Samplings: XLVI

VOLUME XLVI

(detail of sampler by Mary D'Silver, page 3)

(detail of sampler by Calista Slack, page 15)

(detail of sampler by Margret Burnell, page 22)

Copyright Š 2014 by M. Finkel & Daughter, Inc. All rights reserved. No 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 ...

We are delighted to present this issue of Samplings which is the 46th edition of our catalogue of schoolgirl samplers and needlework, produced semiannually since 1992. It is our hope that you enjoy reading through this catalogue which presents 37 fine antique samplers and schoolgirl needleworks. We thank you all for your continued and growing interest in this field.

Schoolgirl samplers and needlework provide 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.

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. 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 67th anniversary of the founding of our firm. We continue to value our positive relationships 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 Monday through Friday, and can be available on weekends, except when we are exhibiting at 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.

Please let us know if you would like us to email you larger photos than appear in this catalogue. The majority of the pieces in the catalogue have not yet appeared on our website so as to give our catalogue subscribers the advantage of having a first look. Should your choice be unavailable, we would be happy to discuss your collecting objectives with you. Our inventory is extensive, and we have many other samplers that are not included in our catalogue, some of which are on our website. Moreover, through our sources, we may be able to locate what you are looking for; you will find us knowledgeable and helpful.

Payment may be made by check or credit card. 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 ground or FedEx air, insured.

We look forward to your phone calls and your interest.

www.samplings.com Please check our website for frequent updates and additions to our inventory

Amy Finkel Jamie Banks mailbox@samplings.com 800-598-7432 215-627-7797

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 emailed or sent to us will receive our prompt attention. Please call us for more information.

ALPHABETICAL LISTING OF CONTENTS Beadwork Picture, France, circa 1840............................................................................... 18 Deborah Sheppard Brooks, Cumberland County, New Jersey, 1833.................................. 26 Margret Burnell, England, circa 1732................................................................................ 22 Abigail Carter, Lancaster, Massachusetts, 1784.................................................................. 10 Sarah Swett Clarke, School of Misses H. and B. Putnam, Danvers, Mass., 1827................. 6 Christina Crawford, Crail, Fife, Scotland, circa 1860........................................................ 21 Mary D’Silver, Negro School, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1793.......................................... 2 Darning Sampler Initialed MAD, Holland, 1730................................................................ 24 Mary Dennis, Mrs. Dobel’s Seminary, Boston, Massachusetts, 1813.................................... 4 EM, England or United States, 1815.................................................................................. 26 Ann Flack, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, 1827..................................................................... 5 Eliza Gill, probably American, circa 1825.......................................................................... 28 Maria De Los Dolores Grana, Academy of Doña Isabel Rodriguez, Cadiz, Spain, 1821..... 16 Houghton Family Record Sampler, Winchendon, Massachusetts, circa 1820................... 28 Laura Hutchinson of Dublin, Ohio, sampler made in Covington, “Kentukey”, 1834........ 29 Eliza Jones, Chester County, Pennsylvania, 1798................................................................ 8 Fanny Moor, Mrs. Usher’s School, Bristol, Rhode Island, circa 1792................................ 20 Susan H. Munson, “Potosi”, New York or New Jersey, 1824................................................ 1 Sarah Neale, England, 1806............................................................................................... 16 Needlework Landscape, England or United States, circa 1840.......................................... 21 Mary C. Newcomb, Haverhill, Massachusetts, 1832........................................................... 25 Mary Ann Nutting, school of Miss Nancy Graves, Danvers, Mass., circa 1817..................... 8 “Memen to Mori”, Moses & Elizabeth Peck, Boston or Salem, MA, c.1805....................... 19 Sarah Peters, Schenectady, New York, circa 1830............................................................. 15 Pictorial Needlework, Bird and Basket Group, Canterbury, NH, circa 1810-20.................. 7 Incised Maple Straightedge, Nancy M. Pitcher, Belfast, Maine, circa 1840-45.................. 17 Judith F. Plummer, Goffstown, New Hampshire, 1832...................................................... 18 Sarah Polhemus, school of Miss Amy Lundy, Hunterdon Co., New Jersey, 1828.............. 10 Reward of Merit, Catherine M. Wray, Mrs. Bazeley’s Seminary, Phila., PA, 1823.............. 22 Jonathan Sams, Langport Workhouse, High Ham, Somerset, England, 1841................... 13 Silk Embroidered Picture, Italy, circa 1800....................................................................... 24 Calista Slack, Shaker Sampler, Enfield Community, Enfield, NH, circa 1826................... 14 Isabella Taylor, Birmingham, England, 1783..................................................................... 17 Hannah Towson, United States, 1803................................................................................... 2 Carolina Freiderica Trierin, Leipzig, Germany, 1765......................................................... 14 Maryette Webster, Roxbury, Vermont, 1837....................................................................... 23 Sarah Wooldridge, England, 1842...................................................................................... 12

(detail of sampler by Mary Dennis, Mrs. Dobel’s Seminary, page 4)

Susan H. Munson, “Potosi”, New York or New Jersey, 1824 This extraordinary sampler, worked by Susan H. Munson, is the only known American example of its type – a detailed portrait of a specific ship. Its rarity was first acknowledged when it was illustrated on a full page of the seminal book, American Samplers, by Bolton and Coe, published in 1921 by the Massachusetts Society of the Colonial Dames of America, as figure LXXXII. The samplermaker included many specific nautical details in her portrayal of this frigate: three masts each with three yard arms, gun ports on its hull, American flags flying on the foremast and gaff, reef points on the sails and a homeward-bound pennant flying on the main mast. Additionally, the verse reads, “From rocks shoals and stormy weather O God protect the Potosi ever / A rainbow at night is a sailor’s delight.” The ship is centered in a handsome composition, enhanced by the rippling waves of the ocean water below and the stylized clouds arcing above, with the sun and moon deftly inserted.

Susan H. Munson was 13 years old when she made this sampler in 1824, working the last digit backwards. She was born on November 28, 1811 to John and Mehitabel Munson; the family likely lived in New York or northern New Jersey. On June 12, 1829, at the Vandewater Street Presbyterian Church in New York, Susan, age 18, married Joseph Henry Byram (1809-1879). They lived in Troy, New York where they had seven children. Susan died on June 19, 1875 and is buried in the Oakwood Cemetery in Troy. Family information was published in Byrams in America by John Arnold Byram (Baltimore, 1996) and elsewhere. Interestingly, one of Susan’s granddaughters, Susan Hegeman (1868-1940), the daughter of William and Esther (Byram) Hegeman of Troy, became an actress of national reputation. Under the stage name Beatrice Cameron she first performed on stage at Madison Square Theatre in 1886.

Susan’s sampler shows characteristics that we associate with the New York area – specifically the border that surrounds the sampler on four sides, a rod wrapped with buds on a vine. Worked in silk on linen, it is in excellent condition, with very slight loss to the black silk. It has been conservation mounted and is in a molded and painted black frame.

Sampler size: 15¾” x 17¼”

Framed size: 18½” x 20”

Price upon request.

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Hannah Towson, United States, 1803 Hannah Towson stitched this classically appealing sampler when she was 11 years old in 1803. On her large format composition, she features a house and lawn scene with an attractive brick house, young woman, large branchy tree and an oversized, overstuffed basket. Alphabets, numerical progressions, a pair of birds and her inscription fill the top half of this sampler. An undulated strawberry vine surrounds the sampler on all four sides, along with an inner sawtooth border.

Hannah used a lovely color palette of various shades of pink, plus some light green, dark blue and black.

The specific identity of Hannah Towson remains a mystery, though the sampler was likely made in New England.

Worked in silk on linen, her sampler is in excellent condition with some loss to the black thread. It has been conservation mounted and framed into a cherry beveled frame with a wide outer bead of maple.

Sampler size: 22¼” x 16¾”

Framed size: 26¾” x 21¼”

Price: $6400.

Mary D’Silver, Negro School, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1793 Documented samplers made by African American schoolgirls are extremely rare and we are privileged to offer this outstanding example, a recent discovery and the only 18th century sampler known to have been worked at an African American school. The maker, Mary D’Silver, was “in the 8th Year of her Age” when she made this sampler and was attending a Philadelphia school with a fascinating history. A small sampler, it was executed with very fine needlework and remained unframed for 220 years; it is indeed remarkable that it survived. It adds substantially to the body of knowledge of African American samplers and the education girls of color received in Federal Philadelphia.

