Samplings: XXVIII by M. Finkel & Daughter

VOLUME XXVIII

A SELECTED OFFERING OF ANTIQUE SAMPLERS AND NEEDLEWORK

est. 1947

M. Finkel e:J Daughter. AMERICA'S LEADING ANTIQUE SAMPLER & NEEDLEWORK DEALER

936 Pine Street. Philadelphia. Pennsylvania. 19107-6128 215-627-7797.800-598-7432. fax 215-627-8199 www.samplings.com

Please check our website for frequent updates: www.samplings.com

detail of Colonial Dutch Embroidery, Bay of St. Anna, Curacao, 1791 page 25.

Copyright ÂŠ 2005 by M Finkel & Daughter, Inc. All rights reserved Âˇo part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system now known or to be invented, without the permission in writing from M Finkel & Daughter, Inc. Philadelphia. Pennsylvania

Welcome to our Samplings catalogue XXVIII ... We hope that you enjoy this catalogue, which is our 27th issue; we thank all of you for your continued and growing interest in this field. The field of schoolgirl samplers and needlework provides fascinating opportunities to collectors. A sampler acts as a window into the specific history of a young girl, her family, a teacher, a town, a region and a tradition, and as such provides us with unusual insight. It goes without saying that samplers, from a simple marking piece to an elaborate scene, are also extremely visually appealing. They provide graphic needleworked pictures, each with a remarkable texture and individuality. Each of our samplers has been fully researched and documented; it is well-known that we both conduct ourselves and have others engage in intensive genealogical research and often achieve important results. When we describe a sampler or silk embroidery, we frequently refer to a number of fine books that have been written in this field. A selected bibliography is included at the end of the catalogue and is updated regularly. If any of these books prove difficult to procure, let us know and perhaps we can assist in locating them. We also include a description page about our conservation methods and encourage you to call us with any questions in this area. This year marks the 58th anniversary of the founding of our firm. We continue to value our positive relationship with clients, many of whom are now second generation, and strive to maintain our commitment to customer service. Buying antiques should be based in large measure on trust and confidence, and we try to treat each customer as we ourselves like to be treated. We operate by appointment and are at the shop five days a week, except when we are exhibiting at out-of-town antiques shows. Please let us know of your plans to visit us. We suggest that you contact us in a timely fashion if one or more of our samplers is of interest to you. Should your choice be unavailable, we suggest that you discuss your collecting objectives with any one of us. Our inventory is extensive, and we have many items not included in our catalogue. Moreover, through our sources, we may be able to locate the sampler that you are looking for; you will find us knowledgeable and helpful. Payment may be made by check, VISA, Mastercard, or American Express, and we ask for payment with your order. Pennsylvania residents should add 6% sales tax. All items are sold with a five day return privilege. Expert packing is included: shipping and insurance costs are extra. We prefer to ship via UPS second day or Federal Express, insured. We look forward to your phone calls and your interest.

www.samplings.com

Amy Finkel Morris Finkel Jamie Banks

mailbox@samplings.com 800-598-7432 Are you interested in selling? We are constantly purchasing antique samplers and needlework, and would like to know what you have for sale. We can purchase outright or act as your agent. Photographs sent to us will receive our prompt attention. Call us for more information.

AMERrcAÂˇs LEADING sAMPLER AND NEEDLEwoRK DEALER

M. Finkel ~ Daughter.

ALPHABETICAL LISTING OF CONTENTS F. A., Chester County, Pennsylvania, 1795 ...................................................................... ... .................... page 1 Anna Alford, to her sister Caroline, England, circa 1800 .................................................. ........ ............ page 6 Allahabad Missionary School, India, Clara Moss, 1870 .......................................................................... page 33 Beadwork Picture of a Bullfight, Gabriela Caballero, Spain, 1810 ........................................................ page 30 Sarah Maria Beers, Elmira, New York, 1835 .......................................................................................... page 6 Bouquet of Flowers, Easton, Pennsylvania, circa 1835 ......................................................................... page 31 Sally Burr, Warren, Rhode Island, 1802 ................................................................................................. page 5 Chamba Rumal, Himachal Pradesh, India, 19th Century ..................................................................... page 18 Colonial Dutch Embroidery, Bay of St. Anna, Curacao, 1791 ...............................................................page 25 Lydia Corey, Saratoga County, New York, 1820 to circa 1860 ............................................................... page 21 Kittura Dillion, Abington, Pennsylvania, circa 1810 ............................................................................. page 17 Susannah Donaha, Schenectady, New York, 1837 ................................................................................. page 26 Mehitable Gould, Boxford, Massachusetts, 1805 .............. ...................................................................... page 2 Amy H. Holcombe, Mt. Airy, Hunterdon County, New Jersey, 1836 ...................................... .. ............. page 23 Sarah Holl, England, 1805 ...................................................................................................................... page 24 Prudence C. Hunting, Needham, Massachusetts, 1816 ......................................................................... page 24 Jane W. Jarman, Chester, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, 1832 .......................................................... page 7 Knitted Pinballs, England, 1801, 1809, 1810 .............................................. ........................ ........ ........... page 31 Minerva J. Lamson, Milton, Indiana, 1829 ............................................................................................. page 9 Katharina Elisabetha Loewenberg, Pocket, Dreisen, Germany, 1849 ................................................... page 30 Hannah Mannington and Miriam Mannington, England, 1828 and 1841.. .......................................... page 16 Helen McLucky, Edinburgh, Scotland, 1813 .............................................. ............................................ page 22 Sarah Newton, England, 1650 ................................................................................................................. page 29 Amanda Olmsted, Shaker, Union Village, Lebanon, Warren Co., Ohio, 1836 ....................................... page 10 Sarah Palmer, England, 1813 .................................................................................................................. page 27 Mary Parkin, England, circa 1816 .............................................................................................. .............page 12 Martha Phelps, Marlborough, Massachusetts, 1824 .............................. .................................................page 15 Lucy Thalia Pullen, Winthrop, Maine, 1820 ........................................................................................... page 12 Margaret Ribold, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1796 ...............................................................................page 13 Frances Laura Salter, Newport, Nova Scotia, Canada, 1851 .................................................................. page 20 Francis Ann D. Sloan, Bath, Maine, 1825 ..................................... .......................................................... page 11 Eirene Smith, East Sudbury, Massachusetts, 1816 ................................................................................ page 28 Mary Ann Stauffer, Mrs. Buchanan's School, Marietta, Pennsylvania, 1831 ........................................ page 3 Ursula Thompson, Pattern Darning Sampler, England, 1810 ........... ................................ .. .................. page 8 Louisa Martha Vanlaw, Belmont County, Ohio, 1834 ............................................................................ page 19 Mary Welton, England, 1837 ................................. .. ................................................................................ page 32 Mary Westcott, England, 1812 ................................................................................................................page 11

detail of sampler by Francis Ann D. Sloan, Bath. Maine, 1825

M. Finkel es Daughter. AMERICA'S L EADI

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.EEDLEWORK DEALER

F.A., Chester County, Pennsylvania, 1795 In a landmark exhibition in 1974 at the Whitney Museum of Art, entitled "The Flowering of American Folk Art," five samplers were included; one of these is this extraordinary 1795 sampler which we offer now. Worked in Chester County, Pennsylvania, the sampler was then owned by legendary sampler collector, Theodore H. Kapnek, and was acknowledged to have been one of the stand-outs within his large collection. The sampler is visually striking with an unusual vitality and intriguing folk images. It includes large houses, two women drawing water from a well, a man engaged in rolling the lawn, a sheep and three lambs and a dog roped to his dog house. The idiosyncratic composition centers on a galloping black horse and the many leafy trees and potted plants, worked in varying shades of green, teal blue and olive, encourage one's eye to move around the sampler. The tall blue fence, intermingled with its plantings, proceeds rhythmically across the sampler and, along with the unusual perspective of the houses and the garden seat under a bower, provides great visual interest. The borders are simple: narrow zigzags at the sides, a deep arcaded zigzag along the top and a lawn anchoring the scene at the bottom. A three-sided green silk ribbon, original to the sampler, contri butes to the fresh palette. The initials FA flank the date and may be assumed to be those of the maker. The others two sets, KA and TW are likely to be those of her parents. Worked in silk on wool, the sampler is in excellent condition with some minor areas of loss to the wool. It has been conservation mounted into a period black painted frame. Provenance: Collection of Theodore H. Kapnek, Collection of Ralph Esmerian Exhibited and Published: Flowering of American Folk Art, Jean Lipman and Alice Winchester, Whitney Museum of Art, New York, 1974, plate 133 A Gallery of American Samplers, Glee Krueger, The Museum of American Folk Art, New York, 1978, figure 34 Young America, Museum of American Folk Art, New York, 1986

