GUEST: This is an African American schoolgirl sampler that was made in Baltimore in 1834.

I went to an estate moving sale about six or seven years ago, and I saw it there, and, uh, I was struck by the design.

I just loved it.

APPRAISER: And what'd you pay for it?

GUEST: $150.

APPRAISER: I love pieces like this because first of all, there's always a lot of information on the sampler: the name of the child that worked it and possibly even the school where it was made.

And pieces like this almost are portals.

GUEST: Yes.

APPRAISER: They take you back to a time and to a place.

And in this particular case, it's Baltimore, and it's 1834.

There was a gentleman who came from Philadelphia.

His name was William Levington.

Reverend Levington was Black, educated in Philadelphia, ordained there.

Came to Baltimore with the purpose of starting the St.

James Church.

And he opened up in Baltimore, south of the Mason-Dixon Line, a school for freed Black children.

But there were children of enslaved Black people.

The school philosophy was to teach both.

Very, very progressive, very, very forward-thinking.

So let's look at this beautiful needlework.

You have a piece that is all silk on a piece of linen.

It says "Worked by Ann Elizabeth Smith."

Did you know who she was?

GUEST: No, I do not.

APPRAISER: Okay, I found her.

GUEST: (gasps) You found her?

APPRAISER: I did.

She was the only person with the name of Ann Elizabeth Smith in Baltimore in 1834.

She was born in 1822.

So she was 12 years old when she made this sampler.

APPRAISER: And you see, it says "Ann Elizabeth Smith, the first African P.E.C."

-- that's Protestant Episcopal church-- "School in Baltimore, November 12, 1834."

It's beautifully done.

This basket of flowers, the vine that runs around the whole thing... GUEST: Mm.

APPRAISER: ...and the whole canvas is filled.

Very powerful piece.

So, what's it worth?

There's only, prior to today, only three samplers that are known from that school.

GUEST: Yes.

APPRAISER: That’s it.

And one of them was made by the Reverend Levington, who ran the school.

Reverend Levington's sampler, looking very similar to this GUEST: Mm.

APPRAISER: a little more developed... GUEST: Yes, yes, I've seen it.

APPRAISER: ...uh, a little more colorful, is now at Colonial Williamsburg.

The other two known are also in institutions.

GUEST: Yes.

APPRAISER: So, Dave, you own the only one in private hands.

I would put a retail value on it of $75,000 to $85,000.

GUEST: Thank you, Allan, thank you very much.

I look at this every day, and every day, it, it brings me joy and it brings me hope.