Philadelphia contained the first large population of free Blacks in the colonies. By the 1780s and 1790s, slightly more than 2000 people of color lived in the city; less than 1% of this population, thanks to Pennsylvania’s Gradual Abolition Act of 1780, was still enslaved. If any 18th century sampler made by an African American girl was to surface, it is understandable that it would be from Philadelphia.

In her inscription, Mary stitched the words, “Negro School Philadelphia.” There were actually three different schools that used this designation in the last decade of the 18th century (one was the wellknown school for Blacks established by Anthony Benezet). Evidence strongly suggests that Mary attended the Negro School administered by the Bray Associates, a London-based organization founded

by Dr. Thomas Bray (1658-1730). This Anglican cleric promoted education and religious conversion among slaves and free Blacks in the colonies starting in 1724. By the 1750s, the Bray Associates looked to Benjamin Franklin for assistance in establishing formal schools in the colonies and Franklin’s enthusiastic response led to the funding and opening of four schools dedicated to Black children in (continued on the next page)

Mary D’Silver, Negro School, Philadelphia, PA, 1793 (cont.)

Philadelphia, the first of which opened in 1758. The Associates opened similar schools elsewhere in the American colonies in the same period, notably in Williamsburg, Virginia, New York City and Newport, Rhode Island.

With Franklin at the helm, the Philadelphia schools were considered a great success.

Contemporary accounts confirm that the curriculum of these Negro Schools included instruction in sewing, knitting and embroidery.

While the Revolutionary War forced the closing of four Bray Associates schools in Philadelphia, one subsequently was reopened.

Franklin remained in charge of this school until his death in 1790.

Succeeding Franklin as school head was the Reverend William White (1748-1836), the long-term rector of Christ Church in Philadelphia. According to church archives, Emanuel D’Silver and Judith Jones were married at Christ Church by the Rev. White in 1783. Also, according to church archives, Rev. White baptized the oneyear-old “Mary Desylvas” (spelling of the surname varies) “Daughter of Emanuel & Judith Desylvus – Negroes” on September 24, 1786.

White was also integral to the establishment, in 1798, of the first African American Episcopal Church in the United States, the African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas. Judith D’Silver, Mary’s mother, was buried in St. Thomas’s cemetery after her death in 1808. These intersections and affiliations between Rev. White and the D’Silver family strongly suggest that Mary D’Silver attended the Bray Associates Negro School and worked this sampler there in 1793.

The verse Mary stitched on her sampler is also important and keenly relevant to the ongoing discourse about African American freedom. Written by the English poet, Anna Letitia Aikin Barbauld (17431825), it is the seventh stanza from her twelve-stanza poem, The Mouse’s Petition, originally published in 1773. A highly regarded social reformer and abolitionist, Barbauld’s poem was written from the perspective of a trapped mouse attempting to appeal to his captor’s “philosophic mind” and “compassion.” This metaphor, of course, speaks to the plight of enslaved Africans and their relationship to slaveholders. The stitching of a thoughtful and poignant argument for freedom by a young samplermaker is an important departure from the traditional poetry usually found on period schoolgirl samplers. Interestingly, young Mary D’Silver, or her teacher, changed one meaningful word in the final line of Barbauld’s stanza. Here, “And feels for all that lives” becomes more personal and individual as “And feels for each that lives.”

The sampler was worked in silk on linen and is in excellent condition. It has been conservation mounted and is in a 19th century frame.

Sampler size: 8” x 8¾” Framed size: 12¾” x 13½” Price upon request.

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Mary Dennis, Mrs. Dobel’s Seminary, Boston, Massachusetts, 1813 Mrs. Mary Dobel operated a seminary in Boston as early as 1796 and until at least 1813 with various editions of The Boston Directory showing addresses at 40 Middle Street and on Bennett Street. A sampler known to have been worked at this school in 1803 was published in American Samplers (Massachusetts Society of the Colonial Dames, 1921) as plate LXXXVII and another, worked in 1808, is illustrated in Paul Revere’s Boston (Boston Museum of Fine Arts, 1975) as plate 262. Both of these are mentioned by Betty Ring in her writings. A recent discovery is this - Mary Dennis’s praiseworthy sampler worked under Mrs. Dobel’s instruction in 1813, which, like the others known, indicates a high level of expertise in the needle arts.

The 1808 Mrs. Dobel’s Seminary sampler, worked

by Sarah Chandler and in the collection of the New England Historic Genealogical Society of Boston, shares characteristics with our Dennis sampler, including the charming scene of a cottage and trees in the background and two water birds on a pond in the foreground and the specific, notable verse.

This appears also on other samplers and seems a clever way for the instructress and the samplermaker to record their appreciation to the makers’ parents for providing the education. In this case, Mary is addressing her aunt, who must have been the one who sent her to Mrs. Dobel’s Seminary. She may have lived with her aunt in Boston at the time.

The sampler has a splendid four-sided border composed of flowers on delicate vines and large bowknotted blue ribbons. It was worked in silk on linen and is in excellent condition. It is now conservation mounted and is in its outstanding original gold leaf frame.

Sampler size: 20¼” x 16¼”

Framed size: 22½” x 18½”

Price: $14,000.

Ann Flack, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, 1827

Ann Flack’s sampler is an outstanding example of the many appealing and folky Pennsylvania samplers made in the 1820s and 1830s. While the composition is symmetrical, the handling of the images is wonderfully free-form and the result is a sampler with a fresh and organic character. Of particular note is the praiseworthy border, the basket filled with flowers, the willow trees and the pair of little dogs that stand guard at the lower edges of the stepped-terrace lawn. The appealing verse that Ann stitched extols the role of virtue as the noblest ornament of humankind; it was used by samplermakers as early as the 18th century.

The history of the Flack family in Bucks County, north of Philadelphia, has been well documented and widely published since the mid-19th century by family and county historians. The immigrant ancestor was James Flack (circa 1708-1802), who was born in Ireland and, according to family legend, married Miss Ann Baxter in 1732, on board the ship as they sailed to America. Generations of family members lived in and around Doylestown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, where they were highly regarded farmers, storekeepers, teachers and innkeepers, serving as well in the military during the Revolutionary War. James and Ann were the great-grandparents of our samplermaker, who was born on April 27, 1815 to Joseph and Mary (Lake) Flack, the eldest of their eleven children. In 1844 Ann Flack married George Opdyke (1796-1865), at the Neshaminy Presbyterian Church. They did not have children and remained in the area. Ann was last recorded in the 1880 and died sometime after that.

The sampler was worked in silk on linen and is in excellent condition. It has been conservation mounted and is in a mahogany and maple cornerblock frame.

Sampler size: 16¼” x 14½”

Framed size: 20” x 18¼”

Price: $11,000.

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Sarah Swett Clarke, School of Misses H. and B. Putnam, Danvers, Massachusetts, 1827 Massachusetts samplers and schoolmistresses have been the focus of research and documentation for almost one hundred years, beginning with the study conducted by the Colonial Dames of Massachusetts, which resulted in their seminal 1921 publication, American Samplers, by Bolton and Coe. Late 20th century scholars such as Betty Ring and Glee Krueger carried this work further, and dozens and dozens of Massachusetts schools became known. It is, therefore, surprising that a sampler worked under a pair of schoolmistresses, completely unknown previously within this field, would come to light only recently. This excellent and highly developed sampler, made by Sarah Swett Clarke, age 12 in 1827; on it she stitched that she was working, “under the direction of Misses H & B Putnam Danvers.”

Recent research indicates much about these talented ladies, Hannah and Betsey Putnam, spinster sisters and the daughters of Dr. James Phillips Putnam and his wife Mary (Herrick) Putnam. They were born in 1783 and 1785, respectively, and remained in Danvers, north of Boston, throughout their lives and were considered highly regarded school teachers and important members of the community of the town.

A 1920 publication, The Collections of the Danvers Historical Society, Volume 8, includes much information about the school that was established by the Putnam sisters. Importantly, this article included a brief memoir written by Rev. Moses K. Cross, who was born 1812 in Danvers and who attended the Putnam sisters’ school for approximately six years. Cross writes that they were pious and polite and that Betsy was very sweet with a gentle spirit while Hannah had a fiery and quick temper.