Sampler size: 11" x 121fz''

Price upon request

AMERic AÂˇs LEADING s AMPLER AND NEEDLEwoRK DEALER

M. Finkel et Daughter.

Mehitable Gould, Boxford, Massachusetts, 1805 This praiseworthy sampler, made by Mehitable Gould of Boxford, Massachusetts, belongs to a highly sophisticated group of only four samplers which feature the same ambitious composition and splendid needlework. These samplers distinguish themselves by their landscape of hillocks and pine trees with baskets of flowers and butterflies centered on an elegant vase of flowers. Their lawns are strewn with delicate flowers and their fine wide side borders continue the theme with their branches of blossoms and berries. Mary Jaene Edmonds' book, Samplers & Samplermakers: An American Schoolgirl Art, illustrates another of these Boxford samplers as plate 14 (an anonymous sampler, dating circa 1804), which shares a very similar landscape and the same structure and technique to the borders. Mrs. Edmonds describes the borders as "entirely worked in row upon row of white crinkled silk satin stitches, a technique that greatly enhances the character of the sampler, emphasizing the luster and sheen." Mrs. Edmonds' research identifies the Boxford group and refers to a sampler made by Betsey Gould (likely a cousin of Mehitable) in 1804. That there are only a handful of these Boxford samplers would indicate that the talented instructress responsible for this group was teaching for only a few years, perhaps prior to her marriage. Mehitable traced her ancestry back to Zaccheus Gould (1589- 1668), who emigrated to America by 1638, settling in Ipswich, Massachusetts. Her parents were Jacob and Ruth (Peabody) Gould who were married in 1790 in Boxford, where Jacob became selectman in 1813. Born in 1791, Mehitable was, as she stated on her sampler, fourteen when she completed her needlework, inscribing the town as "Boxfod July ye 6 1805." We find it interesting that, with all of her considerable talent, the town name is missing a letter. In 1810, Mehitable married Samuel Bradstreet of nearby Topsfield and their eight children were born between 1811 and 1832; she died in 1842. Her sampler was worked in silk on linen and is in very good condition with some very minor loss to the silk. It has been conservation mounted in a black molded and painted frame.

Sampler size: 173!4'' x 171/4''

Price: $12,500.

M. Finkel & Daughter. AMERrcAÂˇs LEADING sAMPLER A. Âˇo. 'EEDLEwoRK oEALER

Mary Ann Stauffer, Mrs. Buchanan's School, Marietta, Pennsylvania, 1831

amplers worked under the instruction of Mrs. Catharine Welshans Buchanan, an extremely wellregarded teacher in Lancaster County, are considered amongst the finest examples of Pennsylvania choolgi rl needlework. By 1825, Mrs. Buchanan was teaching in Marietta, a town on the Susquehanna River, and many of the samplers worked under her guidance are included in the section of Betty Ring's Girlhood Embroidery, Vol. II, pages 410-429, entitled "Samplers of the Susquehanna Valley." Our spectacular sampler, worked by Mary Ann Stauffer in 1831 at Mrs. Buchanan's School and retaining its superb original architectural mahogany frame, is an important recent discovery. Another praiseworthy sampler worked by Mary Ann Stauffer one year earlier, in 1830, also at Mrs. Buchanan's school was in the Theodore Kapnek Collection (see A Gallery of American Samplers, Krueger, figure 104) and is now in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Both of Mary Ann Stauffer's samplers share many significant characteristics: their highly developed gathered-silk ribbon arrangements, signature willow tree, three-sided borders worked with the queen's stitch and joined by a bowknot, large house with spire, lawn with grazing sheep and, importantly, use of both English and German language. It is quite uncommon, even from the Pennsylvania German communities of Lancaster County, to find German language used for verse inscriptions (continued on next page) AMERrcAÂˇs LEADING sAMPLER AND NEEDLEwoRK D EALER

M. Finkel ~ Daughter.

Mary Ann Stauffer, Mrs. Buchanan's School, Marietta, Pennsylvania, 1831 (continued) on samplers; Mary Ann Stauffer's 1830 sampler is mentioned in Hersh's Samplers of the Pennsylvania Germans, specifically for its German language inscription. This branch of the Stauffer family began when two young brothers emigrated from Germany to Philadelphia circa 1740, traveling then by foot to Lancaster. Mary Ann was born in 1811, the fifth child of Martin and Maria (Kauffman) Stauffer. The family was a large and prominent one and another family member, Mary Ann's uncle Andrew B. Kauffman, is mentioned on the sampler. Interestingly, another aunt and uncle are mentioned on the sampler owned by the Metropolitan Museum. In 1832, the year after our sampler was made, Mary Ann married Henry Snavely, a miller and farmer. They had at least two children and Mary Ann died in 1891, buried in the Kaufman Family Cemetery. It is clear from these two large and important samplers that Mary Ann Stauffer was a talented and advanced student and we are pleased to offer this extraordinary example of her work.

The sampler was worked in silk on linen with its original ribbon and rosettes, and is in excellent condition, conservation mounted into its original frame.

Sampler size: 24" x 23W' Outside framed size: 31" x 32 W' Price: $48,000.

(details)

M. Finkel ~ Daughter. AMERrcAÂˇs LEAD!

c sA'.1PLER A D NEEDLEwoRK D EAL E R

Sally Burr, Warren, Rhode Island, 1802 An important group of samplers was worked by students under the tutelage of a noted schoolmistress in \ arren, Rhode Island bel:\veen 1793 and 1 03. These samplers feature depictions of a well-detailed brick house flanked by fashionably costumed male and female figures and, o casionally their little og. ally Burr, who ,Âˇa only nine years old, mu t have been studyin<S under this teacher, .lr-.. lartha Pease Da\'i . of Warren when :he rorked this praise\'Orthy ampler. Betty Rin<S in \'Ol. I of Girlhood Embroidery :rite about these samler on pages 188 and 1 9 and illustrates hree examples. The i torial samplers of Rhode Island represent he best of American samplers and we are pleased to offer Sally Burr's sampler. ally's sampler is a more simplistic version than some known of this group and may have been the initial project made by this young needleworker. The house with its detailed front door, brick foundation and fence and the lady and gentleman, clearly share the salient characteristics of the published \\'arren examples. The sampler is signed, "Sally Burr Sampler Made In Warren Decbr 2th 1802 And In The Tenth Year Of Her Age," and the verse reads as follow: "Far in the Winding of a Vale Fast By A Sheltering Wood The Safe Retreat of Health And Peace And Humble Cottage Stood." Family information that accompanies the sampler indicates that Sally was the daughter of Rufus and Anna Burr, the second of their four children, born on March 28, 1793. Her birth is confirmed in the Vital Records of Rhode Island and the 1790, 1800 and 1820 census indicates that Rufus Burr was living with his family in Warren. The sampler was worked in silk on linen and is in excellent condition. It has been conservation mounted into an early black painted and molded frame Sampler size: 9%" x 8"

Price: $16,500.

