This sampler has the familiar format of a traditional Redwork sampler. The Bible motif for this piece is in the middle of the sampler. More often the Bible is stitched toward the bottom of the piece. Mary must have loved her borders. She has an almost equal balance of alphabets at the top and borders at the bottom. Because she signed her work we know she lived in the North Wing of the New Orphan House for older girls in 1867. Mary was working on her sampler at the same time as Emma Sandford was stitching hers. Perhaps the two girls knew each other and copied alphabets and motifs from each other to use in their samplers.

The sampler is in the collection of Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery. The image is copyright Bristol Culture (Bristol Museum & Art Gallery) and presented on this website with their permission.