They taught in partnership and governed the school well for many decades. It would seem likely that other samplers were made at the school, but none has ever come to attention. The composition, technique and materials used on this sampler attest to the advanced level of instruction at the Putnam sisters’ school. The sampler is an outstanding accomplishment.

Betsy died in 1847 and Hannah in 1855; years later, in 1887, a memorial was erected by former pupils at the site of their graves in the Wadsworth Cemetery in Danvers, reading, “Live in hearts yea leave behind. Erected by Pupils and Friends.”

Samplermaker, Sarah Swett Clarke, was the daughter of Samuel and Nancy (Cross) Clarke, born on April 10, 1815. Stitched onto the sampler, cleverly fitted into compartments outlined with delicate vines, are the birthdates of Sarah’s family members – her parents in 1778 and 1787 and her sisters in 1813, 1818 and 1822. At age 29, Sarah married Daniel Peabody, also of Danvers and they had three sons. Sarah died in 1858. (continued on the next page)

Sarah Swett Clarke, School of Misses H. and B. Putnam, Danvers, Massachusetts, 1827 (cont.)

This piece is unusually large and the composition and scale are also unlike the great majority of samplers. A handsome geometry presides as the sampler is dominated by a circle set within a square, with the inscription centered in an oval; all of the shapes are formed with leafy vines and willowy garlands, worked in both silk and highly-textured chenille. Tendrilled grape bunches fill the corner spaces. The overall effect is that of both strength and delicacy. Sarah Swett Clarke’s sampler now serves Hannah and Betsey Putnam well, and allows for them to be remembered and honored, along with the many other fine needlework teachers of Massachusetts.

Worked in silk and chenille on linen, the sampler is in excellent condition and retains its original colors, as confirmed by a photo of the reverse. It has been conservation mounted and is in a figured maple frame.

Sampler size: 22” x 21”

Frame size: 26½” x 25½”

Price: $17,000.

Pictorial Needlework, Bird and Basket Group, Canterbury, New Hampshire, circa 1810-20 This small needlework picture offers enormous visual appeal. It is similar to a very few known unsigned American pieces that have surfaced over the years and these seem to have been made as accompaniments to large, fully-developed samplers; they were likely made as practice pieces to allow a stitcher to experiment with anticipated elements or motifs prior to beginning her full sampler. While we can’t know who made it, the pictorial elements leave no doubt as to where it was made. The basket with scalloped edging, leafy vines with berries, buds and flowers, the fat, expressive bird heavily outlined in black and the unusual stylized, tiered tree all place it firmly in the group of samplers called the “Bird and Basket Samplers”, made in Canterbury or one of the nearby towns along the Merrimack River in New Hampshire.

The samplers of this group all exhibit a splendidly lyrical and free-form quality and were made over approximately 45 years in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Curators and scholars have studied this group for many years, beginning with an exhibit at the Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College in 1990, Lessons Stitched in Silk: Samplers from the Canterbury Region of New Hampshire, curated

by Joanne and Ted Foulk. We are pleased to offer this splendid and rare example.

Worked in silk on linen, it is in excellent condition and has been conservation mounted into an early 19th century painted frame.

Sampler size: 8” x 13”

Framed size: 10¾” x 15¾”

Price: $4700.

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Eliza Jones, Chester County, Pennsylvania, 1798 In 1798 Eliza Jones, daughter of Enoch and Sarah Jones of Tredyffrin Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, worked this praiseworthy sampler. A naïve version of an apple tree is flanked by Eliza’s inscription and the names of her parents, Enoch Jones and Sarah Jones. Alphabets, a numerical progression and a cautionary verse are all framed by a border of classic 18th century design. The verse reads as follows: “False Friends Like Leaves on Trees do grow / In Summers Prosperous time Love doo show / But In Adversity then they / Like Leaves In Autumn Fall Away.”

Eliza (also known as Elizabeth and Betsy) was born on September 16, 1786, one of eleven children. The family lived on the farm that Enoch’s grandfather, Griffith Jones (1671-1753) established when he settled in Chester County after emigrating from Wales. Enoch Jones (1752-1820) was deacon of the Great Valley Baptist Church, where he married Sarah Davis (1758-1831) in 1782. History of Chester County, Pennsylvania, with Genealogical and Biographical Sketches, by J. Smith Futhey and Gilbert Cope (1881), publishes information about this family, stating that Enoch Jones, “was a good man, but stern, and would not allow his boys to whistle, even about the farm, nor to wear suspenders, then coming into fashion.”

Eliza married Joseph Bartholomew (1780-1848), also of Chester County and they became the parents of five children born between 1809 and 1816. Elizabeth died in 1876 and is buried in the Great Valley Baptist Church Cemetery, along with many generations of her family.

The sampler was worked in silk in linen and is in excellent condition. It has been conservation mounted into an 18th century painted frame.

Sampler size: 13¼” x 11¾”

Framed size: 16¼” x 14¾”

Price: $7200.

Mary Ann Nutting, school of Miss Nancy Graves, Danvers, Massachusetts, circa 1817 This particularly handsome sampler was made by Mary Ann Nutting of Danvers, Massachusetts when she attended the school of Miss Nancy Graves. Accompanying the sampler are several wonderful pieces on paper that Mary Ann owned, and which add greatly to its overall interest and value – a watercolor and calligraphy poem (now framed) which reads, “A present to Miss Mary A. Nutting, from her affection (continued on the next page)

Mary Ann Nutting, school of Miss Nancy Graves, Danvers, Massachusetts, circa 1817 (cont.)

Friend, Lydia Felton,” as well as two delicate, hand-written “Rewards of Merit” and a “Monthly Bill” from her instructress, Nancy Graves. How fortunate that these papers remain with the sampler after almost 200 years!

Much information is known about Mary Ann Nutting, Nancy Graves and Lydia Felton, all residents of Danvers and we will summarize here; the file of research that accompanies the sampler contains further information.

Born circa 1806, Mary Ann Nutting was the daughter of John and Huldah (Marble) Nutting of Danvers. A wonderfully sentimental article published in 1926 in Old Time New England, vol. 16, entitled Old-Time “Rewards of Merit” refers to some of these very same papers, and the article informs us specifically that Mary Ann Nutting was a student at the school of Miss Nancy Graves between 1814 and 1820. In 1825, Mary married John Morrison and they removed to Lawrence, Massachusetts where they had five children.

The instructress, Nancy Graves, was also born in Danvers, in 1791 and became a highly regarded teacher there. After her marriage to Joshua Putnam, Esq., in 1825, she taught in nearby North Reading, Massachusetts and died in 1862. Lastly, Lydia Felton, two years older than her friend, Mary Ann, was the daughter of Capt. Nathan and Lydia (Proctor) Felton.

Capt. Felton was a prominent citizen of Danvers, serving as Justice of the Peace, town selectman, and town clerk.

Mary Ann’s needlework demonstrates her excellent skills as a samplermaker. The border is extraordinarily beautiful, with graceful meandering vines in varying shades of green supporting large-blossomed flowers. The verse, which extolls the goodness of virtue, is carefully positioned and stitched; and so we find it amusing that Mary Ann ran into such issues with the spacing of the inscription of her town and state.

The sampler was worked in silk on linen and is in excellent condition. It has been conservation mounted and is in a cherry frame with a maple outer bead.

Sampler size: 17” square

Framed size: 21” square

Price: $5400.

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Abigail Carter, Lancaster, Massachusetts, 1784 A handsome, early and well-documented American sampler, this is signed, “Abigail Carter Is My Name In Lancaster I Was Born When This You Se [sic] Remember Me When I Am Dead And Gone Worked In The Fourteen Year of My Age.” The date, 1784, was worked five rows from the top.

Working in the 18th century band sampler format, Abigail included beautifully stitched alphabets, numbers, many small motifs and elements, a classic, cautionary verse and two sizes of a linked heart band at the bottom. Her sampler remained unframed for many years and the condition is as it was the day she completed it.

Carter: A Genealogy of the Descendants of Samuel and Thomas, Sons of Rev Samuel Carter 1640 – 1886, by Clarabel Augusta Lincoln Carter (Clinton Publishers, 1887), includes much information about the ancestors of this samplermaker; the family resided in Lancaster, Worcester County, Massachusetts, since the late 1680s. Abigail was the daughter of Ephraim and Abigail (Wilder) Carter, born February 13, 1770.

