#6774                                                                                                Emma Elizabeth Smith Sampler
                                         Atkinson, Henry County, Illinois
                                                        

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16" x 16".   18 1/2" x 18 1/2 " including a modern frame.   Emma Elizabeth Smith was born on May 5, 1857 in Atkinson, Illinois.  That makes this an exceptionally rare sampler.   Emma's parents were John Wesley Smith and Sarah Ann Rummell.  She married Samuel Kiner in December of 1874, and George Edwin Perkins on July 3, 1891.   She was buried in Geneseo, Illinois so she lived her entire life in Illinois.   Emma worked her sampler at the age of 10.   She included an alphabet, numbers, verses, florals, birds, baskets of fruit and a charming pictoral.  There is a lady in a striped dress standing in her garden filled with flowers, birds, dogs and a hillside leading up to her house.  She signed her lovely sampler " Emma Elizabeth Smith 1867."

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Emma's verse reads:
Let all thy Converse be sincere;
Thy Conscience as the Noon Day clear;
Think how the all seeing God thy ways,
And all thy secret thoughts surveys.

Virtue's the chiefest Beauty of the Mind
The noblest Ornament of human kind
Virtue's our Safeguard and our guiding star
That stirs up Reason when our Senses err"                                                                                           

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There is a fair amount of thread loss in Emma's sampler. Most of the losses are in the alphabet and the border.   There is also a cut in the fabric along the right border as well as some darkening to the center of the sampler.  But, in spite of its losses, this is still an exceptionally rare and special piece of needlework.  It has been mounted on acid-free board.                                                                         $1625.00

                                                                         #6760                                                                                                  Miniature 1840 Sampler
                                              

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8 1/4 " x 9 5/8".    13 7/8" x 12 1/4 " including a modern frame.  It is exceptionally rare to see a sampler of this small size that uses so many different stitches.  This beautiful sampler uses algerian eye stitch, four-sided stitch, cross stitch over two threads, cross stitch over one thread (on 40 count linen!) and satin stitch.    There are several sets of family initials as well as the date, but we do not know the name of this talented stitcher.  There are alphabets, numbers, birds, crowns, florals, an urn in a flower garden and a wonderful stork.       

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The band of roses is stitched over one thread, and at forty stitches per inch, this band is not just beautiful, it is stunning! Be sure to click on the enlargement of the third picture and look at the urn and flowers.   Stitches this tiny with this much detail are truly spectacular.  The small geometric satin stitch motif in the lower left area is also quite unusual.  Miniature samplers were almost always worked in just cross stitch, so this one is quite rare.  This sampler has been reproduced in the Sampler & Antique Needlework Quarterly and it is pictured on the cover of the Winter 1999 issue.                                                                                                                                          

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Because the enlargements for this sampler are so large, when you click on them, the color may be a bit distorted.   The color is more true in the smaller pictures.  There is a bit of bleeding in the sampler, primarily in the initials stitched with the dark brown silk.   There is also a very small amount of bleeding in the large wreath.  But there are no holes in the fabric and almost no losses to the silk, so the sampler is in very good condition.   It has been mounted on acid-free board.   This is an exceptionally nice miniature sampler with an amazing amount of stitching in a very small area.                                                                                                                                                                                   $1675.00

                                                                         #6768                                                                                                  Mary F. Robinson Sampler
                                               Saltsburg, Pennsylvania
  

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17 " x 16 1/2".    19 1/4" x 18 3/4 " including a modern frame.    Mary Fullerton Robinson was born on Dec. 19, 1837 in Saltsburg, Indiana County, Pennsylvania.   Her parents were John M. Robinson and Sarah White, both born in Saltsburg.  Mary's grandparents and great-grandparents were also born in Pennsylvania.  Her sampler features a lovely basket of flowers, several alphabets, and a very pretty strawberry border.      

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She used cross stitch, rice stitch, four-sided stitch, satin stitch, stem stitch and queen stitch.  And surprisingly,  she was only 8 years old when she completed her sampler.   She lists her parents names, John M. Robinson, and Sarah W. Robinson, as well as her own name and John R. Robinson (probably a brother).  She signed her sampler at the bottom "Mary F. Robinson  aged 8 years 1846".                                                                                                                                                        

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  Sadly, Mary's lovely sampler is not in good condition.   As the pictures show, the linen has darkened significantly.   In addition, there is an approximately 4 1/2" slice in the fabric in the right middle of the border area and another small cut (approx. 3/4") slice in the top center of the border area.   Because of these condition issues, this is an opportunity to own an American sampler with a lot of family history at a very affordable price.  The sampler has been mounted on acid-free board.                                                     $1250.00

