The Dorset Historical Society’s Third-Thursday Lunch-Lecture on June 20th will feature Michele Pagan who will discuss the Socioececonomic Clues Found in 19th Century Schoolgirl Samplers.
Michele Pagan, a textile conservator in private practice, living in East Dorset, will be speaking about 19th century schoolgirl samplers which have been located and documented by the VT Sampler Initiative. Since November 2022, over 700 samplers have been found here in VT. Michele will speak about how to read a sampler, and what social and economic clues can be read from almost any sampler.
Michele Pagán is a recently-returned native Vermonter, who spent her childhood in Bennington and Rutland. She is a graduate of the University of VT and University of Connecticut, where she studied clothing & textiles.
Michelle credits her early experience visiting Bennington Museum with opening new doors to her, allowing her to envision a unique career trajectory. The Bennington Museum recently published her research entitled Geography and Technological Change in Vermont: The Transition from Homespun Flax To Machine-Made Cotton Textiles.
Today she is a textile conservator in private practice who likes to say that she is “Saving history one piece of fabric at a time.”
DHS’s TTLLs begin at noon and last about an hour. Attendees are invited to bring some lunch; desserts and drinks will be provided. The event is free, open to all and handicapped accessible. The Dorset Historical Society’s Bley House Museum is located on Route 30 at Kent Hill Road. For more information, see https://dorsetvthistory.org or call (802) 867-0331.