On May 29, 1787, at 17 years of age, Abigail married William Bridge (1767-1825) and they remained in Lancaster where they had ten children. A copy of this book accompanies the sampler.

Abigail died on August 13, 1810 and is buried in the Middle Cemetery of Lancaster. Her tombstone is carved with a wonderful, lengthy epitaph which states, in part, that Mrs. Abigail Bridge, “was a pattern of patience, industry, frugality, and economy – an amiable partner, an affectionate parent and a kind neighbor, a sincere Christian.” We are pleased to offer Abigail’s fine sampler.

Worked in silk on linen, the sampler is in excellent condition and has been conservation mounted into a mahogany frame.

Sampler size: 16½” x 10¼”

Frame size: 20” x 13¾”

Price: $5200.

Sarah Polhemus, school of Miss Amy Lundy, Hunterdon County, New Jersey, 1828 The samplers of Hunterdon County, New Jersey are the subject of a fine book, A Sampling of Hunterdon County Needlework: the motifs, the makers & their stories, by Dan and Marty Campanelli, and our praiseworthy sampler by Sarah Polhemus is featured well in this book (illustrated on pages 19 & 48-51). Sarah’s sampler is the earliest example known from the “Hunterdon House and Heart Samplers” and names her teacher – Miss Amy Londe (the name was also spelled “Lundy”). Much research has been conducted by the authors and a great deal is now known regarding the samplermaker and her teacher. (continued on the next page)

Sarah Polhemus, school of Miss Amy Lundy, Hunterdon County, New Jersey, 1828 (cont.)

Sarah Polhemus was born in 1816, the daughter of Daniel and Rachel (Ramsey) Polhemus, who were part of the large Dutch American population that had lived in northern New Jersey and New York for centuries. The emigrant ancestor on the paternal side of this family was Rev. Johannes Theodorus Polhemus (1598-1676) who was minister of the Reformed Church of Holland in Flatbush, New York. Rev. Polhemus had “sailed from the Netherlands to Brazil in 1637, where he preached in French, Portuguese and Dutch.

In 1654 he removed to New Netherlands, where he became the first regularly stationed minister for the Dutch on Long Island,” according to the Campanellis.

Sarah worked this sampler when she was 12 years and 6 months of age, as she stated in her needlework.

Her father had died and she lived with her mother in Kingwood (now Franklin) Township; just a few houses away from the family that included her teacher Amy Lundy, on Oak Grove Road. Miss Lundy was then 21 years old and she continued to teach in various schools in the area for many years. In 1839, Amy married a wealthy farmer, Hugh Exton, and her teaching career likely ended then.

Samplermaker, Sarah Polhemus, also married in 1839, to John Stires, and they lived in Readington, Hunterdon County where they had five children. By 1860, the Stires family lived in Raritan, Monmouth County, where John’s occupation is listed as tobacconist. The file that accompanies this sampler includes a copy of John’s handwritten 1855 will.

The sampler features a delightful composition with alphabets, a moralistic four-line verse and the inscription between the pictorial top and bottom borders. Included are a house, a ship in sail, many hearts, fruit trees and birds with Sarah’s initials worked twice. The Campanellis make special note of Sarah’s impressive sailing ship with its five flags, the fruited tree and the tall house on lawn, stating that “the overall graphic quality make[s] this a delightful Hunterdon sampler.”

Worked in silk on linen, the sampler is in excellent condition. It has been conservation mounted into a maple and cherry cornerblock frame. A copy of the book, A Sampling of Hunterdon County Needlework: the motifs, the makers & their stories, accompanies the sampler.

Sampler size: 17¼” x 16½”

Framed size: 20½” x 19¾”

Price: $9500.

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Sarah Wooldridge, England, 1842

Samplers with lavishly developed pictorial elements filling their compositions are always appealing and Sarah Wooldridge’s sampler is certainly among these desirable works. Incorporating a good assortment of stitches, Sarah completed her sampler at the age of ten in 1842. The large, lush flowers, fat bunches of grapes and cornucopias boldly fill the wool ground in layers of stitches and color, creating a wonderfully rich texture. The chosen verse is the first two stanzas from the hymn The Morning Flowers Display their Sweet, by Samuel Wesley, Jr. (1690-1739), a poet and cleric for the Church of England. A classic border of a flowering vine fully frames the work, as well.

Notably, Sarah Wooldridge’s sampler was in the renowned collection of Siva Swaminathan, and was published as plate 33 in Samplers, a large book of handsome color plates, by Susan Mayor and Diana Fowle. A copy of the book accompanies the sampler.

Worked in silk on wool, Miss Wooldridge’s work remains in excellent condition. It has been conservation mounted into a fine period maple frame with a gold liner.

Sampler size: 19¼” x 16”

Framed size: 25¼” x 22”

Price: $6200.

Jonathan Sams, Langport Workhouse, High Ham, Somerset, England, 1841 Samplers worked in the institutional orphanages and workhouses of England have been the object of interest and research in recent years; shared characteristics generally include a palette limited to one or two colors and very fine needlework, with more lettering, either verse or alphabets, than pictorial motifs. Those motifs included are often small and arranged in a highly symmetrical format. Far more samplers made in orphanages, particularly the Bristol Orphanage established by George Müller, are known than those from workhouses. This type of sampler was made throughout the later 19th century, as samplermaking remained an important part of the curriculum for this less fortunate population. Of course, we find only a tiny fraction of all samplers made by boys and so this example is that much more interesting and rare.

It is the 1841 census that identifies 11-year-old Jonathan Sams, who lived, along with 66 other boys and girls, aged 2 months up to 14 years, at The Langport Union Workhouse. He was listed as a “pauper inmate.” The next listing is for a 9-yearold, Samuel Sams, who was likely Jonathan’s younger brother. In subsequent records, Jonathan’s place of birth is given as Stratton- on-the-Fosse, about 25 miles from the Langport Workhouse; census records of him as an adult indicate that he was deaf and in his later years, blind as well.

Peter Higginbotham, noted historian and author of nine books about the hundreds of historic British Workhouses, answered questions for us about Langport and the history of children living in workhouses overall. Mr. Higginbotham told us that, “Children formed a substantial proportion of the workhouse population - around 45% [over 42,000 children] in 1838. The regulations required that that children receive at least three hours of schooling a day but there was also a growing emphasis on 'industrial training' to make them employable in adult life. For girls, in preparation for domestic service, needlework and dressmaking were invariably included, with boys sometimes being taught trades such as carpentry, shoemaking and tailoring, although in rural areas such as Langport, agricultural skills were generally more likely to feature.”

This particular workhouse had its beginnings in 1743 as a parish poorhouse. In 1836 the Langport Poor Law Union was established, with an elected group of guardians overseeing its operations. The building that Jonathan lived in was erected in 1837-39, based on a hexagon architectural plan as published by the Poor Law Commissioners in 1835. Further information can be found at workhouses.org.uk.

Jonathan may have learned his needleworking skills from Betty Parsons, who was listed as the schoolmistress at Langport Workhouse in 1841. Along with an alphabet and numerical progression, Jonathan stitched two quotations from the King James Version of the Bible, 28:24 and 28:25. By the early 20th century the sampler was in the United States as evidenced by a Springfield, Massachusetts framer’s label on a frame of that period.

Worked in silk on linen, the sampler is in excellent condition. It has been conservation mounted and is in a late 19th century black painted frame.

Sampler size: 8½” x 6¼”

Framed size: 11¼” x 9”

Price: $4600.

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Carolina Freiderica Trierin, Leipzig, Germany, 1765 Northern European samplers from the 18th century can display a remarkable quality of fine, tight stitches, often worked in a delicate palette. This sampler is solidly stitched and certainly a most impressive example. The stitching was completed so precisely that the back is a clear reverse of the front, as seen in a photo taken of the reverse.

Carolina Friederica Trierin finished her work on August 11, 1765 in Leipzig, as she so notes in pale blue silk thread. This lovely blue was used for all of the lettering, including the poem which conveys an important theme: stay diligent and happy. A translation of the verse includes the phrase, “The diligence of your work will reward you abundantly.”

