They have two framed, embroidered maps that were worked within seven years of each other. The older, worked in 1798 is of the counties of England and Wales. It is worked in silk and wool on very closely woven (?) linen cloth. The ink that was used to draw the map and write the names of the counties and their principal towns seems to have contained some kind of bleach.
We thought that the writing was printed until we looked at it with a strong magnifying glass and found that it was finely embroidered in black silk. The counties are outlined in coarser woollen yarn in larger, clumsier stitches. Perhaps it was a joint effort of governess and pupil.
The second map is worked on a more open weave linen cloth. It is a map of Europe
with the capital cities noted (although sometimes not positioned accurately.) The countries are outlined with several rows of coloured, cross worked silks. The countries names sometimes have a larger first letter with colour added to the black silk. These are generally 2 over 2 cross stitches but the smaller wording is worked in one over one.Some of the names of the countries were a surprise: like Candia for Cyprus.
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