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Book of Embroidery Designs by Mary Wright Alsop and Mary Wright Alsop Mütter

Date1800-1850

Maker Mary Wright Alsop (1740 - 1829)

Maker Mary Wright Alsop Mutter (April 30th, 1815-June 2nd, 1877)

OriginAmerica, Connecticut, Middletown and Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

MediumPaper, leather, and ink

DimensionsOW: 11" x OH: 1 1/2" x OD: 7 1/2"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number2011-66

DescriptionThis is an oblong, small folio with a full red 18th-century flexible leather cover with fold-over closure. On the inside cover is written, "M. W. A. Müt," which is faded and smudged. Below it is written in bigger text, "M. W. A. Mütter/Philadelphia/Penn." The first page features a blurred "M. W. A. Mütter" in the top right corner. There are three pages tucked in here -- one stitched piece of fabric with a scalloped floral design with a piece of paper in the center that has a matching design drawn in pencil and the words "Middletown/Connect" on the other side. This piece of paper was presumably originally a letter. The next page is a folded piece of paper with one design drawn in pen and the other design drawn in pencil. The last page is a thin piece of paper that has a circular design drawn in pen on one side and a round piece of paper with a pencil design pinned onto the other side of the thin paper.

The next page has a design for perhaps the corner of a kerchief. It is pasted on top of a crossed out inscription that reads, "Mary Alsop/Middletown, Conn./Sept. [illegible] --." Most pages have designs cut out from other paper and pasted into the book. The instances of yellow paper are not hand drawn, but rather printed. The next pages are as follows:

Page 3: Floral designs, cut out and pasted, with "L. W. Chauncey" written at the top"
4: Floral band designs on paper darkened by age
5: More floral designs, with a design of "M M" with an anchor tucked in
6-7: Floral and circle designs
8: One floral design pasted on the left side, with the rest of the page blank
9: Small floral designs drawn in pencil
10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 28: blank
11: Floral and geometric bands
13, 15: Geometric designs, with some floral ones
17: Three designs with scalloping, one has a signature of "Mary W. Alsop"
19: Three designs, including one with sprigs of flowers in diamonds
21, 23, 25: Collar designs
27: Border designs
29: Triangular design drawn in pencil
30: Pencil drawings of letters in decorative fonts
31: Series of corner designs, one including a bow
32: Letters in a neo-Gothic font
33: Border designs
34: One round design, with two small rectangular designs
35: Border designs
36: Letters, including many iterations of "C," "A," "M," and "B"
37: Border designs
38: A floral frame with nothing in the middle
39: Border designs, along with a yellow printed sheet of paper that says "ANNA A B"
40: Letters in different styles, including series of initials such as, "C A M" and "M A"
41: Floral designs with two decorative "M"s
42-43: More decorative letters
44: Letters and names, including "CA," "Clara, "Lucie," and "Elisa"
45: More letters and initials, including "M C O"
46: Initials "A C A"
47: Wave and swirl designs
48: Floral designs in pencil on lined paper
49: Three designs, one on yellow paper from a print source
50, 52: Blank
51: One rectangular design, one round design, and two "M"s
53: A design accompanied by the description, "Smoking cap./Paris, 1844"
54: Floral frame design
55: Floral sprig design
56: Two pencil designs, one with a description that reads, "slipper toe"
57: Four designs and an inscription, "slipper" in the upper right corner
58, 60, 64, 66, 68, 70, 72, 74: Blank
59, 61, 63, 65, 67, 77: Two large, swirling designs
62: Letters "L," "W," "C," "A" and "M M" written four ways
69: Floral sinuous line and a floral wreath
71: Two groups of blooming flowers
73: Flowers with shading
75: Three floral designs with shading
76: Line consisting of leaves
78: Border designs with written instructions
79: Leaf borders and a set of grapes
80: Series of small designs
81: Small, delicate designs on brown paper
82-83: Series of scalloped and dotted edges
84: Initials "L C A," "M O A," "M C O," "C A," etc.
85: Letters "M A M" and curving borders
86-91: Series of corner designs
92: Same as 86-91, with two small sheets of paper inserted
93: Curved corner design in a neo-Gothic style
94: Square leaf design with three yellow inserts
95: Two border designs
96: Blank
97: "IHS" on yellow paper with an insert of a leaf design and another that says, "Lucie"
36 BLANK PAGES
Last page: Large decorative "A"
Label TextThis book of embroidery designs was started by one of America's most prolific needleworkers, Mary Wright Alsop, and finished by her granddaughter and namesake, Mary Wright Alsop Mutter. The folio is full of pen and pencil designs for caps, slippers, napkins, shawls, and a variety of other home furnishings and clothing accessories. The Alsop women's book provides viewers a rare glimpse into how much thought went into domestic needlework and how decorative design trends changed over the first half of the nineteenth century.
InscribedVarious inscriptions, including sets of initials, full names, and instructions for stitching.
"Smoking cap./Paris, 1844," "slipper toe," "slipper".
MarkingsVarious marks, including "L. W. Chauncey," "M M," "M A M," "ANNA A B," "C A," "M C O," "A C A," "L C A," "M O A," "C A M," "Clara," "Lucie," "Elisa," "I H S"
ProvenanceMary Wright Alsop was born in Middletown, Connecticut on February 24th, 1740. She was the only child of Hannah Gilbert Wright and Joseph Wright, who was a prosperous farmer and brickyard owner. Mary was educated in Newport, Rhode Island, possibly under the direction of Sarah Osborn. She made three canvaswork pictures and a slipseat for a roundabout chair while in Newport. One of her undated pocketbooks may also have been made in Newport. The family's many surviving inventories indicate just how much Mary stitched. There are currently five known pocketbooks worked by Mary Wright Alsop between 1753 and 1774.

