AN ANONYMOUS WOMAN HER WORK WROUGHT IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY provides a fresh approach to the study of a popular historical embroidery form. The subject is a band sampler, unsigned and undated, worked by an anonymous embroiderer in 17th-century England. Although nothing is known about its maker except her skill with a needle and thread, something can be learned about her circumstances by looking not only at her handiwork but the activities of some of her contemporaries. Drawing on writings of the period, the author, a textile scholar, brings the sampler-maker out of the shadows by discussing the nature of female education in Stuart England & the place of needlework in that education. She examines sources for embroidery materials & introduces the reader to one of the greatest commercial centers of the century, London's Royal Exchange. Stitch & pattern diagrams, photographs, & suggestions for modern materials enable today's embroiderer to recreate the thirty-six patterns which constitute this remarkable sampler. Citations, bibliography, & four pages of color photographs are included. Order from: Curious Works Press, 107 RR 620 South, #11-E, Austin, TX 78734.