to more than a hundred students and over a hundred teachers in the period 1741 to 1840. Using rare documents and illustrations, the authors describe a unique aspect of American life, the story of teachers and students pursuing a craft rarely performed today, but one which was part of the basic education for young women more than 100 years ago.