Needlework Map of England.
Bristol: March 1786.
Price: $950.00
About the item
Colored silk and wool threads on linen, signed "M. Hume". With compass rose and floral cartouche. 19 x 14-1/2 inches. Toning, some wear around edges, losses to lettering in several spots. In later frame.
Item #310835
A nice example of an embroidered map sampler, which were an important component of girls' education in Britain and America from 1770-1840. This one meticulously labels all of the English counties, the seas and channels, and includes part of Scotland to the north, and the east coast of Ireland, and is signed by its maker, one M. Hume of Bristol.
"One academic subject that was consistently considered important for both boys and girls, after reading, writing and arithmetic, was geography. Geography was considered a science at this time, and ... it was the first science taught to girls in the US .... Many girls were taught to read, but not write. With the exception of some diaries or letters or of marginalia, there is little to tell us how children learned to read, do arithmetic or write. Map samplers ... by students are tangible examples of women's schoolwork. These were time-consuming projects, normally framed and hung with pride to show a young lady's educational attainments" (Tyner, Stitching the World).