AMERrcAÂˇs LEADING sAMPLER AND NEEDLEwoRK DEALER

M. Finkel ~ Daughter.

Anna Alford, to her sister Caroline, England, circa 1800 Worked with precise handling, this exquisite miniature sampler was made by one sister for another, dating from the late 18th or very early 19th century. The black silk ribbon used to form the border, rosettes and hanging device inform us that it was in fact made as a mourning sampler, which renders it rare indeed. The central image of the swan under a bowed branch is of Quaker design and Anna may have learned her skills at one of the fine Quaker schools in existence during the period. Somewhat hidden by the two upper corner rosettes are another pair of little birds which, along with the vase of flowers , large hearts, geometric motifs and other floral offerings, complete the handsome and balanced composition of this sampler. Worked in silk on linen with silk ribbon, it is in excellent condition and has been conservation mounted into a black and gold molded and painted frame. Sampler size: 5" x 5"

Framed size: 14" x 9"

Price: $6800.

Sarah Maria Beers, Elmira, New York, 1835 (2.-t ~Gro~

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A crisp, monochromatic sampler with finely stitched motifs and alphabets, this was worked by Sarah Maria Beers who was born in 1823, the daughter of William and Mary (Frost) Beers of Elmira, Chemung County, New York. Sarah's sampler closely resembles another from the same area, both samplers including the pendulous grape bunches , birds on branches, geometric motifs and little hearts. We find the unusually spare composition and neat execution very appealing. The linen is of a very tight weave and the silk floss is unusually fine; it is in very good condition with one minor area of loss. Conservation mounted, it is in a tiger maple frame. Sampler size: 11 114'' x 11 lfz''

M. Finkel e:J Daughter. AMERrcAÂˇs LEAD!

Price: $2200.

c sA.\1PLER A D NEEDLEwoRK D EALER

Jane W. Jarman, Chester, Delaware Co., Pennsylvania, 1832 This splendid sampler, worked by Jane W. Jarman of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, is an excellent example of the fine house and lawn samplers worked in the Philadelphia area in the 1830s. The sampler offers a fresh, folky quality that is most appealing. The shimmering architecture and its richly worked willow tree are set on an unusual lawn and path worked with broad sweeps of color, a detailed fence and gate, and a pair of crisp white lambs. The floral borders are intricate and beautifully worked, and meet at the center with a white dove holding an olive branch in its beak. A pair of green silk rosettes, original to the sampler, provide further embellishment. While no other samplers of the same personality are known, it is clear that the teacher who instructed Jane was of superior talents. Jane parents, Thomas and Anne Jarman, were each born in Wales and emigrated to America, settling in Chester, just southwest of Philadelphia. Chester was established prior to William Penn's grant of 1681 and, .\路hile it remained small, was a prosperous town with fine architecture for centuries. Jane was born in 1818 and worked her sampler .. at age 14. The family was ,路ell connected in the area as the file of research Ji832 ,路hich accompanies the sampler indicates. Jane is mentioned in the wills of her father, mother and two of her siblings, serving in 1881 as the executor of the estate of her brother Thomas Bowen Jarman. Jane had married a Mr. Taylor and was ''~dowed.

Worked in silk, silk ribbon and metallic coiled threads on linen, it is in excellent condition and has been conservation mounted into a mahogany cornerblock frame. Sampler size: 16}4" square

Price: $22,000.

AMERrcA路s LEADING sAMPLER AND NEEDLEwoRK DEALER

M. Finkel ~ Daughter.

Ursula Thompson, Pattern Darning Sampler, England, 1810 We occasionally come across highly sophisticated English pattern darning samplers that incorporate baskets of flowers, leafy vines and squares of weave structure, all of which function beautifully to showcase the aptitude and talents of their makers. This sampler offers this type of pattern darning as well as another technique: large areas of intricate and delicate whitework which its maker, Ursula Thompson, had clearly mastered. The needlework is beautifully realized and the composition, a shimmering low table supporting a lattice-work basket filled with subtly shaded flowers with a graceful garland floating above, is outstanding. Very fine drawn-work defines the areas below the table, with red silk threads wrapped in a zigzag pattern around the linen. The three different areas of open white-work are also worked in a drawn technique allowing Ursula Thompson to create large areas of specific patterns. This sampler is a tour-de-force of pattern darning. It was worked in silk on linen and is in excellent condition, conservation mounted into a lovely 19th century frame with gold leaf stencil decoration.

Sampler size: 13W' x 12%"

Price: $6800. (details)

M. Finkel et Daughter. AMERrcAÂˇs LEADL Âˇc sA\1PLER A

D NEEDLEwoRK DEALER

Minerva J. Lamson, Milton, Indiana, 1829 Documented samplers from states west of Ohio are considered very rare; this is an outstanding sampler worked by ten-year-old Minerva Jane Lamson of Milton, Indiana. The sampler features an original poem in three stanzas, the subject of which is the samplermaker herself and which was composed precisely so that she could inscribe it onto her sampler. The poem allows the sampler to functions as a modern day report card, offering commentary on Minerva's accomplishments along with advice to her in the future. The author of the poem was M.W., who quite likely was her teacher as well. )linerva Jane Lamson inscribed her sampler with the date, "9th month 1829" using the Quaker phrasing fo r this date. Minerva was born in Ohio, in 1819, the daughter of Jehiel and Sarah (Russell) Lamson. They were from New Jersey and Virginia respectively and their 1815 marriage was recorded in Warren County, Ohio. The Lamson family made its way further west and settled in Centerville and .lilton, towns in Wayne County, Indiana. A Quaker meeting, Milford Monthly Meeting, was establi hed in 1821 very near the town of Milton and meeting records indicate the family's affiliation. In 1 35 Minerva married Obed Macy Barnard, also a Quaker, whose ancestors were from Nantucket; Obed's parents, Shubal and Lydia Barnard were amongst the Quakers who settled in North Carolina but left over their objection to slavery. Some of these families brought slaves with them so that they could set them free in the North and many of these families settled along the Whitewater River in Indiana. Minerva and Obed Barnard lived in Centerville, Wayne Co. Indiana where their four children were born and where Minerva died in 1858. This sampler is distinguished as an Indiana sampler as well as for its unusual verse and it is a privilege to offer it. Worked in silk on linen, it is in very good condition, conservation mounted into its fine original cornerblock frame of mahogany and maple. Sampler size: 161/z" X 12 1/z" Price: $14,000.

AMERicAÂˇs LEADING sAMPLER AND NEEDL EwoRK DEALER

M. Finkel & Daughter.

Amanda Olmsted, Shaker, Union Village, Lebanon, Warren County, Ohio, 1836 Amongst the approximately 100 utopian and religious communities that existed in America during the 19th century, the Shaker communities are today the best known and most widely respected. The objects which the Shakers made and lived with served a strictly utilitarian purpose and are revered for their handsome, spare design and precise workmanship. It is a privilege to offer this Shaker sampler, only the fifth known example worked within the Ohio Shaker communities and the one which may best exemplify the Shaker character. Amanda Olmsted was thirty years old in 1836 when she worked this sampler. She had been a Union Village Shaker since the mid 1820's when her entire family joined the largest Shaker community west of the Allegheny Mountains. As Amanda inscribed inside the wreath on her sampler, she had been born July 13, 1806 and it is believed the family was from Vermont and then, briefly, Canada. Union Village records indicate that from 1832 to 1837 Amanda's position within the community was Second Eldress. As such, she would have served as assistant to the community Eldress, and perhaps, more significantly for the purpose of interpreting the sampler, also functioned as the overseer to the adolescent girls. Amanda's days would have been devoted to teaching skills such as needlework, weaving, rug making and laundry. Her handsome sampler would have served as a fine example to her charges and an excellent template from which they would have learned to mark linens and clothing, important jobs within this large and active communal village.

