Description:Linen background. Coloured silk and woollen threads worked in cross stitch. Alphabet, numerals, verse, simple border patterns, heart, crown and floral motifs, all within a geometric border. From the Staffordshire County Museum Collection.
Verse: 'Be not slothful in Business
Our time most precious gift of all
If saved and used a right
Let not one moment useless fall
Spend all as in his sight.'
Maker: 'Eliza Beeley Aged 9 A.D. 1859 Sale School'.
Towards the end of the 18th century, samplers taught not only sewing but also literacy in the forms of alphabets, numerals and religious texts. These grew in importance and became an almost essential part of sampler making throughout the 19th century.