At the top Carolina’s initials and date are contained within a cartouche of a pink flowering wreath, and flanked by other sprigs and buds. A fine border of black-eyed pink and yellow buds on a green vine frames the work well on all four sides, along with the fine, original teal green tasseled tape. In the overall this is quite an accomplishment.

Ms. Trierin’s fully worked silk on linen sampler remains in excellent condition with one very minor secured area of weakness. It has been conservation mounted into a fine period gold frame.

Sight size: 13¾” square

Framed size: 17½” square

Price: $3400.

Calista Slack, Shaker Sampler, Enfield Community, Enfield, New Hampshire, circa 1826 Shaker samplers are widely known to be extremely rare and, understandably, are generally severely plain in appearance. Those known examples are often very well documented by the inscriptions stitched by their makers. This is the case on this unfinished, but appealing, example which is signed, “Calista Slack born September 13 year 1811 came to Enfield to live March February 17th 1826.” Calista’s sampler was in the collection of Mary Jaene Edmonds and is published in her book, Samplers and Samplermakers: An American Schoolgirl Art 1700-1850. (Rizzoli, 1991) as figure 72, one of only a very few Shaker examples in this collection. Along with the bulk of the Edmonds collection, this was exhibited at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in 1991-1992. The aesthetic of the sampler is pleasingly simple: deep blue lettering on white, with straight horizontal lines and small, diamond-shaped elements separating the words. One tiny, rogue, blue cross-stitch was worked in the large unfinished area below. (continued on the next page)

Calista Slack, Shaker Sampler, Enfield Community, Enfield, New Hampshire, circa 1826 (cont.)

Calista was the daughter of Joseph and Polly (Woodbury) Slack of Plymouth, Vermont, the second of their six children. Research conducted by Mrs. Edmonds, with additional work that we completed recently, indicates that at the age of fifteen, Calista joined the Second Family of the Enfield Shaker Community, along with other members of the Slack family.

Perhaps, as was often the case, the family was attracted to the utopian society with its communal values. Calista remained a member of the Enfield Shakers throughout the balance of her life. Shaker correspondence indicates that, in 1838, she was appointed to the position of assistant to Eldress Nancy Allard, and in 1848, “Sister Calista Slack” was chosen to head the females in the office of Second Family of Enfield. A further move within the Enfield Community, to the North Family, was the result of an appointment to become Eldress, in 1864. Additionally, Calista worked as a tailoress and was listed as such in the 1860 census records. Eldress Calista Slack died on March 10, 1867 and is buried in the Shaker Cemetery of Enfield, along with four Slack family members and many members of her Shaker family.

The sampler was worked in silk on linen and is in excellent condition. It has been conservation mounted into a 19th century painted, beveled frame.

Sampler size: 9” x 10½”

Framed size: 11¾” x 13¼”

Price: $4800.

Sarah Peters, Schenectady, New York, circa 1830 Sarah Peters’ fine sampler comes from a group of very good samplers made in Schenectady, New York that has recently emerged. They share remarkably similar characteristics; for example, the scene that grounds the composition, consisting of the three-story house with its two chimneys, eleven windows and off-center front door, and a picket fence that runs the width of the sampler. Both of these features are found on our Schenectady sampler, as well as other classic motifs.

The sampler is well developed with large alphabets and numbers, verse and her inscription, which designates her town name. A Greek key border nicely frames the composition on all four sides.

Worked in silk on linen, this sampler remains in excellent condition. It has been conservation mounted into a black painted, molded frame.

Sampler size: 17¼” x 12¼” Framed size: 19½” x 14½” Price: $4300.

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Maria De Los Dolores Grana, Academy of Doña Isabel Rodriguez,

Cadiz, Spain, 1821 Spanish samplers, frequently displaying fine needlework organized into tight decorative bands, have long been studied by scholars and favored by collectors; and of course, a samplermaker who included specific information about her teacher and the location of her school rendered her work that much more interesting. A translation of this sampler indicates that it was made by Doña Maria De Los Dolores Grana, pupil of Doña Isabel Rodriguez in Cadiz at the Academy on San Francisco Street Number 96. It was completed on the 29th day of May in the year 1821. An alphabet was worked in the uppermost bands followed by a version of the opening of an Old Testament verse, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”

The six lines at the bottom of the sampler are characters, which serve to bind two graphemes or letters together, known in English as ligatures and in Spanish as ligaduras.

Cadiz, the wealthy harbor city located in Andalusia, would likely have had a number of schools to educate the daughters of well-to-do ship captains and merchants. Both the instructress and student used the honorific title “Doña”, indicating aristocratic, if untitled, family status. The building that housed Maria’s school, Calle San Francisco, 96, stills exists and, predictably, is in the neighborhood of Old Cadiz.

Worked in silk on linen, the sampler is in excellent condition with some very minor loss. It has been conservation mounted and is in a molded and painted frame.

Sampler size: 29¾” x 6¾”

Sarah Neale, England, 1806 This endearing and simple sampler was completed by Sarah Neale in 1806.

Working in a classically English composition, traditional elements mirror each other; a variety of pairs of birds face inward amongst potted flowering plants.

Sarah’s inscription, too, is divided and balanced, adding to the stylized quality of this charming little sampler.

Worked in silk on linen, the sampler is in very good condition. It has been conservation mounted into a black painted, molded frame.

Sampler size: 9½” x 8¾” Framed size: 11½” x 10¾” Price: $1300.

Framed size: 31¾” x 8¾”

Price: $2700.

Isabella Taylor, Birmingham, England, 1783 This is a fine sampler made by Isabella Taylor of Birmingham, England who used Roman Numerals to indicate the year the sampler was made, 1783. A naturalistic border of flowering vines emanating from cornucopias, with a strawberry plant above and a butterfly below, surrounds the verse, which is of those found most frequently on both English and American samplers.

Birmingham, 62 miles northwest of Oxford, was one of the leading manufacturing cities of Europe because of its inland navigation.

Accordingly, a wealthy merchant class developed by the 18th century and the daughters from these families attended schools and learned to make samplers that rivaled those worked at the fine schools in London.

Worked in silk on linen gauze, the sampler is in excellent condition. It has been conservation mounted into an early 19th century maple frame with a gilt liner.

Sampler size: 13½” x 13” Frame size: 18” x 17½” Price: $3600.

Incised Maple Straightedge, Nancy M. Pitcher, Belfast, Maine, circa 1840-45 A handsome, 16 inch long maple straightedge, this was made for or by Nancy M. Pitcher who was born in 1827 in the mid-coast seaport town of Belfast, Maine. Incised decoration on one side features Nancy’s name embellished with stars and arrows and flanked by a double-mast sailing ship and a double-chimney house shown in three-quarter view; the other side, with a beveled upper edge, proclaims “Belfast.”

Nancy was the daughter Calvin and Johanna (Prescott) Pitcher, the sixth of their ten children. On March 7, 1846 she married William A. White in Belfast. Perhaps this was made by William as a gift for Mary? They remained in Belfast and had at least four children.

Price: $1150.

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Judith F. Plummer, Goffstown, New Hampshire, 1832 Goffstown, New Hampshire, a small town on the Piscataquog River located 16 miles south of Concord, was home to Judith F. Plummer, the maker of this appealing sampler. History of the Town of Goffstown 1733-1920, vol. 2, by George Plummer Hadley, informs us that the family lived in Massachusetts in the late 17th century and removed to New Hampshire sometime after that. Judith was the daughter of John and Mary (McFerson) Plummer and about John it is written that, “He was a prosperous farmer, a respected citizen of the town, and was deacon of the Baptist Church for many years.” The second of their nine children, Judith was born in 1819.

Her sampler is a fine and classic example of New Hampshire needlework, with a center basket of flowers at the bottom border and a three-sided border of flowers of leafy vine surrounding her alphabets. Willow trees provide further embellishment, and a narrow sawtooth border frames the composition well. Judith died young at age 20 in 1839.

The sampler was worked in silk on linen and is in excellent condition; it has been conservation mounted and is in a beveled figured cherry frame with a maple bead.

Sampler size: 17” square

Framed size: 21” square

Price: $4800.

Beadwork Picture, France, circa 1840 Beginning in the 17th century needleworkers incorporated minute glass and metallic beads into their samplers and embroidered pictures, however it is far more common to find beads used to embellish an area than to create the entire image.

Thousands of tiny richly-colored beads were sewn to the background fabric to form this handsome pastoral scene.

