American schoolgirl needlework sampler, wool and cotton or silk on linen, worked in cross and eyelet stitch and signed Sarah I. Rands, 1855. Strawberry or floral and geometric border enclosing lower and upper case alphabets, a large house, flowers, birds, and other pictorials. The alphabets end with the verse "Remember Thy Creator" and the center is worked with the verse "My dearest saviour and my guide/ I would be walking by thy side/ O let me never run astray / Nor follow the forbidden way." Later stained wood frame. 15-1/2" x 16-1/2" sight, 18-1/2" x 19-1/2" framed. The 1860 New York census shows a 17 year old Sarah Rand living in Mendon, Monroe County, New York with three other, older women, all listed as teachers. Monroe County was home to a number of schools including the Mendon Academy, est. 1836. Condition: Deterioration to some wool threads, particularly brown and white colors, most notably affecting the house; scattered minor stains and light discoloration to ground, thread colors still vivid. Not examined out of frame.