Uploaded February 2021 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago

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Samplers have been around for centuries, and the motifs they use often have symbolic meanings. In this bonus episode of The Vintage Company, I explore the meaning behind the images on a 1940s Whitman’s Sampler box.

To see my video on the history of the Whitman's Sampler, click here: youtu.be/ov3JIO4ZzbU

Sources:
“Why a Museum Owns a Chocolate Company’s Embroidery Collection,” Annie Ewbank, Atlas Obscura, Feb 15, 2019
(atlasobscura.com/articles/whitman-sampler-embroidery-collection)

“Q&A: Scottish Samplers from the Whitman’s Sampler Collection,” Philadelphia Museum of Art Tumblr, ca. 2013
(philamuseum.tumblr.com/post/29495571532/q-a-scottish-samplers-from-the-whitman-sampler)

“Whitman’s Sampler Collection,” Philadelphia Museum of Art
(philamuseum.org/collections/browse.html?tagID=3659)

“Stitches from Time,” Scott Straley, The Morning News, Mar 24, 1971
(via newspapers.com)

“Samplers Presented to Art Museum,” The Daily Intelligencer, Feb 25, 1971
(via newspapers.com)

Sampler Motifs and Symbolism, Patricia Andrle and Lesley Rudnicki, 2003
(amazon.com/Sampler-Motifs-Symbolism-Patricia-Andrle/dp/0972305408)