Remaining a member of Union Village for the balance of her life, Amanda died in December, 1883 and it was written in the Shaker Manifesto of January 1884, "She has been a faithful member for 60 yrs. living a pure virgin life and devoted to community interests. She honored her profession and zealously supported the cause of the Gospel and has now gone on to a happy home in the better Land." Her sampler is a tangible legacy of her life and work. It is in excellent condition, worked in silk on linen and now conservation mounted into a red-stained maple frame. Sampler size: 171fz'' x 17 1/4''

Price upon request

M. Finkel e:s Daughter. AMERrcAÂˇs LEADL Âˇc sAMPLER AND NEEDLEwoRK DEALER

Francis Ann D. Sloan, Bath, Maine, 1825 The town of Bath, Maine is located on the Kennebec River, 12 miles from the sea and, '"hroughout the 18th century, was an important center of shipbuilding and commerce :rom shipping. The maker of this large colorful sampler was ten-year-old Francis Ann Da Âˇi Sloan who lived in Bath all of her life. Born in 1815, she was the daughter of Samuel S, Sloan and Rachel Hall who were arried in Bath in 1796. Francis married en Bradford Farnum, a joiner and carpen- r who li kely worked in the shipbuilding u try according to the published family - ory. Their five children were born ~ Âˇ:een 1 43 and 1851 and the family '"<'mained in Bath, involved in the lumber -hipping business. She died in 1874 and _ 2r sampler descended in the family for over ~ -en ury. ranci sampler is a delightful one, with al phabets and two poems worked in good variety of stitches and enhanced by ITO\\'. richly colored bands. The borders at op and bottom and the line-end designs are particularly notable. Worked in silk on linen, the samlc:r i in excellent condition and has been conservation mounted into a beveled cherry frame.

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pier size: 20W' x 16W'

Price: $5200.

_lary Westcott, England, 1812 Many charming schoolgirl samplers were made in England during the first decades of the 19th century and this is a delightful example. Mary Westcott completed her little sampler on December 7, 1812, featuring a decorated bowl of flowers, a carefully worked and classic moralistic verse and various sprigs and flowering branches, all surrounded by two good borders, which frame her composition well. The palette is quite varied and appealing with assorted shades of blues, rose, green, and bronzes. Worked in silk on wool, it is in very good condition with some very slight areas of darn to the wool. It has been conservation mounted into a black painted frame. Sampler size: 13" x 6%"

Price: $2200.

Mary Parkin, England, circa 1816 The design of many English samplers is distinguished by the presence of symmetry and, frequently, a formality that can render them formulaic and stilted. This attractive sampler is unusual for its free-form qualities, with fluid lines depicting a boldly designed central flower basket, a ship with billowing sails and a sinuous serpent. The multicolored compass contributes to the nautical theme. Its maker, Mary Parkin, favored checkerboards and stripes to decorate her motifs and this, as well, adds to the sampler's folky appeal. Deeply colored silks contrast nicely on the tan-colored linen with an assortment of stitches providing varying textures. It is in excellent condition and has been conservation mounted into its original rosewood frame with a gilt liner. Sampler size: 12" x 6W' Price: $4200.

Lucy Thalia Pullen, Winthrop, Maine, 1820 This is a graphic and handsome sampler made by Lucy Thalia Pullen who was thirteen years old in 1820 and living in the town of Winthrop, just west of Augusta, Maine. She was the third of ten children of Captain Jonathan Pullen, a farmer and shopkeeper, and his wife Lucy Barrows Pullen. The family lived in Waterville and Winthrop and Lucy later married George Haven Dearborn of Waterville. Lucy featured alphabets worked in a variety of stitches on her sampler and a handsome garland of lustrous flowers. Her inscription was accomplished in particularly fine lettering. Worked in silk on linen, the sampler is in excellent condition and has been conservation mounted into a gold leaf frame.

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Sampler size: 15" x 16lfz'' Price: $4400.

M. Finkel & Daughter. AMERrcAÂˇs LEADING sAMPLER AND NEEDLEwoRK D EALER

Margaret Ribold, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1796

e of the most extraordinary American schoolgirl samplers were worked in Philadelphia in the 18th 路ury, where instructresses continued the excellent teachings and applied the very high standards - they had brought from England. Features such as the band format and the inscriptions that 路emate with rows of stylized flowers, acorns and trees can be found on samplers from Philadelphia. _ o her. more unusual, characteristic also indicates the origins of this sampler - an enduring pattern, 路 i h eems to have been in use in Philadelphia as early as the 1730s and was continued for almost a en ury: that of working the first letter of each word in with a contrasting colored silk. This feature 路as well illustrated by the maker of this splendid, large sampler, Margaret Ribold of Philadelphia. . largaret was only nine years old ("in the tenth year of her age") in 1796, and must have, at this very :oung age, already been receiving an extraordinary education. (continued on next page) -

A 1ERICA'S LEADING SAMPLER AND NEEDLEWORK DEALE R

M. Finkel as Daughter.

Margaret Ribold, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1796 (cont'd) Margaret was born in 1787, the daughter of Philip and Elizabeth Ribold (whose names appear on her sampler), who were married in 1779 at the German Reformed Church in Philadelphia. Philip's occupation was that of sheep dresser and he died in 1793. In 1796, his widow married a doctor of some means, Dr. Albertus Shilack, also of Philadelphia. Quite sadly, Elizabeth died shortly afterward this marriage. Dr. Shilack died in 1801 and mentioned both Margaret and her older brother, Philip, as his "Dear Step Children," in his will. Along with considerable monies to be given to Margaret when she reached "lawful age," Margaret was to receive such fine items as her stepfather's mahogany bureau, six silver teaspoons, one large looking glass and one featherbed and bedding. Margaret married James Wood in 1806 at the family church and they had at least one child, a daughter Mary Wood, baptized there as well, in 1810. Margaret Ribold Wood seems to have been widowed by 1850. The inscriptions on the sampler include moral advice such as, "For time will come when you shall sore lament the unhappy minutes that you have misspent." Four large pink flowers form handsome corner embellishments and we further enjoy the pale blue bird hovering at the lower right corner. While this sampler presents the formality of Philadelphia samplermaking in the 18th century, Margaret seems to have imbued it with an appealing sense of her own youthful exuberance. Worked in silk on linen, the sampler is in excellent condition with some minor weakness to the linen. It has been conservation mounted into a black and gold frame.

Sampler size: 19W' x 13W'

Price: $14,500.

(details)

M. Finkel e:S Daughter. AMERrcAÂˇs LEAD!. Âˇc sAMPLER AND NEEDLEwoRK DEALER

_lartha Phelps, Marlborough, Massachusetts, 1824

ler wo rked on deep green Iinsey-woolsey, fabric woven of linen and wool, present a wonderfully aling graphic as evidenced by our fine example by Martha Phelps of Marlborough, a town 28 miles :- i Boston. The Phelps Family of America, published in 1899, identifies Martha as the daughter ; Dca on Stephen Rice Phelps and Martha Brigham, born in 1813, the fifth .: - eir even children. Martha worked her sampler at age 10 and at age 20, ·rried \\ illiam Wilson, a farmer and wheelwright also of Marlborough. :had four children in that town, but after 1860, removed to Santa Clara, iiornia. Martha died there in 1893. er sampler is a particularly attractive one, worked in a palette of gold,

o__ ·e. ochre and beige and featuring strong geometric borders and three pots ·-h flowering branches which support a pair of folky birds. The verse, care. lly worked with letter-perfect precision, is enclosed within another graphic ework. That Martha included the name of her town in her inscription, o · ourse, adds to the interest of this sampler. . :orked in silk on Iinsey-woolsey, the sampler is in excellent condition and been conservation mounted into a stencil painted and gold leaf frame. Sampler size: 15lfz'' x 17"

Price: $16,000. (detail)

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M. Finkel ~ Daughter.