Depicted are country folk at leisure. A lady in her black and red boldly striped apron holds a gathering basket, pausing in her chores for a moment to converse with two lounging gentlemen.

Other pairs of people balance the scene, along with farm tools, a bundle of hay and a dog in the foreground. In the background, a large windmill sits atop a hill and leads down to a small farmhouse. The sky, comprised of milky gray beads recedes to enhance the scene further.

The work is in excellent condition, and remains in its original elegantly carved gold leaf frame.

Sight size: 8½” x 12”

Framed size: 12½” x 16”

Price: $2400.

“Memen to Mori” silk embroidery, Moses and Elizabeth Peck, Boston or Salem, Massachusetts, circa 1805 The very early years of the nineteenth century saw a great interest in memorializing the deceased; the Latin phrase, “Memento Mori,” with its biblical origins, found its way onto paintings, as well as decorative arts of the Federal period including ceramics, jewelry and of course, embroideries. Schoolgirls throughout New England memorialized deceased family members by making beautifully designed embroidered pictures that incorporated the specific information about their deaths, as well as religious verse that served to comfort and to caution.

Moses Peck, watchmaker and silversmith, was born in New Haven in 1717 and removed to Boston where, in 1758, he married Elizabeth Townsend, born in 1729. They died, respectively, in 1801 and 1795, and this exemplary silk embroidery depicts a stunning architectural monument memorializing them. They were the parents of seven children, at least two of whom lived to adulthood and married, and it is likely that one of their granddaughters worked this fine embroidery.

The classical lines of Federal design of the period form the black and white monument which is surmounted by a large flame-top urn. A graceful leafy tree with shaded trunk arches over the scene and the inscriptions were all written with fine graphite pencil on the silk. Details include the monogrammed initials of Moses and Elizabeth under the swag on the top plinth and the use of seed stitch to provide shading to the marble monument, as well as to form a decorative border just above the band of black along the bottom of the tomb.

Two silk embroideries in the collection of the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts were obviously worked at the same school as our Peck embroidery.

These were made in the Adams, Crowell, Elkins and Knight families and date, similarly, from the very early 19th century.

Worked in silk and pencil on silk, it is in excellent condition and has been conservation mounted into a 19th century gold leaf frame with a replaced églomisé glass mat.

Size of the embroidery: 13½” x 10½”

Framed size: 20” x 17¼”

Price: $7200.

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Fanny Moor, Mrs. Usher’s School, Bristol, Rhode Island, circa 1792 A most appealing group of samplers was worked between 1790 and circa 1792 at the school of Mrs. Anne Bowman Usher (1723-1793) in the bustling harbor town of Bristol, Rhode Island; only a handful of these samplers are known and three are in the Metropolitan and Smithsonian Museums. These extraordinary samplers share characteristics that include lively scenes of people and animals, with long black stitches filling in some areas. The inscriptions can designate the birth years of the makers (from 1775 to 1780) and state “Bristol, New E.” as their origin. One of the samplers also credits Mrs. Usher’s School by name, and Betty Ring’s research, published in both Let Virtue Be a Guide to Thee: Needlework in the Education of Rhode Island Women 1730-1820 (Rhode Island Historical Society, 1983) and Girlhood Embroidery: American Samplers and Pictorial Needlework 1650-1850 (Knopf, 1993) provides much further information.

One of the known Usher School samplers is Fanny Moor’s outstanding sampler. It was in an important early collection of Americana, the Mrs. J. Amory Haskell Collection, and came to the attention of scholars and curators when it was included in the auction of Haskell estate in 1944. Fanny’s sampler was acknowledged by Mrs. Ring and mentioned specifically in her books; however, its recent whereabouts have been unknown.

It is with great pleasure that we offer it now. What is known about Fanny Moor comes from Betty Ring’s writings. She was born on November 18, 1779 to a shipmaster, Francis Moor and his wife Elizabeth, and she died young, on October 10, 1797. Fanny would have likely been about 13 years old when she worked this sampler.

The many people and animals depicted by Fanny are a visual delight. The large green lawn grounds the sampler well and is embellished by animals, birds and a flowering tree, along with three large figures. The top of the pictorial register is finished with an undulating blue and silver sky. Only two of the Usher School samplers include a house within their depictions – the almost identical doublechimney Federal house appears on Fanny Moor’s sampler and that made by Peggy Ingraham, both circa 1792. The Ingraham sampler is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum.

Fanny Moor’s sampler was worked in silk on linen and is in very good condition with some slight loss to the black stitches of the border and minor weakness, now stabilized, to linen. It has been conservation mounted and is in a fine period Hogarth frame.

Sampler size: 15¾” x 12”

Frame size: 18¾” x 15”

Price: $24,000.

Christina Crawford, Crail, Fife, Scotland, circa 1860 Worked onto brilliant red dyed linen, this Scottish sampler is a visual treat. The maker was Christina Crawford and the many family initials that she stitched on her work identify her as the daughter of shipmaster, John Crawford (1811-1899) and his wife Elizabeth. Her siblings included John, Margaret, Thomas and William Strang Crawford. Other initials listed are no doubt those of her extended family and, perhaps, her schoolteacher and fellow students.

Christina’s father, John Crawford, began his career as a seaman on the ship Ellerslie and progressed to the Brit. Princess, the Barque Lochlibo, and then the Ottawa; in 1870, Crawford was master of the St. Marnock, out of Glasgow. The family lived in Crail, a port city in Fife. Christina was born December 15, 1848 and likely made her sampler when she was approximately 12 years of age, circa 1860. Sadly, Christina died in 1870, at age 22, after many years of a heart disease, as noted in official death records.

Interestingly, the National Museums of Scotland and the University of Edinburgh, collaboratively, have been investigating Scotland’s impact on the global textile industry, with a focus on the dye industry, specifically the color Turkey Red. There are no other samplers known to have been worked on linen of this color and we were delighted to have discovered this stunning example. While worked at a later date, Christina’s fine needlework and composition closely resemble 18th and early 19th century samplers. Worked in silk on linen, it is in excellent condition and has been conservation mounted into a beveled cherry frame.

Sampler size: 13½” x 9”

Framed size: 17” x 12½”

Price: $2600.

Needlework Landscape, England or United States, circa 1840 This splendid, fully worked landscape portrays a lively pastoral setting with many buildings, people and farm animals; while needlework pictures of this type had been made for over a century at this point, favored by both American and English young ladies, they are relatively rare.

Across a patchwork green lawn, a man strides on horseback, a couple dances and a shepherd stands with his flock, along with other figures. Dogs, birds, cattle, sheep and horses are stitched throughout the dynamic scene. In the distance is a large church and in the foreground a barn and a farmhouse stand in the middle. Another homestead is stitched small in the center of the composition, and each of these is connected by paths and gates, giving wonderful depth to the needlework picture.

Worked in wool on wool, this needlework is in excellent condition. It has been conservation mounted into a period beveled walnut frame with a gold liner.

Size of the needlework: 16¼” x 18½”

Framed size: 21” x 23¼”

Price: $4800.

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Margret Burnell, England, circa 1732 This particularly colorful and beautifully stitched band sampler was made by Margret Burnell who ended her work with the inscription “Marg’t Burnell was born July the 29th 1720.” Six bands at the top exhibit the maker’s talents in the needle arts well with their richly worked flowers, buds, berries and leaves in rhythmic patterns. These bands had been used by samplermakers for over a century at that point. Margret continued with many iterations of the alphabet, inserting her name in a very tight eyelet stich several rows down.

Samplers and Tapestry Embroideries, written by Marcus B. Huish and first published by the Fine Arts Society , London, 1900, mentions Margret Burnell’s sampler specifically. It was likely in the collection of the author, Mr. Huish (1844-1921), an English barrister, collector and writer. The verse worked in tight and fine stitches at the bottom of the sampler is fully quoted and briefly discussed by Mr. Huish, on page 44. The verse was from “Emblems” by Francis Quarles (1592-1644), the highly popular English poet.

The other verse that appears on the this sampler reads, “Remember what you take in hand for learning is better then [sic] house and lands; when lands are gone and money is spent, then learning is most excellent.” This and other similar versions were favored, understandably, by many schoolteachers over many years.

