DescriptionThis sampler is in a slightly later style associated with Miss Balch's school. The formal archway in Mary Munro's sampler has been replaced by a gently meandering border (1984.331.12). Both girls used the motto that encourages young women to adorn their minds. Rebekah's verse goes on to say that a young woman should divide her time between reading, sewing, and writing, an indication that by the end of the eighteenth century, some families considered intellectual pursuits as important as sewing.

Signatures, Inscriptions, and MarkingsInscriptions: in upper center: With / Sheba's queen / ye american fair / To ad / orn your mind / bend all your care; inscribed in lower center below: [How blest the maid] whom circling years improve / Her GOD the object of her warmest love / Whose useful hours successive as they glide / The Book the Needle and the Pen divide / Who sees her Parents Heart exult with joy / And the fond tear stand sparkling in their eye; at bottom: REBEKAH S MUNRO'S WORK

ProvenanceIsrael Sack, Inc., New York, until 1960; Barbara Schiff Sinauer, New York, 1960–1984