Sampler

This sampler was stitched in 1840 by Isabel Arthur, daughter of William and Jane Arthur. In addition to acknowledging her mother and father, the young needleworker stitched the name of her teacher, Mary Tidball, in a prominent location above the roofline of the house. Several other wool-on-linen samplers in a similar style—with brightly colored, broadly patterned, and highly stylized trees, flowers, and houses—feature the same teacher’s name. They range in date from 1836 to 1852 and were done in western Pennsylvania. Recent research suggests that Tidball’s school was located near the Bethel Presbyterian Church in Bethel Park, southwest of Pittsburgh.