Northampton MA Pictorial Sampler Dated 1811

Circa 1811: Housed in a 15"H x 16"W frame, Harriet Clap[p]'s dated 1811 sampler belongs to a small and rare group of needleworks created in Northampton, Massachusetts, in the first quarter of the 19th century. Other examples from this group are illustrated in Betty Ring's Girlhood Embroidery, Mary Jane Edmonds' Samplers and Sampler Makers, and M. Finkel and Daughter's Samplings XXXII. All of the samplers in this group feature an unmistakably graphic, long, white crinkle cut stitching that covers almost the entire ground of the sampler shows off the sampler's letters and motifs in negative space. It's a stunning visual effect. Harriet Clapp was born Juky 27, 1801, in Northampton MA to Elihu Clapp (1761-1845) and Jane Boucher Monroe (1770-1840) and married Daniel Wheelock Willard (1799-1851) in 1830 and died in Northampton in 1832, where she is buried with her family in Bridge Street Cemetery. The sampler is in excellent condition with only a few scattered minor breaks to the crinkle cut stitching.