                                                                         #6753                                                                                              Eliz. Maria Puddlecombe Sampler
                                                        

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17" x 19 1/2".   22 1/2" x 24 1/2 " including the original frame.   The florals in Elizabeth's beautiful sampler are absolutely won- derful!  They are very elaborate and filled with lots of color and many different stitches.   The top center floral is especially gor- geous.   I have never seen anything quite like it.   There is an amazing amount of texture in this lovely sampler.  Interestingly, Elizabeth actually abbreviated her first name on the sampler.  I don't think I have ever seen that before.  She signed her sam- pler,  "Eliz. Maria Puddlecombe  1838".   There are florals of all types, birds, deer, baskets of fruit, stars, trees, a verse and a floral border.        

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                                   Elizabeth's verse reads:

1. It is Religion that can give Sweetest pleasure while we live.  Religion only can supply Solid comfort when we die.  2. After death its joys shall be Lasting as eternity.   If the Saviour be my friend Then my bliss will never end.
3.   Short is our longest day of life  And soon its prospect end. Yet on that day uncertain date Eternity depends.
4.   Grant in me thy humble mind Patient pitiful and kind
Meek and lowly let me be Full of goodness full of thee."                                                                                                                                        

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There is a bit of damage to Elizabeth's beautiful sampler.   To the left and underneath verse #4, the sampler had been cut, probably by broken glass at some time.   In order to stablize the area, I attached the sampler to another piece of linen using invisable quilting thread.   There is also a hole and a dark spot just under the center floral and some damage along the bottom of the sampler as well as an overall darkening to the fabric.  But, as the pictures show, it is still a lovely piece.                                                                                           $1675.00

                                                                         #6754                                                                                              Maria Selby Humphrey Sampler
                                     St. Johnsbury Township, Vermont
                                                        

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15 1/2" x 17".   20" x 21 " including a modern frame.   Maria Selby Humphrey was born on June 3, 1819 in Saint Johnsbury Township, Caledonia, Vermont.  Her father was Timothy Hum- phrey.   Her sampler has an elegant, balanced look to it that is very appealing.  There are alphabets, numbers, a couple of verses, a house, florals and a large basket of fruit.  She surrounds her lovely sampler with three different borders on the four sides of her sampler.   Samplers from Vermont are fairly rare and, of course, highly desireable.  In the bottom left corner of her sampler she stitched  "St. Johnsbury", the name of her town.       

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                                   Maria's verses read:

" Tis education forms the common mind
Just as the twig is bent the tree is inclined."

" A good conscience is both the testimony
and reward of a good life.
Virtue is the foundation of honour and esteem
and the source of an order and happiness in nature."
She signed her sampler,  "Maria Selby Humphrey's sampler wrought by her in the thirteenth year of her age.   1831."                                                                                                                                       

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There is small hole in the fabric next to the chimney on the house, as well as a bit of thinning in the fabric directly above that, probably from the sampler having been folded in half.  You can also see faint light spots along the edges where the sampler was probably attached with tape at one time.   There is, of course some darkening to the fabric.  But overall, the sampler is in good condition.                                                                                                                    $2435.00

                                                                         #6869                                                                                                  Werter Memorial Embroidery
                                            

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12 " x 14"    18 " x 19 3/4 " including a modern oval frame.   Often, needlework of the 18th and 19th centuries was inspired by paintings, poems or books of the time, as is the case with this unusual piece.   The Sorrows of Werter by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was originally published in Germany in 1774.  The English translation was published in 1779.   This very special memorial embroidery was inspired by that book.   And what I find to be absolutely amazing is the fact that this lovely piece was stitched on blue felt.   The monument, and the lady's clothes and hat are appliqued pieces of felt, while her face is painted on paper. The remainder of the piece is stitched with silk.     
  

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The verse on the monument reads:

" Oh!  May the interventions of Charlotte
plead for the decay of Reason in Werter".

The top of the monument shows the name of Werter.  The young lady holds a prayer book and wears a lovely bonnet and a black cape.  The scene is surrounded with willow trees.   The embroidery is circa 1800 - 1820.                                                                                                       

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There are some holes in the felt, mostly near the tree trunk on the right.   There are also a couple of small holes near the top of the monument.   But there is very little thread loss and very little damage to the actual stitching.   This is a wonderful example of how important needlework was to a young girl's education.   The embroidery  has been mounted on acid-free board.                                                                                                                                               $1465.00