Hannah Mannington and Miriam Mannington, England, 1828 and 1841 Two fine samplers, showing great similarity, were made by sisters, Hannah and Miriam Mannington, thirteen years apart. Both girls were born and remained in the area of Waldron, Sussex, England; they were two of the fourteen children of a gentleman hops farmer, Isaac Mannington and Martha Berry. Hannah was born August 20, 1820, and worked her sampler in 1828 at the age of seven. Miriam was born March 30, 1829, and worked her sampler in 1841. In 1851 Hannah married Charles Parsons; Miriam, however, never wedded and resided with her father for many years. For this reason the samplers descended through one family and remained together. Both girls stitched their samplers in red and teal green, and they are almost identical in appearance. Hannah worked her sampler at a younger age, with lovely borders and an aphorism reading, "Scorn equivocating Language and live with equity." Miriam stitched her sampler just before her twelfth birthday with the same lovely borders; her lines read, "The art of printing was discovered in 1440" and "America was discovered by Christopher Columbus." It is uncertain whether Hannah's sampler was used in aiding Miriam to make her own, or if the fashion remained standard in the same school. Worked in silk on linen, these samplers remain in very good condition with minor areas of loss and have been conservation mounted into cherry frames with maple beads.

(detail)

Sampler sizes: 12" x 12" and

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x 12W'

M. Finkel ~ Daughter. AMERrcAÂˇs LEAD I. c

Price for the pair: $5800.

AMPLER AND NEEDLEwoRK DEALER

Kittura Dillion, Abington, Pennsylvania, circa 1810 ·e are grateful to the ;mg samplermakers o ocumented · ir ,·ork by includ. g e name of their n on their needier ·· thi not only • t:o the interest of _ cific sampler, creases the genowledge · g the origin · .:r samplers.

the car.=: . use with oomay and black dog, pine trees with oversized birds and two-handled urns of flowers appear on samplers from this area. A sampler made by Rebecca Barton in 1808 and in the Kapnek collection for - .. ear (figure 58, A Gallery of American Samplers, Krueger) shares these elements and provides an - -. · n i a small town just north of Philadelphia in Montgomery County, with an early history and a popu~ ·n the early years of the 19th century, under 1000. Kittura Dillion was born July 3, 1796 to Jacob and .· Dillion and would have worked her sampler when she was between 10 and 14 years old, hence we can r ,·ork circa 1810. Kittura died, unmarried, in Abington on September 5, 1865 and a photocopy of her will and the inventory of her estate accompany this sampler. The sampler is in excellent condition, worked in silk on linen, and conservation mounted into a figured maple frame with a black bead. Sampler size: 17%" x 20" Price: $9800.

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M. Finkel e:l Daughter.

Chamba Rumal, Himachal Pradesh, India, 19th Century Chamba is a district located in the hills of Himachal Pradesh in India. The rumal, or embroidered handkerchief, is the form for which Chamba is well-known. One particularly interesting type of rumal was used to wrap small gifts for special occasions, such as a wedding or a temple offering, and we offer such an example.

Rumals have been poetically described as "images of miniature painting on fabric. " Customarily the local miniature painters would draw an image onto the delicate hand-woven cotton, in many cases suggesting as well the color palette to be used by the embroiderer. Women, traditionally of a higher caste, would then employ a reversible stitch called "Dorukha," meaning double satin stitch, filling the line drawings ~ with embroidery worked with vibrant vegetable-dyed silk .... thread.

(detail) Rumal were revered for their richly colored embroidery and for their significance of subject matter; in many cases Krishna legends. This particular scene depicts Krishna seated on a lotus blossom with his consort, Radha. The Ras, or Rasa dance is being performed around them by gopis (Krishna's topmost cowherd girl devotees, or milkmaids). During this dance the gopis travel in a circle and rhythmically hit sticks as they move. Krishna has multiplied himself so that each gopi feels as if Krishna himself is dancing solely with her. The identity of the sprightly figure in the corner is unclear; it may be Shiva, who was the eternal protector of the Rasa dance, but whom was not allowed to participate. This rumal was in the collection of Carlotta Mabury, an Englishwoman who collected widely in the East at the beginning of the 20th century and donated much of her collection to the Museum of Fine Arts, San Francisco. Worked in silk on very fine hand woven cotton, the rumal remains in excellent condition, and has been conservation mounted into a molded black frame with a gold liner. Sight size: 22W' square Price: $4200.

M. Finkel ~ Daughter. AMERrcAÂˇs LEAor

c sAMPLER AND NEEDLEw oRK DEALER

Louisa Martha Vanlaw, Belmont County, Ohio, 1834 Ohio samplers exist in far fewer numbers than those from the ~tern states, and documented examples were the subject of a -.sroundbreaking exhibition curatby sampler scholar, Sue ,tudebaker, entitled Ohio is My

Dwelling Place: Schoolgirls Embroideries 1800 - 1850. This as held at the Ohio Decorative Center in Lancaster, Ohio in _ 3 and the accompanying book :;be same title is considered an · :aluable resource for all sam'"' r collectors. We are extremely "' ~ed to be able to offer this rtant and very appealing ·o sampler, which was includ~- in this exhibition as the only mpler from Belmont County iJlustrated in Sue ebaker's as figure 167. uisa Martha Vanlaw was the , rth of nine children born to . nn and Sarah (Sharp) Vanlaw, her birth on April 22, 1818 was recorded in Belmont County. The family belonged to the Stillwater ·er Meeting and Louisa's sampler exhibits many classic Quaker needlework motifs including the octago- enclosure of two birds with ~ epigram, "An Emblem of :e:· The two-line inscrip. . ··count that day lost e low descending sun I - .: from thy hand no wor. . a tions done" epitomizes

· o ophy of Quaker teach-.The handsome two-chim._ rick house is flanked by - and evergreen trees, and tightly worked fence is pleted by arched gates at iar left and right.

(detail) uisa married James Doudna of Chesterfield, Ohio, on February 23, 1843, and her sam'"' r descended in the family until at least 1949. It was worked in linen on linen and is in very good condi- n with some minor areas of loss, one of which has been stabilized by an old needlework darn. It has been ervation mounted and is in a black molded and painted frame. Sampler size: 17W' x 16Yz''

Price: $24,000.

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M. Finkel & Daughter.

Frances Laura Salter, Newport, Nova Scotia, Canada, 1851

Documented Canadian samplers are relatively scarce and the majority of them share characteristics with English samplers; indeed many can be mistaken for English samplers if their Canadian origins aren't known. However, the influence of American samplermakers is much in evidence on this handsome and straightforward example which was worked in the Nova Scotia town of Newport, north of Halifax, in Hants County. Frances Laura Salter was born in 1839, the daughter of a farmer, Michael Salter, and his wife, Martha Brinson Salter. Frances worked this sampler in 1851 when she was twelve years old. Her paternal great grandparents, Robert and Martha (Moxley) Salter, were born in Cork County, Ireland and settled in Newport circa 1765. They were amongst the many Scotch-Irish and English emigrants that populated the area. Interestingly, another group that accounts for a substantial part of the Newport community was American Loyalists from New England who supported British control of the colonies. It seems likely that this influence in Newport may account for the American character of this sampler. Assorted alphabets are accompanied by a fine house and lawn scene and it is all surrounded by a wide strawberry border and other narrow border designs. For all of its strong American character, it is interesting to note that the trees show influence of Scottish samplers; this perhaps is a further reflection of the cultures in the area. Worked in silk on linen, the sampler is in excellent condition and has been conservation mounted into a cherry frame. Price: $5800.

M. Finkel ~ Daughter. AMERrcAÂˇs LEAD! 'G sAMPLER AND NEEDLEwoRK D EALER

Lydia Corey, Saratoga County, New York, 1820 to circa 1860, sampler, miniature watercolor portrait and map of The United States of America" It is indeed fortunate that these three pieces, a ::ampler, miniature watercolor portrait in silouette and pen and ink map remained 路ogether throughout their existence. They are 路he work of Lydia Corey Foote (1810-1870) of E inburgh and Northampton, New York. Lydia was the daughter of a farmer, Gideon orey and his wife, Lavinia Moon Corey, who \路ere each from East Greenwich, Rhode Island ut moved westward and settled in Edinburgh, about 45 miles NNW of Albany. Family information indicates that Lydia e arne a schoolteacher and published ~~ aunts confirm that she did not marry until ::he was over 40 years old, at which point she :narried a widower, John Wesley Foote. Their ::on Charles E. Foote was born in 1855 and ecame a well-regarded doctor in the area.

