Adelheit 1842

Cross-stitch samplers from instruction in German schools before 1875 have been worked either in public schools or in state schools, which had voluntarily introduced needlework lessons.

Samplers featuring the alphabet and the numbers in various forms are common. The bands of alphabets refer to a particular school. Throughout Europe schoolgirls have worked on samplers their name, the mistress, the school, the place and the year. This piece contains 14(!) alphabets in different styles and is very long. The monochrome alphabet takes up the largest place and comes along in typical samplers of the Biedermeier period here and there. Each individual letter illustrates another flower.

Adelheit Greschner's sampler from 1842 is in the possession of the Museum of Arts and Crafts, the Grassi Museum in Leipzig.

Elvira Farr sent me photos of her large collection of samplers. I chose her beautiful Adelheit for the site.