Amelia Boyce 1829 - The Scarlet Letter

Amelia Boyce’s pictorial sampler demonstrates two popular art forms of the early 19th century manifested in the sampler mode: the image of an architectural engraving, and the influence of Berlin patterns in the naturalistic (rather than naïve or stylized) floral patterns. A widely mixed floral meandering border surrounds a brief verse and scenic panel over a large cathedral, flanked by mammoth trees, one with an oversized parrot perched in the branches. The verse from Proverbs 3, verse 17, is especially lovely:

Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace

On 35 count linen the finished sampler will measure approximately 17″ x 19-1/4″. Stitches used are cross over one and two threads of linen, and back stitch. The original sampler is ion the collection of the Valentine Museum in Richmond, Virginia