TidesNet—Online Collections Entry Detail

DescriptionA large (24” x 20 1/2”) mid-19th century needlework sampler by Sarah Ann Cheney of Eastport, Maine that she did when she was 11 years old. The sampler dates to 1846. The sampler is silk on Penelope weave linen and features cross and straight stitches. It is in remarkable condition for its age. Within the sampler, Sarah included information about her parents and their children, even adding her baby brother below the verse years after she had finished the piece. The sampler was part of an exhibition of early to mid-19th century federal period Maine needlework samplers held at the Saco Museum in Maine in 2013. The curator of the exhibition, Leslie Rounds, wrote in the accompanying exhibition catalogue: “Sarah Cheney's sampler is the ‘newest’ of all the samplers in the exhibition and shows many signs of the new styles of needlework that were emerging at the time. However, it also continues to demonstrate stylistic elements that clearly tie it to the earlier works in the exhibition, with its lavish rose border and family register format that appears to be a near-copy of many Portland samplers. She was mimicking the Berlin work that was quickly becoming the needle arts rage of the era. Sarah was the eldest of the five children of George Cheney and his wife, Mary. On the 1850s census, George was listed as a “trader” and the family was residing in Eastport. On July 20, 1858, Sarah married George Kilborn in Boston, Massachusetts. The Kilborns seem to have lived in Boston for the rest of their lives.” The Tides Institute acquired this sampler earlier in 2022 from a dealer in Connecticut that specialized in antique needlework samplers.