#6913                                                                                                      Mary Robinson Sampler
                                                   Probably American    

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16 1/4 " x 18".    18 " x 20 " including a modern frame.   The large floral in the bottom center of this sampler is absolutely stunning!  The workmanship on it is exquisite!  It is so realistic that you expect to smell the floral scent.   Mary added a verse, and two charming (and unusual) black faced owls and surround- ed her gorgeous sampler with an elegant honeysuckle vine bor- der.   The antique dealer that we purchased Mary's beautiful sampler from said that Mary was born in New Haven, CT, but our research didn't find that to be the case.  With a name as common as Mary Robinson, it is quite difficult to know which girl is our girl.  We believe she was either born in New York, Vermont, Tennessee or Ohio.       
 

 

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Her verse reads:

" Let me improve the Hours I have
Before the Day of Grace is fled
There's no repentance in the Grave
Nor Pardons offered to the Dead".

She signed her lovely sampler, "Mary Robinson Aged 12".                                                                                                   

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There is a bit of thread loss in the signature area making her name a bit difficult to read.  But there are no holes in the fabric and the silks are amazingly vibrant.  Mary's sampler has been conservation mounted on another piece of linen and framed with TruGuard UV Protectant glass.                                                                                                                                                                                    $2750.00

                                                                         #6914                                                                                                    Mary Ann Chandler Sampler
                                                   New Hampshire         

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13 " x 12".    15 3/4 " x 20 " including the original frame. Mary Ann's wonderful sampler features a beautiful three story house with eight large windows and three chimneys.   Sitting on either side of the house are two enormous stags.  The size of the stags of course adds greatly to the charm of Mary Ann's lovely sampler.   The lawn is very densly stitched and quite pretty but I don't recognize what stitch Mary Ann may have used.  The florals both above and below the house are also quite beautiful.   And the unusual border of delicate floweres and foliage finishes off the sampler nicely.  She signed her sampler, " Mary Ann Chandler 1832 Aged 9 Years".   Mary Ann was born on October 27, 1823 in Hancock, Hillsboro County, New Hampshire.   Her parents were Ralph Holbrook Chandler and Phoebe Kimball.
  

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Her verse Is the Ten Commandments written in rhyme:

" Have Thou No Other Gods But Me
Unto No Idols Bow Thy Knee
Take Not The Name Of God In Vain
Do Not The Sabbath Day Prophane
Honor Thy Father And Mother Too
And See That Thou No Murder Do
From Vile Adultery Keep The(e) Clean
Steal Not Although Thy State Be Mean
For bear False Witness Shun That Blot
What Is Thy Neighbor's Covet Not
The Ten Commandments Here You See  Pray God I Keep Them As He Keeps Me".

                                                                                                  

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There is some damage to the fabric in the bottom left and right corners and the top left corner.   But the sampler has been mounted on an acid-free board that matches the color of the fabic very closely, so the damage is not very obvious.    And other than a bit of darkening, the sampler is otherwise in very good condition.   The sampler has been mounted on acid-free board.                                                                                                                                 $3850.00

                                                                         #6915                                                                                                      Fanny Rine Sampler
                                

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    Pennsylvania - Bolton & Coe Listed

20 " x 21".    24 3/4 " x 25 3/4 " including a vintage oak frame with a gilt liner.   While this particular sampler is not listed in the book American Samplers by Ethel Stanwood Bolton and Eva Johnston Coe, another sampler worked by Fanny is listed.   The listing describes the other sampler and then reads,  "Fanny Rine a daughter of Christian and Barbara Rine was born in the borough of Lancaster the 26th day of September, 1796 and made this sampler in Mrs. Armstrong's School A.D. 1808".  Fanny's sister Willamina, also has a sampler listed in the book (also completed at "Mrs. Armstrong's School").
                                                                                                  

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Fanny's sampler is both beautiful and very unusual in addi- tion to having a lovely provenance.  Worked in wool on linen, it features flame stitch, queen stitch, cross stitch, bargello and many satin stitch variations more commonly found in needlepoint.  Mixing the techniques of cross stitch and needlepoint is fairly rare on samplers.  She signed her sampler, " Fanny Rine   September 26, 1814" which would have been her 18th birthday!  

                                                                                                    

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Other than a bit of staining in the lower left corner, Fanny's sampler is in very good condition.   There are no holes in the fabric and the colors are still strong.  The sampler has been mounted on acid-free board.  This rare and lovely Lancaster County, Pennsylvania sampler would be a wonderful addition to any collection.                                                                                                                          $4650.00

                                                                               #6860                                                                                                              17th Century Band Sampler   

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6 3/4 " x 34 1/2".   10 3/4 " x 39 1/2 " including a modern frame.  This spectacular band sampler is circa 1650!   Needlework of this extreme age is incredibly rare and amazingly special.    It is truly not very often that I can offer a sampler of this quality and age.    
  

