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20 Rebecca Webb, Chester County, Pennsylvania, 1787 An outstanding group of strongly colored crewelwool embroidered pictures, samplers and small related needleworked objects was worked in Chester County between the years 1764 and 1791. These pieces share strong regional characteristics and highly recognizable decorative devices which include the bold open-faced blossoms and leaves on sturdy stems, generally depicted in a nicely decorated two-handled vase. This fine small embroidered picture, worked by Rebecca Webb in 1787, is an excellent recent discovery that adds to the known body of this needlework. Some of the other examples are in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum and the Chester County Historical Society and have been illustrated in Historical Needlework of Pennsylvania by Margaret B. Schiffer. Many of the young ladies who embroidered these pieces were from prominent Quaker families in Kennet Township in southeastern Chester County. Indeed, Rebecca Webb was the daughter of a farmer, Stephen Webb and his wife, Hannah (Harlan) Webb; the initials of her parents appear on Rebecca's needlework, flanking the central flower at the top, SW and HW. Stephen Webb died in September of 1787 and this fact is actually referenced on his daughter's sampler. The tradition in Chester County needlework was to use black thread to stitch the name or initials of the deceased and we note that usage here. Both the Webb and Harlan families had been in Chester County for many generations and were active members of the Kennet Monthly Meeting where they were married in 1766. Rebecca was the third of the nine children of Stephen and Hannah Webb, born September 14, 1772. In 1794, she married a farmer, Richard Baker, and they remained in Chester County where they became the parents of ten children between 1795 and 1813. Rebecca died in 1859 and is buried at Marshalltown Friends' Meeting House Burying Grounds. Worked in wool on tightly woven linen, it is in very good condition with very slight loss. It has been conservation mounted into a period black painted frame. Size of the needlework: 9W' x 8\Price: $14,500. M. Finkel ~ Daughter. Al\\IERICA's LEADING sAl\\IPLER AND NEEDLEw o RK D EALER