Description
Embroidered Stories: Scottish Samplers
Helen Wyld
96 pages
240 x 170mm
paperback
129 photographs/illustrations
Embroidered Stories: Scottish Samplers showcases Scottish samplers – drawn from the collection of Leslie Durst – an American with a passion for Scotland.
A selection of her extensive collection will be exhibited at the National Museum of Scotland 26 October 2018 to 21 April 2019.
Dating from the early 18th to the late 19th century, these embroidered pictures were made by girls (and occasionally boys) as part of their education. The book tells some of their stories and interprets the motifs. It includes close-ups of stitches and some of the many images that inspired the samplers’ creators.
Scottish samplers are unique with regard to the amount of information that can be gathered from them. They often include the initials of extended family members as well as details of buildings, places and events.
The Durst collection is therefore a record of two centuries of Scottish social history.