Sampler by Mary Ann Cooper

DateFebruary 16, 1841 (dated)

Artist/Maker Mary Ann Cooper

OriginAmerica, New York, Buffalo (probably)

MediumWool and silk embroidery threads on a linen ground of 32 x 32 threads per inch(identification of fibers by eye)

DimensionsOH: 17 1/8" x OW: 12 1/2"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1992-212

DescriptionThis is a rectangular needlework sampler worked in shades of red, green, pink, black, blue, yellow and brown silk and wool embroidery threads on a natural color linen ground. The sampler is hemmed at top and bottom in a 3/16" hem and has selvages at its sides. From the top the sampler consists of a row of six evergreen trees interspersed with six small animals, possibly dogs or rabbits. Below this are two facing peacocks on hillocks with a basket of fruit between them. A swan is on the right and on the left two small birds facing each other with a flower between them. Above the small birds, and above and to the right of the swan, are two crowns.

The center section of the sampler consists of a centered two story red brick house with two chimneys and five windows. On the left side of house is a flowering tree, bird (possibly a water fowl), and a basket of flowers. On the right side of the house is a bird on a branch, potted flower, vase with several flowers, and a basket of flowers.

The bottom section of the sampler consists of the centered signature line: "Mary Ann Cooper's/ work age 12 years/ February 16 1841/ African school." To the right of the signature is a pointed square motif and to the left a stylized flower. The sampler is enclosed on all four sides in an undulating simple border.

Stitches: cross (over two)
Label TextMary Ann Cooper made this sampler at an African School, likely the one in Buffalo, New York, in 1841. The African School in Buffalo opened on July 1st, 1839 for free African American schoolchildren. The curriculum consisted of reading, writing, arithmetic, spelling, grammar, and presumably, needlework for girls. Mary Ann's sampler has a strong Scottish influence, especially in its colors and inclusion of peacocks. The connection between Scottish sampler-making and the Buffalo African School remains mysterious.
Inscribed"Mary Ann Cooper's/ work age 12 years/ February 16 1841/ African school."
MarkingsNone
ProvenanceAccording to previous owner "there was a Buffalo, New York newspaper from ca. 1910 used behind the cardboard backing of this frame."

It is likely this sampler was made at the African School in Buffalo, which was founded in 1839. By 1840, the school was located on Washington Street, possibly near Lafayette Square. Some sources state that the school was in the Methodist Episcopal Square on Vine Street (William Street between modern-day Broadway and Michigan Street). Between 1839 and 1848, the school was located in a room in a tenement, an African American church hall, and a basement under a central city market. The first three teachers at the African School were J.C. Wilson in 1839, Walter Fuller in 1840, and Samuel Davis in 1842. All Cooper families found in the 1840 census in Buffalo were white. No records related to Mary Ann Cooper, the maker of this sampler, have been found thus far.