Shaker Needlework Sampler

Shaker Needlework Sampler, "Charlotte M Stevens was born in Hancock October 25th AE. 1808. Marked in her 11th year AE. 1819." stitched with silk threads on a linen foundation, with five rows of alphabets, enclosed on three sides with a geometric border, (toning), 8 3/8 x 9 1/2 in., in a later mitered wood frame. Shaker samplers tend to lack the decoration found on samplers executed by non-Shaker girls. The maker, Charlotte M. Stevens, was born in Hancock, Massachusetts-the location of a Shaker community beginning in the early 1780s. However, no record of her has been found among its members, which is not unusual for children in Shaker communities. A Charlotte Stevens was admitted as a twelve-year-old to the Shirley, Massachusetts, Shaker community in June 1815. She apostatized on August 20, 1821. We cannot be certain that this is the same Charlotte Stevens.