The sampler was made when Lydia was ten . ears old and is a good marking sampler, :pica! of the many made by American schoolgirl during the early decades of the 19th cen:ury. The fine and detailed map was drawn by Lydia after she was married and may have been reminisent of the lessons that she taught for many years. It seems likely that the watercolor portrait, with I of its informative inscriptions, was a self portrait, painted circa 1830 to 1835 with inscriptions ded later. Together these three pieces present a fine body of work and well portray the life and talt::l of Lydia Corey Foote. She remained in the area and died in 1879. The sampler is worked in silk on linen and is in excellent condition, conservation mounted into a late r 19th century frame. The map and watercolor are also in excellent condition. Sampler size: 13"x lOW' Sight size of the map: 18" x 21 W' Sight size of the portrait: 3W' x 2%"

Price for the three: $6800.

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M. Finkel et Daughter.

Helen McLucky, Edinburgh, Scotland, 1813

Scottish samplers, as a group, present enormous appeal. The composition of these samplers is lively and the needlework can be both rich and delicate. The samplermakers rarely included the place name on their work and so this delightful sampler further distinguishes itself. The alphabets and numerical progressions, the fine bands of pictorial motifs and the many sets of family initials are all beautifully framed by graceful borders. Many Scottish samplers were worked in a less varied palette and Helen included blues, yellows and mauves along with the traditional greens and reds. Worked in silk on wool, the sampler is in very good condition with some areas of slight loss to the wool. It has been conservation mounted into its original molded and painted frame with a gold liner.

Sampler size: 15" x 12W'

Price: $5800.

(detail)

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c sAMPLER AND NEED LEwoRK DEALER

Amy H. Holcombe, Mt. Airy, Hunterdon County, _ ew Jersey, 1836 education in the needle for a well brought-up . ung lady in the early 19th ~ntury was likely to contineyond the making of ·:andard samplers and may :e included this type: a ~ orem-li ke rendering of a ~ - ·et of flowers and fruit. .· Holcombe, the daughter ·a ,·ealthy farmer and mert from Hunterdon ~.o nty, ew Jersey, was age ..:.:..cen in 1836 when she r ·ed this handsome and __ anced needlework picture. e lu tro us, low, pale-blue - ·cd bowl with its serrated -"'c holds flowers, leaves and · e· of trailing strawberries ~- i urrounded by a stun- - ~ 6 border of shimmering ·hes of silvery grapes on a ~ - ·. \'ine. A pair of small . . . • baskets decorate the upper corners. Overall, the effect is ... ·-tanding. ~

_. Holcombe included in her inscription the initials of her rent . Solomon and Catherine (Barber) Holcombe. The 1-ombe family history in America stems from John ~ombe, a Quaker who settled near New Hope, Bucks County, ~n ylvania and then across the river in New Jersey, by 1720 . • ~ Airy is a small town north of Lambertville and was the home • · c Holcombe family for generations. Solomon Holcombe was .., of the town's most prosperous citizens and in the published :ly genealogy entitled, "The Holcombes: Nation Builders. . Family Having as Great a Part as Any in the Making of All • · rth American Civilization," it is stated that Solomon : . ombe was called "King Solomon" because of his great sue- --.Amy was born in 1821, the 4th of the Holcombe's 10 chi!. At age twenty Amy married a miller and farmer, mfiel d Blackwell, also of Mt. Airy. In 1860 Bloomfield coed the Lambertville and Rocky Hill Turnpike Company, in nership with Amy's older brother, Alexander Holcombe and 1n73, became director of the Mt. Airy Vigilantes Society. Amy Bloomfield became the parents of three children. ·or ·ed in silk and linen on linen, it is in excellent condition has been conservation mounted into a 19th century gold leaf frame. : mpler size: 1712'' x 1812''

Framed size: 21 %" x 22%"

(detail)

Price: $9200.

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M. Finkel ~ Daughter.

Prudence C. Hunting, Needham, Massachusetts, 1816

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The town of Needham is in Norfolk County, southwest of Boston, and the history of the town is intertwined with the histories of the Hunting and Colburn families from the mid 17th century forward. These two families thrived in this area for many generations and in 1800 Hezekiah Hunting married Mary Colburn in Needham and the first of their five children, Prudence Colburn Hunting was born on November 16, 1801.

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Prudence made this praiseworthy sampler when she was fifteen years old and it is a classic example of the fine needlework that was produced in this area. Talented and exacting instructresses helped their students to design and execute samplers with letterperfect poetry and wide borders with handsome decorative motifs.

In 1822 Prudence married Moses Bass (1780 - 1858) of Boston, a descendent of Deacon Samuel Bass who settled in Braintree, Massachusetts by 1640. Moses worked in the treasury of the city of Boston and he and Prudence became the parents of three children. Prudence died in 1889. The sampler was worked in silk on linen and is in very good condition with very minor loss to the silk. It has been conservation mounted and is in a mid 19th century frame with original paint. Sampler size: 17" x 14W' Price: $3850.

Sarah Holl, England, 1805 In 1805, Sarah Holl worked this lovely sampler which features a handsome composition and a colorful palette. Horizontal bands of small arches form the top and bottom borders and vines of berries form the side borders. The samplermaker used as her central image a large pot of pendulant flowers and on either side inscribed a moralistic verse. Further motifs include small pots of flowers, little birds and a graphic row of striped diamond elements. Worked in silk on linen, this handsome sampler remains in excellent condition, conservation mounted in a black molded frame. Sampler size: 17" x 12W'

Price: $2400.

Colonial Dutch Embroidery, Bay of St. Anna, Curacao, 1791 Curacao is a Dutch colony located in the West Indies, near Aruba and close to the Venezuelan coast. Originally the island was inhabited by the Amerindian Arawaks, prior to arrival of the Spanish in 1499. Fort Amsterdam, named after the Chamber of Amsterdam, a department of the etherlands West Indies Company, is the oldest Dutch Fort in the Caribbean and sits on the St. Anna Bay in Punda, the eastern district of the island. In 1634, after the Spanish abandoned Curacao, the Dutch West Indies Company claimed the land and erected Fort Amsterdam. Today the Fort erves as the seat of Government for the Netherlands Antilles. This large, exquisitely worked silk embroidery is one of the very few known to have been made in Curacao and is dated 1791. The needlework is extremely impressive, exhibiting the strong influence of Dutch and German objects and patterns. The work was executed in lustrous silks, sequins and metallic threads that reflect the trade routes of the Dutch West Indies Trading Company. Centered is the all-seeing eye, symbolic image of the Freemasons. A concentric arrangement of motifs follows, illustrating both everyday objects and those reflecting the exotic and varied cultures of that time and place. Images that we find particularly notable include the sailing ship, long-reaching spider web, windmill, curly-tailed lion with his whimsical face, many birds with colorful plumage and of course, the detailed depiction of the stone fort. The border is a highly delicate arrangement of vines, flowers, buds, tassels and bowknots, with four elegant bouquets inside the four corners. This embroidery shows the influence of Johann Friedrich Netto of Leipzig, whose late 18th century pattern books enjoyed wide circulation. We must assume that this anonymous needleworker was as impressed with her accomplishments as we are today. Worked in silk, sequins and metallic thread on silk, it remains in excellent condition, and has been conservation mounted into a carved black frame with gold liner. ight size: 24" x 27"

Price: $8800.

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M. Finkel ~ Daughter.

