#8196                                                                                                            Catherine Jones Sampler              

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12 " x 15 " or 16" x 19  including a modern burled frame with a gilt liner. Catherine's gorgeous floral sampler has a very delicate  feminine appearance. There is an unusual wavy border with florals growing on both sides of it. The flowers are large and quite realistic. The center of the sampler features two large birds (probably peacocks), a couple of wonderful bees, more tiny flying insects and of course, more florals. The sampler is lovely and quite artistic.

 

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Her verse reads:

Thou dear Redeemer dying
Lamb   We love to hear of thee
No music lik thy charming name
Doth sound so sweet to me."

She signs her sampler, "Catherine Jones her Sampler
made in the 13 year of her age in the year 1826"
                                                                        

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The condition of Catherine's sampler is very good. There is one hole in the fabric just below the word "age" The green. gold, cream and blue silks are still vibrant and still showing some of their sheen. The sampler has been mounted on acid-free board.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             $1635

     #8197 Band Sampler

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9" x 16" or 9 1/2" x 17" including

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an old frame with a gilt liner.  While the stitcher did not sign her sampler, she did give us a date of 1706.  Because she didn't sign her piece we have no way of knowing whether this very early sampler is American or English.  But either way it is a stunning piece of needlework. There are many different types of stitches used including Cross Stitch, Eyelet Stitch, Double Running Stitch, and Satin Stitch, as well as several other stitches too tiny for my old eyes to identify.     

The floral bands are lovely and they give the needlework a great deal of texture and depth.  Band samplers in this time period were used to both learn and store needlework patterns for future use on clothing. These florals would have been beautiful on a vest or bodice or a ballgown skirt. But by  far I think the band with the Double Running Stitch boxers is the most beautiful and intriguing band on the sampler.  Boxers are usually male figures who generally flank a floral motif and hold a flower or "offering" in their hand.  The figure of the boxer is thought to depict a lover offering a flower to his beloved.  These motifs are usually found on 17th century samplers.  So a sampler dated 1706 is actually quite late to find the boxer motif.. 

It was quite difficult to get a good picture of the boxer band.  The bronze color simply does not photograph well.  On the actual sampler it is lovely.

  

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                                                                                                                                                              The condition of this very early sampler is actual- ly quite good. There are no holes in the fabric and no losses to the silk.  The silks are still showing quite a bit of sheen and the colors are still bright.  The sampler has been mounted on acid-free board.                                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                           $2250

                                                                             #8150                                                                                                          Margaret Bowie Sampler               

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13" x 17" or 19 1/4" x 23 1/4 including a lovely 19th century frame with a gilt slip and old wavy glass. Margaret's lovely Scottish house sampler features a stunning four pillared house with six multi-paned windows and four chimneys. There is a fenced in front yard and two graceful swaying trees filled with birds. She stitched a beautiful thistle surrounded with the words "I have power to defend Thy son and others". There are also florals, crowns, 2 verses, a peacock and a delicate undulating border.  She added a series of family initials including " JB, RB, JB, WB, RB, AR and JR".  Just below the first verse she stitched the name Jean Bowie.  I believe that to be her mother's name.  I would have expected her father's name to be next to it, but it is not there. It may have faded away. 

 

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Her 1st verse reads:

The wondering would Inquire to know
why I do love my Savior so
But if all the world my Savior know
Shure all the world would love him to"

The second verse has mostly faded away but if you tilt the sampler at just the right angle you can clearly see that it was the very well known "Jesus permit thy gracious name to stand" verse.  She signed her sampler  Margaret Bowie. The date appears to have been picked out but I believe the sampler to be circa 1820.

                                                                        

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The condition of Margaret's classic Scottish house sampler is still pretty good. However, there is an overall darkening to the fabric and a fair amount of thread loss. The thread loss is mostly in the 2nd verse area and the area to the left of the first verse. There is also a hole just under the thistle and the bottom edge of the fabric is showing some wear. The sampler has been mounted on acid-free board.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               $1375