On April 27th, 1760, Mary married Richard Alsop, a merchant who became the most successful West Indies merchant in Middletown. He also served as a representative to the General Assembly of Connecticut. Richard died sixteen years into their marriage, leaving Mary the single mother of ten children, eight of whom lived beyond infancy. The children were Richard (born January 23rd, 1761), Mary (May 27th, 1762), Fanny (January 22nd, 1764), Abigail (November 17th, 1765), Hannah (June 20th, 1767 -- died in infancy), Hannah (October 1768 -- died in infancy), Clarissa (July 31st, 1770), Joseph Wright (March 2nd, 1772), Hannah (February 3rd, 1774), and John (February 5th, 1776). After Richard's death, Mary became the administratrix of his estate.

Mary's eldest daughters, Mary (who went by Polly) and Fanny, did not marry. They accompanied their mother at home. Between 1812 and 1821 Mary created many small knitted gifts, including needlecases and purses. Many of these were given to her children and grandchildren, and each was marked with Mary's initials, her age, and sometimes a date and the recipient's initials or name. Mary died in 1829 at the age of 89.

Her granddaughter was her namesake and the individual who added to her folio of embroidery designs. Mary Wright Alsop Mutter was born on April 30th, 1815 in Middletown, Connecticut. She was the youngest child of Joseph Wright Alsop and Lucy Whittlesey. Her older siblings were Lucy Whittlesey Alsop Chauncey (born 1798), Charles Richard Alsop (1802), Joseph Wright Alsop Jr. (1804), Clara Pomeroy Alsop (1807), and Elizabeth Whittlesey Alsop (1809). When she was born, her grandmother stitched her a knitted silk purse and put a note in the purse which reads, "This is for/Mary Wright Alsop/to buy a ring, or/any other article in/Memory of her affect/Grand Mother/Mary Alsop/Octr 1815." She married scientist Thomas Dent Mutter and the pair lived in Philadelphia, Paris, and Middletown. The pair had no children. Mary Wright Alsop Mutter died on June 2nd, 1877.