Susannah Donaha, Schenectady, New York, 1837 This bold and handsome sampler is signed, "Susannah Donaha's Work age 13 Years Schenectady November 1837," and features a large three-storied building, verse and alphabets surrounded by a narrow Greek key border. The samplermaker was part of the Donaha I Donohue family from Scotland that settled in Schenectady and intermarried with the Dutch American families in the region. Susannah's sampler also includes baskets of flowers, birds on branches and a tall pine tree in addition to the house and fence scene. A pair of finely worked geometric motifs anchors the upper corners and adds nicely to the composition of this sampler. The verse used is typical of many used in the period, as it extols the virtue of leading a life of wisdom. Worked in silk on linen, the sampler is in excellent condition and it has been conservation mounted into a beveled mahogany frame. Sampler size: 17" x 17W'

Price: $7800.

M. Finkel ~ Daughter. AMERrcAÂˇs LEAor

c sAMPLER AND NEEDLEwoRK DEALER

Sarah Palmer, England, 1813 Canvaswork pictures depicting biblical stories fro m the Old Testament we re worked in England throughout the 17th and 1 th centuries and many examples are in public and private institutions. The majority of these are omewhat formal in nature, lacking the youthfu l charm that we find so appealing in needlework made by schoolgirls. Our early 19th century canvaswork picture, made by arah Palmer, actually mo re closely resembles amplers of the period and ,.e find the combination o hold great appeal. arah Palmer, working in 1 13, illustrates the story of Abraham and the acrifice of Isaac on three levels with many informaive captions and inscripio ns throughout. The ram hiding in the thicket and the "burnt offering" are so labeled, both ··Abrahm" and his son I aac are named and the to ry is told in a dramatic paragraph that reads, in part, "The wood the fire the knife He took his arm Prepared the dreadful troke ... " The angel, in his setting of clouds and sun, and the man with a donkey provide further animation. Interesting to note is the 18th century garb of the two men; their jackets, hats, boots would have been familiar to Sarah Palmer. It must have been the intent of Sarah's teacher that the background be fully ,·orked and we can only imagine that Sarah later declared the project completed with some areas beind the inscription left without this background stitching. \\o rked in silk on linen, it is in excellent condition and has been conservation mounted into a late 19th century maple frame. ampler size: 17" x 103/4''

Price: $8400.

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M. Finkel ~ Daughter.

Eirene Smith, East Sudbury, Massachusetts, 1816

This is a particularly winning sampler which features a folky scene of a double-chimney house in front of a wide pond underneath a sky of scalloped clouds; details such as baskets, trees, an out-building and little birds provide a lively naivete and render the sampler especially appealing. The maker inscribed her sampler, "Eirene Smith aged 14 years East Sudbury June 18 1816," and included a delightfully dire four-line poem, executed in small and flawless letters. The samplermaker used a distinctive border to further showcase her skills with needle and thread. A delicate vine of leaves and buds works its sinuous way around three sides of the sampler, joining the bottom sawtooth border. East Sudbury is located 16 miles west of Boston on the Sudbury River. In 1835, the name of the town was changed to Wayland. Genealogical research continues and we hope to be able to identify the samplermaker Eirene Smith and her family. Worked in silk on linen, the sampler is in excellent condition and has been conservation mounted into a beveled cherry frame with a maple bead. Sampler size: 16W' x 16W ' Price: $11,500.

(detail)

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c sAMPLER AND NEEDLEwoRK DEALER

Sarah Newton, England, 1650 In her book entitled Samplers: Five Centuries of a Gentle Craft, Anne Sebba writes the following: "The seventeenth century produced some of the most beautiful samplers ever made, particularly in England. There were several different types, and many were still worked as reference and not intended for show. But almost all of them displayed exquisitely fine and varied stitches combined with sophisticated designs and color schemes; they were executed with an eye for detail , neatness and perfection. The period is often referred to as the golden age of samplermaking."

In 1650, Sarah Newton worked this excellent band sampler which combines polychrome work and whitework and includes depictions of two figures. Sarah used a wide vocabulary of stitches and techniques including double running stitch and the detached buttonhole stitch but it is the all-white pulled and wrapped threadwork and the even more demanding cutwork that renders this sampler most interesting. Surface white embroidery, in two narrow bands, provides further decoration. The male figure with his raised arm has long been referred to as the "boxer," and had roots in early Italian pattern books. By the 17th century the boxer generally appears as the fashionably costumed man with coiffed hair that appears on this sampler. Sarah Newton's sampler combines fine workmanship with interesting choices. Worked in silk on linen, it is in excellent condition and has been conservation mounted into a painted frame with a carved gold-leaf liner.

Sampler size: 34%" X 6%" Price: $15,500.

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M. Finkel e:S Daughter.

Katharina Elisabetha Loewenberg, Embroidered Pocket, Dreisen, Germany, 1849 As early as the mid 17th century, ladies made embroidered pockets. The form began as an elongated teardrop shape and became rectangular into the 19th century; some were functional and some purely decorative and they were always made to be tied around the waist and accessed by a vertical slit. This is an exceptional little pocket made in 1849 in Dreisen, Germany by Katharina Elisabetha Loewenberg. She employed classic sampler patterns that are found on 18th and early 19th century schoolgirl needlework including the whimsical dogs, reindeer and birds which are typical of Pennsylvania German design. Worked in silk on linen, it is in excellent condition and has been conservation mounted into a beveled shadowbox frame of mid 19th century mahogany veneer. Framed size: 15" x 12" Pocket size: 9Yz'' x 7" Price: $2200.

Headwork Picture of a Bullfight, Gabriela Caballero, Spain, 1810 The technique of stitching tiny glass beads onto linen canvas existed from the 17th century forth, but because it is enormously time consuming, few examples exist. Some depict landscape or bucolic scenes and were unsigned or dated; it is thought that the majority were made under the direction of teachers at convent schools. In that beads retain their strength of color and are so wonderfully lustrous, beadwork pictures have strong visual impact. The tradition of the bullfight is, of course, an important part of Spanish culture and has been celebrated for many centuries. This beadwork picture was worked by Gabriela Caballero (her last name translates to mean "horseman" or "cowboy") in 1810, and the inscription was worked with opaque metallic beads. A fine border of deep pink and blue flowers surrounds various matadors in specific postures with the concluding scene of the bullfight above. Worked in glass beads on linen, it is in excellent condition with very minor loss and has been mounted into a 19th century gold leaf frame. Size of the picture: 7 ~" x 9W'

Price: $3600

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Bouquet of Flowers, Easton, Pennsylvania, circa 1835 A splendid group of samplers and needl ework pictures was made over a period of approximately 25 years in the early 19th century in Easton, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania under the instruction of Mary Ralston. These pieces have been well documented by Betty Ring in Girlhood Embroidery, vol II, pages 450 - 455 and the illustrated examples make it clear that these works all share the same design and precise renderings, and are always worked in vividly colored crewel wool. The large-blossomed flowers, fat buds, veined leaves and vines assigned by Mrs. Ralston can appear in borders or, as is the case with this excellent example, as the central image, a charming bunch of flowers caught by a pale blue bowknot. For a similar example, please see our

Samplings Catalogue VIII, page 9. Worked in crewel wool on linen, it is in excellent condition with very minor loss to the wool. It has been conservation mounted into a mahogany and maple cornerblock frame. Sampler size:

Price: $3850.

