#6049 - Mary Balls Sampler

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13" x 15 1/2 ".    15 1/2" x 171/2 " including old gilded frame.   Mary's sampler is absolutely full of wonderful motifs and pictorals.   The central design is a large mansion with four chimneys and many windows setting next to what may be a chapel with a cross on the roof.   

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These are surround- ed by four wonderful trees and three birds. There are also two posing stags, baskets of fruit, florals, strawberries, more birds, and a very unusual grapevine band, all surrounded by a lovely floral border.                                                                                                      Her charming verse reads:                                        " Child Most dear  Incline thine ear                          And hearken to Gods voice                                    His council take   For that will make                      Gods angels  To Rejoice".                                     She signs her sampler  " Mary Balls  Aged 9 Years  1826".                          

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Mary's sampler is in very good condition.  There are no holes and the silks are still quite vibrant.    There is a bit of thread loss in the area of the signature, and a stain in the bottom left (again, near the signature).   And, as the pictures show, the frame is definitely showing its age.   But, the condition of the sampler is overall very good.                                                                                                                                       $2650.00      

 #6213 - Map Sampler

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19 1/2" x 22 ".    12 1/2" x 262 " including old gilded frame (probably the origianl).   This beautiful map sampler shows a detailed rendition of England as well as the edges of Scot- land and Ireland.  It features a stunning floral border and a depiction of Britannia seated next to a cornucopia.  The workmanship on the border and on Britannia is wonderful, as are the colors and the sheen of the silks.  Also depicted are " The Irish Sea, St. George's Channel, the English Channel, the Straits of Dover and the German Ocean".          

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                                                                                                                                                                                                      It is stitched with silk on silk, and as silk is not the most durable of fabrics, there is a fair amount of damage to the fabric.  Most of the damage is around the perimeter of the sampler, but there are     four noticable damaged areas in the body of the sampler.                                                           These are clearly visable in the pictures.                          

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There are also two stains on the sampler - one in the upper right border area and the other just be- neath Britannia.   I believe the sampler to be circa 1840.  This is a very nice map sampler at a very affordable price.                                                                                                                                                                                      $850.00       

     #6164 - Elizabeth Awson Sampler

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7" x 18 ".    8 1/2" x 19 1/2" including  modern frame.   This is a beautiful example of a 17th century English band sampler.  While Elizabeth did not date her sampler, it is circa 1650 - 1680.    Elizabeth used many different stitches including algerian eye stitch,

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running stitch, double running stitch and several others.  The dividing bands are so tiny that I cannot identify which stitches are used.    

She begins her sampler with alphabets, and then follows with a long religious verse.  Because it is written in an old english type of alphabet, the verse is a bit difficult to read.  I think it says  " Confession is to cure sin a very present medicine.  Thy saviour on the cross did choose to save thy life his own to lose   Our saviour cry repent repent  as John that after our saviour went   Blessed blessed name of Jesus   who tormented was to spare us   If thou polluted are with sin   the fountains open  enter in".  

After the verse, Elizabeth begins the decorative bands of the sampler.   There is a band of acorns and oak leaves, followed by a lovely band of strawberries, foliage and filligrees.   The next band is reminiscent of an English garden maze.  It is a very intricate and quite beautiful.  She signs her sampler  "Elizabeth Awson  My Sampler  At The Nine Year Of Her Age".   The signature area is surrounded by lovely florals (honeysuckle vine type) and a few more filligrees, which she follows with one more decorative band.  She worked her silkwork sampler with shades of red, green, blue and brown.    The sampler has been conservation framed.  

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                                                                                                              The condition of Elizabeth's sampler can only be described at amazing considering its extreme age.   There are no holes in the fabric and no losses to the silks.   There are a few minor stains, mostly in the verse area, but I don't believe that these are very noticable.   Obviously, this is a very specail piece of needlework history.                                 $4350.00

 #6090 - Scottish Band Sampler

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71/2 " x 16 1/2".    9 1/4" x 18 1/4 " including modern   frame.   While this sweet band sampler is not signed or dated, I believe it to be circa 1870.    There are three sets of initials including "WF, MF & AF".   Even though the sampler is fairly simple in design, 

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it was stitched with several different stitches.      There is cross stitch over 1 & 2 threads, four-sided stitch, algerian eye stitch, rice stitch and back stitch.   So, this sampler is fairly elaborate for a modest piece.           

It also has an absolutely lovely verse - definitely one of my favorites.   It reads " Teach me to feel another's woe    To hide the fault I see   That mercy I to others show    That mercy show to me".   What a wonderful sentiment.   

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The biggest problem to the condition is that there is a cut across the center of the sampler.   You can see it running through the "T U V" of the largest alphabet.  It is visible in the second picture.  It runs across several inches.   There is also a bit of thread loss, mostly at the top in the first alphabet.    But there are no other holes in the fabric and it looks to be quite strong.                                                                            $645.00       

     #5931 - Whitework Reticella Sampler

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7 1/2" x 22 1/2 ".    11 1/2" x 27" including modern frame.  This stunning museum-quality whitework sampler is circa mid to late 17th century.  And, of course, pictures cannot do it justice.   It is filled with amazing techniques including surface embroidery, pulled work, reticella, bullion knots, double running stitch

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and lots of complex satin stitch.patterns.     This is truly a magnificent and extremely rare piece of needlework history.      

There is band after band of patterns and techniques that have been largely lost to today's needlewoman.   These are extremely advanced techniques that would have been performed by a older stitcher with much experience and knowledge of needlework.  An opportunity to own a sampler of this type and quality is quite rare.    

The sampler is unfinished.   There are perhaps four to six inches of fabric folded under at the bottom.  And there is a decided difference in the quality of the workmanship in the last two cutwork bands on the sampler.   It appears that a different and less experienced stitcher worked those bands.  I suspect that the original stitcher was using her sam- pler to teach a younger member of her family, perhaps her daughter, to stitch.   What a lovely illustration that needlework is an art that is passed down from one generation to the next.  I believe the last two bands to have been worked in the 17th century as well.   

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                                                                                                                The condition of this spectaculor sampler is excellent, especially considering its extreme age.   There is only one very small hole in the fabric and that is down in the unfinished part of the fabric.   There are no losses to the silk and only an occasional broken thread in the cutwork at the bottom.   Simply put, this sampler is magnificent!                                          $3750.00

     #5612 - Peggy Miller & Jacobin Miller Samplers

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21"  x 8" & 21 1/2" x 8".    22 1/2" x 9 1/2" & 23 1/4" x 9 1/2" including

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old wood frames.   This is a set of two samplers worked by siblings or close family members.  The sampler on the left is signed by Peggy Miller and is dated November 2 (unfortunately, the year is unreadable).   The sampler on the right is signed by Jacobin (or possibly Jacobina?) Miller and is dated April 2,1769.   Both of the samplers are Scottish in origin and are both very similar in design.    

Peggy's sampler includes a forrest scene of trees and rabbits as well as six queen stitched flowers. Jacobin's sampler includes a very similar forrest scene as well as several queen stitched motifs.   Both samplers also feature lots of beautiful alphabets including a large one with double running stitch filigrees.   The dividing bands between the letters are worked in several different stitches. 

The samplers are showing some thread loss, but there are no holes in the fabric

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of either of the samplers.   The cotton-like fibers are still quite bright.  There is an overall darkening to the fabric, but no noticible staining.  Either sampler by itself is priced at    $1595.00 or both samplers together for the price of                                                                                   $2950.00