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Embroidering or painting an illustration from literature was often a source of inspiration for young ladies. The exercise not only required artistic skills, but also enabled the maker to display her familiarity with historical, moral, or religious subjects. Emily Trowbridge (1793-1872) executed this work in about 1810. She chose to illustrate a scene from a 1766 French play, The Shepherdess of the Alps. The play appeared in the three-volume set of Moral Tales published in London in 1800. Miss Trowbridge was a member of The Young Ladies Literary Society of Deerfield, Massachusetts. The Deerfield Social Library owned all three volumes of Moral Tales.

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