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Perhaps the most wonderful thing about this stunning sam- pler is that it is actually re- versible!  In the 17th century, it was possible for a very advanced needlewoman to work many different stitches in a reversible manner.   It is a very difficult and time consum- ing technique.   But the result is that the back of the sampler is just as beautiful as the front!  Needless to say, it is a very rare technique and it is only ever found on needlework from the 17th century.

While the sampler may appear to be slipping in its frame, that is not actually the case.   The fabric itself is not square so it looks a bit off kilter at the top.   We have framed it by lacing it to two dowels and drilling the dowels into the moulding on the inside.  This allowed us to use glass on both sides of the sampler without smashing the needlework up against the glass. The dowels give us air space for the needlework.  

Considering the fact that the sampler is more than 350 years old, it is in amazingly good condition.   There are three small holes in the middle of the third band from the top.  And there are some small stains, mostly along the left edge of the fabric.   But there are almost no losses to the silks and the color is very good.   At one time, the sampler was folded in half and the fold mark is visable.   If you click on the enlargements of the picture, you should be able to get a pretty good idea of the sampler's amazing condition.   The last picture is the sampler from the back, so you can also get an idea of how wonderfully reversible the sampler is.  

An opportunity to acquire a piece of needlework of this quality simply does not come up very often.  I am very pleased to be able to offer this stunning piece of needlework history.                    
                                                                                                                                 $7600.00

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                                                                         #6863                                                                                                      Margaret Cooke Sampler
                                            

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12 1/2 " x 13 1/2".    16 3/8 " x 17 3/8 " including a vintage frame.   Margaret's gorgeous sampler has a definite folk art appeal to it.  The quirky and dramatic floral at the bottom center of the piece is certainly an eye-catcher.  I don't believe I have ever seen a motif like it.   She surrounds it with lots of more traditional motifs including birds, trees, baskets of fruit, squirrels, spotted dogs, and more florals.  There are also alphabets, de- corative dividing bands and a border.  When we searched for her we found several Margaret Cookes.  So while I believe Margaret's lovely sampler to be American, I am unable to verify it as the surname of Cooke is a very common one.    
  

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Her  verse reads:

" Tis religion that can give
Sweetest pleasures while we live
Tis religion must supply
Solid comfort when we die ".

She signed her sampler " Margaret Cooke   Aged 13 years 183_".   Margaret's sampler is what we refer to as a vanity sampler.   At some point later in her life when she didn't want her age known, she went back and picked out the last year in the date.  Today, we are much too smart to put our age on our needlework.                                                                                                         

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The condition of this beautiful sampler is excellent.  The colors of the silks are surprisingly vivid and quite beautiful, especially in the large floral area.   There are no holes in the fabric and no losses to the silks.   The only problem to the condition is a small amount of bleeding in the signature area and the tiniest bit of bleeding in the blue at the bottom right of the large floral.    The sampler has been mounted on acid-free board.                                                                                                                                       $2875.00

                                                                         #6854                                                                                            17th Century Tent Stitch Embroidery
                                            

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7 1/2 " x 9 1/2".    12 7/8 " x 15 " including a beautiful old gilt frame.   Looking at a very early tent stitch embroidered picture is very much like looking at a painting.  In fact, the stitches are so tiny and the detail is so phenominal that from a distance it is difficult to tell that it is not a painting.   This may be a depiction of Adam and Eve sitting with Cain and Abel and a lamb under a lovely old tree.   The sun is peeking out from behind a cloud and a basket sits on the ground in front of them.  The workmanship is outstanding so of course, pictures simply cannot do this stunning piece justice.  It is truly spectacular.
  

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                                 This wonderful embroidery was once the property of a museum, although we do not know which museum.  The back of the piece still retains its original musuem information card.  The card reads:  " 2704  A panel of petit point needlework, English, date 1600,  upright, size 10" x 7 1/4". The pictures shows Adam & Eve and Cain & Abel, cradle, trees".    An embroidery of this quality and extreme early date is of course, very rare and very special.                                                                                                  

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The condition of this stunning embroidery is amazingly good.   There are no holes in the fabric and no losses to the stitching. The colors are still quite vibrant.  Embroideries like this one typically stitch the entire background as well as the subject, which obviously strengthens the fabric.  Perhaps that is why this very, very early piece of needlework is in such wonderful condition.   This embroidery is a very rare and exceptional offering.                                                                                                                                              $3850.00