Margret may have been the daughter of John and Mary Burnell, baptized on May 2, 1720 in Oldbury, Shropshire. We are hopeful that further research will fully identify her. The sampler was worked in silk on linen and is in very good condition, with very minor loss. It has been conservation mounted into a molded and painted frame.

Sampler size: 18” x 8”

Framed size: 20¼” x 10¼”

Price: $2800.

Reward of Merit for Catherine M. Wray, Mrs. Bazeley’s Seminary, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1823 The study of samplers leads to a greater understanding of the history of the education of young women and an appreciation of the same. This watercolor on paper is a Reward of Merit, a testimonial to the effort and accomplishments of a certain student, Catherine M. Wray. Many academies, seminaries and schools presented Rewards of Merit, which frequently took the form of engravings on paper that were personalized and painted for deserving pupils. While not uncommon in the period, few survive. Mrs. Bazeley, along with her husband, Charles, lived in Philadelphia on 4th St. at Willings Alley where she conducted her seminary. Mrs. (continued on the next page)

Reward of Merit for Catherine M. Wray, Mrs. Bazeley’s Seminary, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1823 (cont.)

Bazeley designed the reward of merit herself and had it engraved by William Kneass, a prominent engraver of the firm of Kneass & Dellaker. In January of 1824 Mr. Kneass was appointed to the highly prestigious position of Chief Engraver at the United States Mint.

Interestingly, while this seminary did not list needlework as a part of its curriculum, the composition and decorative elements of this piece bear strong resemblance to samplers and silk embroideries of the period. Specifically we note the flowering vine and the handsome tableau depicting young ladies in the pursuit of knowledge and refinement. Ink and watercolor on paper, it is in fine condition in a period painted maple cornerblock frame.

Sight size: 10½” x 13½”

Frame size: 14” x 17”

Price: $2600.

Maryette Webster, Roxbury, Vermont, 1837 Vermont samplers exist in far fewer numbers than those from other states and this is a charming and particularly well documented example. Maryette Webster lived in Roxbury, as she stitched on her sampler – a small town 15 miles southwest of Montpelier. Her father, Aaron Webster (1778-1864), was an early settler of the town and a farmer who was well known for his fruit orchards. He and his wife, Jemima (Braley) Webster, were both born in Connecticut and removed to Roxbury, Vermont where they had twelve children, the youngest was Maryette, born on January 13, 1829. She worked this sampler when she was twelve years old, and, sadly, died at age 19, buried in the East Roxbury Cemetery. History and Genealogy of the Gov. John Webster Family of Connecticut by William Holcomb Webster (E.R. Andrews Printing Company, 1915) provides much information about the family, and photocopies are included in the file that accompanies the sampler.

Maryette’s sampler features a good assortment of alphabets and a wonderful little house scene with small trees below and a fat heart nearby. Interestingly, the sampler is made of two pieces of linen that were seamed together to form the ground. Worked in silk on the linen, it is in very good condition with some slight weakness to the linen. It has been conservation mounted and is in a molded and painted frame.

Sampler size: 13¼” x 10”

Framed size: 15½” x 12¼”

Price: $3800.

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Silk Embroidered Picture, Italy, circa 1800 This is a small silk embroidered picture with delightful appeal. The subject, a rural scene with ruins from antiquity, was a popular one in the late 18th century. Four columns appear partially or in their entirety, decorated with vines and foliage and with flocks of black birds in flight. A young shepherd sits by a pale lake and his spotted dog frolics nearby; the columns are balanced by tall cypress trees that rise gracefully on the right and a cottage is nestled into the background. The needlework was accomplished in lustrous silk and textured chenille and the watercolor palette is of pale blue shading to pale pink. A stitched edging of gold-colored silk borders the picture.

Another attribute of this piece is its provenance. It was owned by Cora Ginsburg, the highly regarded New York collector and dealer of early textiles, needlework and costume. The label, reading “C.G. No 201” appeared on the backboard and now accompanies the embroidery.

Worked in chenille, silk and watercolor on silk, it is in excellent condition. It is in its original gold leaf frame with a replaced black and gold mat.

Sight size: 7¼” x 9½”

Frame size: 10¾” x 13”

Price: $1400.

Darning Sampler Initialed MAD, Holland, 1730 Darning samplers hold special appeal to collectors and needleworkers today due to their strong graphic quality and the practical, yet impressive, skill they display. Textiles, either for household decoration or clothing, were very expensive and treasured by all strata of society.

An understanding of weave structure and the ability to use this knowledge to prolong the life of valued fabrics was therefore considered an important skill.

Most known darning samplers are Dutch and date from the mid 18th to the early 19th centuries; they are generally signed only with the initials of the maker. This particular darning sampler is initialed MAD, and is significant in that it is dated 1730, which is remarkably early, and certainly the earliest we have known. The colors on this sampler have remained their original, lovely pastel palette, and have formed many various, intricate patterns. This sampler was clearly produced by a highly skilled darner.

Worked in silk on linen, this sampler remains in excellent condition. It has been conservation mounted and in fine 19th century gold-leaf frame.

Sampler size: 15½” square

Framed size: 19½” square

Price: $3200.

Mary C. Newcomb, Haverhill, Massachusetts, 1832 A handsome sampler with strong color and contrast, this was worked in 1832 in Haverhill, Massachusetts by eleven-year-old Mary C. Newcomb. The samplermaking tradition of Haverhill, north of Boston, had been firmly in place for many decades at that point, with characteristic compositions that Mary’s sampler displays: splendid three-sided borders with broad leafy vines and flowers and a lawn forming the bottom of the sampler, embellished with flowering plants and a pair of willow trees bending towards center. In this case, the lawn is a precise saw-tooth design and is continued in pale blue on the sides and top.

Mary C. Newcomb was born to Capt. Jesse Smith and Sally (Atwood) Newcomb, the third of their twelve children. The family lived in Wellfleet, Cape Cod, Massachusetts for many years. Information is published in Genealogical Memoir of the Newcomb Family … from 1635 to 1874, by John Bearse Newcomb (Chicago, 1874); and Capt. Newcomb is noted to have, “followed the sea for many years as a master mariner.” His mother, Sarah Hopkins (1754-1818), is said to have been a descendant of Stephen Hopkins who came to America on the Mayflower.

Capt. Newcomb and his wife, along with their two very young children, removed to Haverhill about 1820, where Mary was born on April 1, 1821. On May 1, 1838, at age 17, Mary married Levi Young, Jr., and the couple remained in Haverhill where they had five children, Hannah, Mary, Osgood, Sarah and Lizzie. Levi, for some years, was a shoemaker, sharing that trade with many Haverhill residents, including at least three of Mary’s brothers.

The sampler was worked in silk on linen and is in excellent condition, now conservation mounted and in a maple frame with a cherry outer bead.

Sampler size: 12” x 17½”

Framed size: 16” x 21½”

Price: $5400.

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EM, England or United States, 1815 There is a whimsical naiveté to this sampler which was worked in 1815 and is initialed "EM." An appealing assortment of motifs and geometric patterns surround the central figures of Adam and Eve (designated with an “A” and an “E”).

Deer, dogs, birds and butterflies share space with trees, flowers, hearts and baskets. A shepherd and shepherdess each with their staff provide animation along with the depiction of a young lady and her dog, a likely self-portrait, initialed "EM." The inscription, "Look at this And then You see What Care my Perants[sic] took of me" is a popular phrase which appears on samplers of both English and American origin. This apt sentiment must have had great appeal to the parents of the young samplermakers.

Worked in silk on linen, this sampler is in excellent condition; it has been conservation mounted into a black molded and painted frame.

Sampler size: 12¼” x 17¼”

Framed size: 14¾” x 19¾”

Price: $2900.

Deborah Sheppard Brooks, Cumberland County, New Jersey, “57th year of American Independence,” 1833 There is a wonderful group of samplers made in the first four decades of the 19th century by schoolgirls who lived in and around Fairfield Township, Cumberland County, in southern New Jersey. Many of the samplers are fully-developed, with houses, trees and flowers, family initials and, in a few cases, inscriptions with wording that includes reference to the year of America’s Independence. Other of the shared characteristics can be a strongly vertical format (although this was generally more the case with these samplers made in the earlier 19th century), sawtooth bands, zigzag segments. This large and handsome sampler, made in 1833 by Deborah Sheppard Brooks, is a recent discovery and a fine addition to this group. (continued on the next page)

Deborah Sheppard Brooks, Cumberland County, New Jersey, “57th year of American Independence”, 1833 (cont.)

