Their Manners Pleasing, & Their Education Complete: Newport Samplers 1728 - 1835 * Exhibition 12-14 August 2011

Above is a sampler completed by Roba White, 1806, Newport, RI and is one of the 50 or so examples of needlework in the collection of the Newport Historical Society from the 18th and 19th centuries which will be on display at the 2011 Newport Antiques Show. The event is to benefit the Newport Historical Society and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Newport County. So make a date in diary now to enjoy a wonderful exhibition and do a power of good. On Saturday, August 13 at 11am, Dr. Margaret T. Ordoñez, Professor in the Textiles Department at the University of Rhode Island, will discuss the components of 17th through early 19th century samplers and show how time, method of mounting, and use affect their condition. Dr. Ordoñez will offer advice on storing and displaying samplers in homes, museums, and historic houses. Newport samplers are well known for their lively and distinctive designs Most decorative samplers were made in female academies, where pupils learned needlework along with subjects like reading, arithmetic, painting, and music. Frances Townsend ran one such school for the daughters of Newport’s elite, promising in a 1787 advertisement that her instruction would “render their Manners pleasing, and their Education complete.”
The exhibition is generously sponsored by Woodbury Auction, LLC, the auction services division of Thomas Schwenke, Inc.

This sampler above also from the collection of the Newport Historical Society was completed by Ann Baker, 1754, Newport, RI. On Friday, August 12, 2011 from 6pm till 9pm there will be an Elegant Preview Party to start the weekend-long show. (Oh, how much I would love to attend an Elegant Preview Party!) The Show itself will take place Saturday, August 13th from 10am to 6pm and Sunday, August 14th from 10am to 5pm. General Show admission costs $12 per person, advance reservation for party tickets is required. All net proceeds from sponsorships and ticket sales benefit the Newport Historical Society and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Newport County. For more details, click here. And don't forget to tell me how wonderful it was, will you, please?