Note from the designer - "This little needlework was likely made as a panel of a "huswif"/aka a "housewife", which was an embroidered, double-sided vertical series of pockets made to hold needleworking supplies. It could be folded up or hung from a peg for swift access to the... Read more
This American sampler was stitched on a loosely woven homespun linen with vegetable-dyed silk threads. Despite its size and simplicity, the design is striking, delicate, and well-balanced. Eunice Morton was born in 1783 in Gorham County, Maine. Sometime in 1809-1810, she married Jesse Harding, and... Read more
This is a beautiful sampler from Norwich (Norfolk, United Kingdom), possibly stitched at a school run by one Mrs. Wright or her descendent (hence the initials "MW" below Elizabeth's name in the attribution). A list of teachers in Norwich in 1783 includes Wright, Massey, and Cheetleburgh. The... Read more
Note from the designer - "Although there has not been the extensive research and study of English Quaker samplers as there has been of their American counterparts, we believe that this sampler was created under the tutelage of a Quaker sewing instructress in England. The fine bleached linen and... Read more
Note from the designer - "Samplers depicting children - particularly such large children - are uncommon. Not only the children make this an outstanding sampler, but also the multi-floral border, the charming verse, the scene at the top with its menagerie of creatures, and the beautiful... Read more
Note from the designer - "This wonderful English sampler has to be an original inspired composition by a very clever young girl with a singular artistic vision! Potbellied cherubs fly trumpeting alongside a doughy, asexual Adam and Eve, beneath whom perch an enormous plumed Bird of Paradise on a... Read more
Adapted from an English sampler dated 1783. The original sampler from which this piece was adapted measures 15 1/2" x 12 1/2", and was stitched over one thread of linen on approximately 50-thread-count glazed linen. The house on the left alone, which measures 71 by 62 squares on the graph,... Read more
This letterndoek (lettering) form of Dutch sampler appears from the late 17th through the early 19th century. It is easy to recognize by its horizontal shape, and beautifully illuminated lettering, interspersed with various symbolic shapes and Biblical motifs. The color scheme used on so many of... Read more
According to a note attached to the back of the original sampler, it was probably made near Newtown, Pennsylvania. The attribution at the center is surrounded by a typical Quaker leafy cartouche with opposing flowers and facing birds above. Other characteristic Quaker motifs include eight point... Read more
This English sampler combines embroidered pictorial, alphabetic, and upholstery techniques, becoming in every sense a sampler of Ms. Topham's best work. Bargello work (also known as canvaswork, Irish stitch, flamestitch, or Florentine stitch) appeared on the earliest seventeenth century samplers,... Read more
Note from the designer: "This northern German sampler consists of random symbolic spot motifs, with a simple zigzag border. Religious symbols are commonly found on continental samplers. On this example, we find the wreath carried by angels (the wreath as a symbol for eternal life): the ship... Read more
Note from the designer: "The characteristic that readily identifies the origin of this sampler is the distinctive vine and rose border, configured such that a leaf on one side and a rosebud stem on the other give the illusion of a double vine. It is almost always found executed in cross stitch... Read more