Description:Needlework sampler with white/oatmeal coloured background and brown and green stitches. Brown outer border, then green, inscription embroidered in centre: "Alas the joys that fortune brings, are trifling and decay. And those that prize the paltry things. More trifling still then they". Various embroidered pictures. 'Jane Morris aged 13'. Collected from Cheslyn Hay, Cannock, Staffordshire. From the Staffordshire County Museum Collection.
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.