Embroidered coats of arms were among the most prolific and enduring forms of schoolgirl needlework in eighteenth-century Boston. Not only do these objects demonstrate the skill and dedication of their makers, but as examples of genealogical material culture, heraldic needlework makes clear that young colonial women were integral to the articulation and preservation of their family history. Even as their designers, teachers, and makers became embroiled in a partisan conflict against England that escalated to a declaration of independence and outright war, the continued production of heraldic needlework suggests these objects endured not because of their connections to the British monarchy, but for what they represented to families in eighteenth-century New England.

Erica Lome is Curator of Collections at Historic New England. She has a PhD in History from the University of Delaware and a MA in Decorative Arts, Design History, and Material Culture from the Bard Graduate Center. Her upcoming exhibition at Historic New England is “Myth and Memory: Stories of the American Revolution,” and will open at the Eustis Estate in Milton, Massachusetts in May 2026.