Much research on these samplers has been done by curators and historians, Marty and Dan Campanelli, and seven samplers from this group will be included in the upcoming exhibition at the Morven Museum in Princeton, New Jersey, Hail Specimen of Female Art! New Jersey Schoolgirl Needlework, 1726-1860. Of specific note is that fact that one of these is the 1817 sampler made by the aunt of the maker of our sampler, Ann Pierson Brooks, and owned by the Salem County Historical Society.

Deborah Sheppard Brooks was the daughter of Henry and Deborah (Sheppard) Brooks, born, as she stitched on her sampler, on June 10, 1824. She was the sixth of their ten children, and listed many of the initials of her family members on her sampler – indeed her parents and siblings are all accounted for, including those of her youngest sister, Amy Pierson Brooks, born in January of 1833. The large house and tree scene is somewhat unfinished and Deborah actually left her threaded needle in her sampler, to the left of the queen’s-stitched flowering tree. She also worked in an unusual and delightful little horizontal row of houses, trees, dogs and flowers, just below her inscription.

In 1859 Deborah married, as his second wife, Daniel Karcher (1823-1874), a Pennsylvania cabinetmaker who worked in Philadelphia beginning in 1849. He was known for the fine furniture produced by his cabinet shop. Deborah resided on South 6th Street in Philadelphia and died in 1885; she is buried in Mt. Moriah Cemetery with her husband.

The sampler was worked in silk on linen and is in excellent condition. It has been conservation mounted and is in a figured maple frame with a cherry bead.

Sampler size: 24” x 17”

Frame size: 28” x 21”

Price: $9000.

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Eliza Gill, probably United States, circa 1825 This charming little sampler displays a most appropriate aphorism: “Even a child is known by his doings,” from Proverb 20:11. Likely one of Miss Gill’s first samplers, she also included alphabets and a numeric progression, as well as several narrow decorative bands, all worked in the cross stitch. She placed her name at the bottom and enclosed it all in a single borderline.

Worked in blue silk on linen it is in excellent condition and has been conservation mounted into a 19th century grain-painted beveled frame.

Sampler size: 9¾” x 7”

Frame size 13¼” x 10½”

Price: $1150.

Houghton Family Record Sampler, Winchendon, Massachusetts, circa 1820 Genealogical samplers served a distinct purpose in the early 19th century – they recorded and preserved information about American families, a decorative version of the entries into a family bible.

This very lovely family record sampler, made for the family of Robert and Sarah (Jones) Houghton of Winchendon, Massachusetts, records their marriage in 1786 and the births of all, and deaths of most, of their eleven children. The sampler was worked likely circa 1820 by one of their daughters, perhaps Abegail (born in 1805) or Susan (born in 1811) and was updated over time, again in the tradition of the family bible; the last entry was stitched in 1868.

Winchendon, a town in Worcester County, about 60 miles from Boston, was home to the Houghton family.

History of Winchendon, Worcester County, Massachusetts, by Abijah Perkins Marvins (1868), and many vital records of the town include information regarding this couple and the ten children born to them. Additionally, published information about the family of Sarah (Jones) Houghton indicates that she was from the nearby town of Lunenburg, Massachusetts, the daughter of William and Sarah (Stone) Jones.

The beautifully worked border of pale flowers and teal leaves vines caught with a blue bowknot is an effective visual framework for the precisely composed interior. The sampler was worked in silk on linen and is in excellent condition. It has been conservation mounted into an oak frame.

Sampler size: 16” x 16 ¾”

Framed size: 18” x 18¾”

Price: $3400.

Laura Hutchinson of Dublin, Ohio, sampler made in Covington, “Kentukey”, 1834 Samplers made in Kentucky surface infrequently, and well documented examples such as this one are considered a fine rarity.

Laura Hutchinson was a fifteen year old from Dublin, Ohio, a town north of Columbus and she attended school in Covington, Kentucky, across the river from Cincinnati and approximately 120 miles away from her home. She was born on January 25, 1819, the oldest of the nine children of Amaziah and Mary (Eby) Hutchinson. Her grandfather, Amaziah, Sr., was one of the early pioneers of this area of Ohio, settling there by 1813.

Published sources indicate that, Amaziah Hutchison “was born in Pennsylvania, and while Ohio was still considered remote territory, he removed thither and grew up with the country, for many years owning a farm and a mill on the Scioto River.” The small stone house that Amaziah, Sr. and Amaziah, Jr. built in 1821 and 1822 remained intact until 2013 and was known as an important historic home in Franklin County for many years.

On November 18, 1840 Laura married a farmer from the same area, Daniel W. Thomas (1817-1895), and they settled on a farm just outside of Dublin. They remained there for 55 years and became the parents of seven children. Laura died at age 84, in 1903.

Published information regarding Covington, Kentucky indicates that in July of 1831 the first female school opened in that town, in a two-story log cabin, and that this was quite a notable event for the town. While we can’t be sure, it is possible that Laura Hutchinson was a student at this same school. Along with alphabets and a popular moralistic verse, Laura stitched baskets, birds, butterflies and trees on her handsome sampler.

The sampler descended along with much family information and a photo of Laura Hutchinson Thomas as an older lady.

The sampler was worked in silk on linen and is in excellent condition with stabilization to some areas of the linen. It has been conservation mounted and is in a maple and cherry cornerblock frame.

Sampler size: 17” x 15”

Framed size: 21” x 19”

Price: $8500.

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SELECTED NEEDLEWORK BIBLIOGRAPHY

Allen, Gloria Seaman. . Washington, DC: DAR Museum, 1989.

, 1738-1860, Maryland Historical Society, 2007.

Columbia's Daughters: Girlhood Embroidery from the District of Columbia,

Chesapeake Book Company, Baltimore, Maryland, 2012.

Bolton, Ethel Stanwood and Coe, Eve Johnston.

Boston: The Massachusetts Society of the Colonial Dames of America, 1921. .

Browne, Clare and Jennifer Wearden.

London: V&A Publications, 1999.

Campanelli, Dan & Marty. A Sampling of Hunterdon County Needlework: The Motifs, The Makers

& Their Stories. Flemington, NJ: Hunterdon County Historical Society, 2013. .

Edmonds, Mary Jaene.

New York: Rizzoli, 1991.

Herr, Patricia T.

. The Heritage Center Museum of Lancaster County, Pa, 1996.

Hersh, Tandy and Charles.

German Society, 1991.

. Birdsboro, PA: Pennsylvania

Humphrey, Carol.

Estates Limited, 2006.

. Needleprint & Ackworth School .

Ivey, Kimberly Smith.

Colonial Williamsburg and Curious Works Press, 1997.

. New York: E.P. Dutton, 1978.

Krueger, Glee F.

. Sturbridge, Massachusetts: Old Sturbridge Village, 1978.

Lukacher, Joanne Martin. Imitation and Improvement: The Norfolk Sampler Tradition. Redmond, WA: In the

Company of Friends, LLC, 2013.

Parmal, Pamela A. Ring, Betty.

. Boston, Massachusetts: MFA Publications, 2000. . New York: E.P. Dutton, 1987. . Knopf, 1993. .

Providence: The Rhode Island Historical Society, 1983. . New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1968.

Schiffer, Margaret B.

Schoelwer, Susan P.

Connecticut: The Connecticut Historical Society, 2010.

. Hartford,

Studebaker, Sue. Ohio Samplers: Schoolgirl Embroideries 1803-1850. Warren County Historical Society, 1988.

. Ohio: Ohio University Press, 2002.

Swan, Susan B.

New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1977.

(detail of sampler by Mary Ann Nutting, page 9)

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Conservation Mounting of Antique Samplers and Needlework Because of the important role that condition plays in the field of antique samplers and needlework, we strive to insure that these pieces undergo proper preservation while in our care. Below is a step-by-step 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 only acid-free materials and museum-approved techniques throughout the process. Please call us if you have any questions in this regard. q

Carefully clean the piece using our special vacuum process.

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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.

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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.

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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.

(detail of sampler by Hannah Towson, page 2)

(detail of sampler by Ann Flack, page 5)

(detail of sampler by Fanny Moor, page 20)