Knitted Pinballs, England, 1801, 1809, 1810 Schoolgirls at the end of 18th and early 19th centuries occasionally made little needlework-related objects and gave them as gifts of remembrance and affection. These knitted pinballs, and others that are very similar, frequently show strong influence of Quaker school sampler design and may well have been made by young ladies while at Quaker schools. A 1911 London publication, Pins and Pincushions by Longmans and Loch, The Arms of the Pinners' Company, shows a grouping of five pinballs, all very much like ours and with dates ranging from 1789 to 1840. It is stated, "All five are made in exactly similar fashion, to wit, knitted in round sections, which are sewn together over a tightly stuffed ballcushion." They are each worked in knitted silk and are in excellent condition. Price for the 1801 pinball: $1100 for the 1809 pinball: $1300 and for the 1810 pinball: $1450

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Mary Welton, England, 183 7 Mary Welton worked this colorful sampler in 1837, filling virtually all of the available space with nicely worked imagery and verse. In rich shades of greens, blues, reds and pinks, she tightly stitched this symmetrical and detailed piece. A verse, centered in a checkered block border, exhorts us to respect our parents, telling us, "Observe that honour which to them is due I And with thy happiness keep theirs in view." A charming landscape scene above the verse exhibits the classic symmetry found on English samplers. Adjoined houses are centered on a tree with colorful buds sprinkled across the lawn and hummingbirds hovering above. Below the verse a basket of flowers is surrounded by fat birds, a bountiful fruit basket, and other flowers on vines with clusters of hearts drooping down over the basket. Mary Welton bordered her sampler well, with continuous full blossoms and shaded leaves and four small flower sprigs in the outer corners. Interesting to note are the three cornucopias with flowers springing from them - classic Quaker motifs. This sampler has been worked in silk on wool and is in good condition. It has been conservation mounted into its original bird's eye maple frame. Sampler size: 17" x 1212''

Price: $3850

Agnes Margret Metcalfe, England, dated 1831 This sampler was worked by Agnes Margret Metcalfe at the age of twelve in 1831. She stitched a country landscape with a church surrounded by traditional English sampler images, such as crowns, potted flowers, pine trees, hearts and diamonds. Agnes stitched large birds and patterned butterflies to provide further decoration as well as a lawn of trees and potted plants. At the top of the sampler, she worked an alphabet and numerical progression. Worked in silk on linen, Miss Metcalfe's sampler remains in excellent condition. It has been conservation mounted into a fumed oak frame. Sampler size: 12" square

Price: $2200.

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Allahabad Missionary School, India, Clara Moss, 1870

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During the middle and late 19th century orphanage schools proliferated in England, and by the 1870s as many as 2000 orphans were housed and schooled within these predominantly religious institutions. Concurrently, missionary orphanages were established in India, patterned after these British models and, according to an article in The Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History (vol. 7, no. 2, 1979), "There were similar free schools for poor Europeans and Anglo-Indians in such military towns and railway junctions as Agra, Kanpur, Allahabad and Lahore." Samplers were produced by female students at these missionary orphanage schools, just as they were by their English counterparts. A body of such English orphanage samplers survives, the great majority worked in red onto white with various bands of letters and decorative borders; however, very few examples worked in India are known to exist. This sampler was made within this tradition by Clara Moss who was eight years old in 1870 and living in India with her family. Her teacher and guide in the production of this sampler was her mother, Helen Lucretia Moss who was likely a missionary teacher at the time. Also mentioned on the sampler is her younger sister, Jessie, then five years old. Clara's father may have been in Allahabad, a city centrally located between Delhi and Calcutta, for military purposes. Clara was born in India but by 1881 the family was back in England living in Marygate, York. Worked in red cotton onto linen, the sampler is in excellent condition and has been conservation mounted into a period oak frame. Sampler size: 21 W' x 16%''

Price: $3800.

AMERrcAÂˇs LEADING sAMPLER AND NEEDLEw o RK DEALER

M. Finkel ~ Daughter.

SELECTED NEEDLEWORK BIBLIOGRAPHY Allen, Gloria Seaman. Family Record Genealogical Watercolors and Needlework. Washington, DC: DAR Museum, 1989. Bolton, Ethel Stanwood and Coe, Eve Johnston. American Samplers. Boston: The Massachusetts Society of the Colonial Dames of America, 1921. Brooke, Xanthe. Catalogue of Embroideries. The Lady Lever Art Gallery. Alan Sutton Publishing Inc., 1992 Edmonds, Mary Jaene. Samplers and Samplermakers, An American Schoolgirl Art 1700-1850. New York: Rizzoli, 1991. Herr, Patricia T. The Ornamental Branches, Needlework and Art from the Lititz Moravian Girls' School Between 1800 and 1865. The Heritage Center Museum of Lancaster County, Pa, 1996. Epstein, Kathy. British Embroidery: Curious Works from the Seventeenth Century. Colonial Williamsburg and Curious Works Press, 1998. Hersh, Tandy and Charles. Samplers of the Pennsylvania Germans. Birdsboro, PA: Pennsylvania German Society, 1991. Humphrey, Carol. Samplers, Fitzwilliam Museum Handbooks. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1997. Ivey, Kimberly Smith. In the Neatest Manner: The Making of the Virginia Sampler Tradition. Colonial Williamsburg and Curious Works Press, 1997. Krueger, Glee F. A Gallery of American Samplers: The Theodore H. Kapnek Collection. New York: E.P. Dutton, 1978. New England Samplers to 1840. Sturbridge, Massachusetts: Old Sturbridge Village, 1978. Ring, Betty. American Needlework Treasures. New York: E.P. Dutton, 1987. Girlhood Embroidery: American Samplers & Pictorial Needlework, 1650-1850. Knopf, 1993. Let Virtue be a Guide to Thee: Needlework in the Education of Rhode Island Women, 1730-1820. Providence: The Rhode Island Historical Society, 1983. Schiffer, Margaret B. Historical Needlework of Pennsylvania. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1968. Schorsch, Anita. Mourning Becomes America: Mourning Art in the New Nation. Clinton, New Jersey: The Main Street Press, 1976. Staples Epstein, Kathy, Tinley, Lynn. "Some Honest Worke in Hand ... " English Samplers from the Seventeenth Century. Greenville, South Carolina, 2001. This Have I Done: Samplers and Embroideries from Charleston and the Lowcountry. Curious Works Press and the Charleston Museum, 2002. Studebaker, Sue. Ohio Samplers, School Girl Embroideries 1803-1850. Warren County Historical Society, 1988. Ohio Is My Dwelling Place. Ohio: Ohio University Press, 2002. Swan, Susan B. Plain and Fancy: American Women and Their Needlework, 1700-1850. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1977.

M. Finkel OJ Daughter. AMERicA"s LEAD I

c sAMPLER AND NEEDLEwoRK DEALER

Conservation Mounting of Antique Samplers and Needlework Because of the important role that condition plays in the field of antique samplers and needlework. 'Âˇe trive to insure that these pieces undergo proper preservation while in our care. Below i a tep-by- tep description of the "conservation mounting" process. Our techniques are simple and straightforward: we remove the dust and dirt particles mechanically, never wet-cleaning the textiles. We use onl} acid-free materials and museum-approved techniques throughout the process. Please call us if you have any que tions in this regard. ::J

Carefully clean the piece using our special vacuum process.

Mount it by means of hand-sewing onto acid-free museum board that has been slip-cased with fabric appropriate to the piece itself, and at the same time stabilize any holes or weak areas. Re-fit the item back into its original frame, or custom-make a reproduction of an 18th or early 19th century frame using one of our exclusive patterns.

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Supply a reverse painted black glass mat, if appropriate, done in correct antique manner.

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When necessary, install TruVue Conservation Clear glass which blocks 97% of the harmful ultraviolet light. In the framing process, the needlework is properly spaced away from the glass, the wooden frame is sealed, and the dust cover is attached with special archival tape .

... _.Prudence C. Hunting, Needham, _ .....:: ~ u etts, 1 16 a<1e 24.

detail of sampler by Sally Burr, Warren, Rhode Island, 1802 page 5.

detail of sampler by Mary Welton, England, 1807 page 32.

est. 1947

M. Finkel ~ Daughter. AMERICA' S LEADING ANTIQUE SAMPLER & NEEDLEWORK DEALER

936 Pine Street . Philadelphia . Pennsylvania . 19107-6128 215-627-7797.800-598-7432. fax 215-627-8199 www.samplings.com