After a young lady learned to embroider a sampler, she might attend a female academy to make a silk embroidered picture. This was a more challenging technique that became popular in the early 1800s. Subjects included classical, biblical, and historical scenes, as well as mourning pictures.

By the 1700s, samplers depicting alphabets and numerals were worked by young women to learn the basic needlework skills needed to operate the family household.  The earliest dated sampler in the museum's collection was made in 1735 by Lydia Dickman of Boston, Massachusetts.   

In this section of the online exhibition entitled Treasures of American History, students will explore the diverse roots of American culture as well as common experiences shared across lines of race, ethnicity, and region. They will learn how culturally, Americans have defined