#6859                                                                                                      Sarah Maria Gano Smith Sampler               

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         Providence, Rhode Island

17 " x 17".    20 " x 20 " including a lovely 19th century bird's eye maple  frame.  Sarah Maria  was born in Providence, Rhode Island on August 15, 1818 so she was 14 years old when she stitched her lovely sampler.  Her parents were Waterman Smith and Sarah Corey.  Her ancestors must have been among the earliest settlers in Rhode Island, as we were able to trace the maternal side of her family back to 1636 in Rhode Island.  The stunning floral border is worked in several different stitches and it flows with graceful beauty around the alphabets and verse.          
  

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Her verse reads:

" There's not a tint that decks the rose
Or paints the lily fair,
Nor een the humblest flower that grows
But heaven has placed it there".

She signed her sampler,  "Sarah Maria Gano Smith   1832".                                                                                                   

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The silks retain a beautiful sheen and have lovely vibrant color.   The only thread loss is in the inner border surround- ing the alphabets, and that is fairly minor.   There are no holes in the fabric and only a bit of darkening in the alphabet and the upper right border areas.    The sampler has been mounted on acid-free board.                                                                                                                                                                                                              $2750.00

                                                                             #6922                                                                                                        Eudoxya Aguyar Sampler              

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  Rare Commemorative with Book

19 " x 13 3/4".    23 " x 17 1/2 " including a modern frame.   This amazing Spanish sampler commemorates an event that occured in 1826 in France.   Muhammad Ali, a high minister in Egypt at the time, wanted to go to war against Greece. And he was hoping to do so without the interference of France or Eng- land.  So, in the time honored tradition of international politics, he decided to send each of them a bribe.   He ordered a parade of exotic animals to be sent as gifts to France and England.          
  

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The animals, including monkeys, giraffes, antelopes and several others, had to be walked down the Nile and loaded onto a ship.   They sailed across the Mediteranian and landed in Marsaille.   They then had to be walked 500 miles to Paris to be presented to Charles X of France.   The gir- affe was the only animal to survive the journey.   The event was enormously celebrated all over France and the giraffe became the darling of the nation.  Women began wearing very tall hairstyles and clothing with giraffe spots.  Charles X had a two story stable built for the giraffe and his handlers.   This rare sampler commorates that event.

Underneath the giraffe is the word, " Gyrafa".   The sampler is signed, " Hecho Por Eudoxy Aguyar Y Medyna El Ano 1834".  The event is documented in the book  Zarafa by Michael Allin which is included with the sampler.                                                                                                  

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There are a few holes in the fabric, two in the left border area, one just under the branches of the right tree and another just above the same tree.  There is also a bit of thread loss and some minor staining.   But the sampler has been mounted on a matching piece of linen so the holes are are not very noticable.                                                                                                                                                                                                                $2650.00

                                                                               #6942                                                                                                    Sarah Alexander Sampler               

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Rare Baltimore Maryland Sampler

17 " x 16 1/2".    21 1/4" x 21 " including a modern frame.  Sarah was born "about 1820" in Baltimore, Maryland. South- ern samplers are quite rare and very difficult to find, so Sarah's lovely needlework is quite special.  She stitched her parents names( James and Frances), and the names of her brothers and sisters as well as Mary Ann Banning, who was probably her teacher.   The siblings listed are:  Margaret, Ninian, Catherine, Martha Jane, Sarah, John Andrew and Rebecca.     The names are surrounded with a gorgeous basket of meandering flowers and an outside border of queen stitched strawberries.   
  

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Her verse reads:

"Jesus permit thy gracious name to stand
As the first efforts of an infants hand
And as her fingers o'er the canvass move
Engage her tender heart to seek thy love
With thy dear children may she have a part
And write thy name thyself upon her heart".

Her signature reads: "Sarah Alexanders Sampler  Worked by her in the tenth year of her age".                                                                                                   

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There is some staining in the signature area as well as a few holes in the fabric.   The holes are top center, the left outside edge and the signature area.   But the silks are vibrant and still show a nice sheen.   The only thread loss in is the alphabet area at the top.  The sampler has been mounted on acid-free board.                                                                                                                         $2850.00

                                                                               #6940                                                                                    Elizabeth Ledyard Silk Embroidery with Provenance              

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      Groton, Connecticutt                                                              
15 1/2 " x 15 1/2".    18 1/2 " x 18 1/2 " including a lovely 19th century Hepplewhite spider leg pole screen.  This stunning silk embroidery is undoubtedly the most beautiful silkwork piece I have ever seen.  The workmanship is exquisite.  The incredibly detailed design is wonderful.  It depicts a young man courting a lovely young lady with three children watching in the back- ground.  As was the custom in silkwork pieces, the hands, the faces and some of the background details are painted, including the castle and the sky.    The entire scene is surrounded with a border of spangles (sequins) which is an unusual and lovely detail.  The feathers on the young man's hat are particularly realistic.          
  

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There is a wonderful surprise on the back of the frame.  There is a compartment built into the frame that holds family letters. It is labled "Letter of Mary A. Vandervoort".   Mary was Elizabeth's great niece.  In the letter she speaks of her " Aunt (great) Betsy who embroidered this little piece...". Another letter states, "Elizabeth Ledyard, daughter of John Ledyard by his first wife, and sister of Col. William Ledyard died at the house of her nephew Peter Ledyard Vandervoot, March 27, 1832 aged 92".  We found her birth record of June 17, 1743 in Groton, New London, Connecticutt.  The embroidery is circa 1756.                                                                                                    

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The condition of this lovely piece of needlework is quite good.  Because silk is a very fragile fabric, you usually find these silk on silk pieces with lots of holes or splits in the silk.  But this lovely piece has none.  The colors are vibrant (in- cluding the painted areas) and the the silks are showing a lovely sheen.  A few of the spangles in the border are missing and there is a bit of spotting in the silk outside the border, but this piece is overall in very good condition.                                                                                                                                                          SOLD