#8023                                                                                                      Sarah Elway Sampler               

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12 " x 12 1/4".  16 1/2 " x 17 " including a beautiful 19th centu- ry burled frame with a gilt liner. Sarah's elegant three story house features four wonderful arched windows as well as ten multi-paned windows. She included a doorknob on her door and front steps leading out to her charming picket fenced front garden.  There are trees, lots of birds and rabbits (I think - they actually look a bit like donkeys!) and a dog with a curly tail.  It's a charming scene.  The bottom half of her lovely sampler in- cludes three gorgeous urns of flowers as well as more birds and a basket of fruit. Her sampler is surrounded with an undulating border of carnations. 

    

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Her verse reads:

"Remember thy creator in the days of thy youth"

She signed her sampler "Sarah Elway's Work  Agd 11 Years  Parkend School  1830".

Sarah's parents were Thomas and Ann Elway. She was christened on April 4, 1819 in Lydney, Gloucester, England.

                                                                                    

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The condition of the sampler is good.    There is a hole in the fabric in the bottom right corner just under the basket of fruit and there are couple of places where the linen threads are a bit loose. But those are not actually holes and they are not very noticable.  The colors are strong and there are no losses to the silks.  There are two very small stains, one in the bottom right corner and the other just above the word "Remember".  It has been mounted on acid-free board.                                                                                                                                                              $1675

                                                                             #8019                                                                                                      Elizabeth Huckin Sampler              

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14 1/2 " x 16".  17 " x 18 1/4 " including a 19th century gilt frame.   Elizabeth stitched her stunning sampler on a gauze-like fabric with tiny, tiny stitches. It's really quite beautiful. The silks are still showing an amazing amount of sheen and the workman- ship is wonderful. The mansion in the center is filled with multi-paned windows. There are four windows with sixteen panes each and one window with forty panes!  The large double doors have pillers on each side. It's gorgeous! She added  a spectacular church, a house and several lovely trees.  There are delicate florals, a verse and an elegant undulating floral border with charming sunburst motifs in each of the corners.

    

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Her verse reads:

"Grant me great God a Heart to thee inclind
Increase my faith to rectify my mind
Teach me betimes to tread thy sacred ways
And to thy service consecrate my days"

She signed her sampler "Elizabeth Huckin  1822".

                                                                                    

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This sampler is in excellent condition.  There are no holes in the fabric and as I mentioned above, the silks are vibrant and full of sheen. I don't often use the term, but this sampler is museum quality.  It's elegant, it's artistic and it's finely stitched.  It belongs in a cherished collection of fine needlework.  It has been stitched to another piece of fabric and then mounted on acid-free board.                                                                                                                                                                                       $2945

                                                                             #8020                                                                                                      Elizabeth M. Porter Sampler
              

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                                        Franklin County, Massachusetts
 
16 1/2 " x 17 1/2".  21 1/2 " x 22 1/4 " including a 19th century bird's eye maple frame.  Elizabeth was quite proud of her needlework.  Stitched prominently in the center of her sampler is a sign bearing the words, "Executed 1824 by Elizabeth M. Porter born June 21, 1808". In addition, she added her initials above the large basket of fruit, and on the planter to the right of the basket of fruit, and also on the flag flying next to the house. So I think we can assume that she was quite proud of her sampler. Her large house has twenty-one windows and that lovely flag as well as a flower filled front yard. But my absolute favorite motif is that wonderful flame stitch pattern worked in the bottom right corner. Flame stitch is fairly rare on a sampler and this one is especially nice.
    

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Her verse reads:

"Mortals how few among your race
Have given this thought its weight
That on this flying moment hangs
Your everlasting state"

Elizabeth was born in Heath, Franklin County, Massachu- setts. Her parents were Reuben and Elizabeth Porter.

                                                                                    

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While there are no holes in the fabric there is an issue with thread loss. The first large alphabet is almost completely faded away.  Once we get beyond the first alphabet, there are no further thread losses and the colors are fairly strong.     It has been mounted on acid-free board.                                                                                                                                                                                        $2375

                                                                             #8026                                                                                                      Elizabeth Boughton Sampler              

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18 1/2 " x 22 1/4".  22 1/2 " x 25 " including a beautiful 19th century burled frame.  Elizabeth's impressive sampler is both artistic and charming. Her large central floral motif floats above a vine of foliage that almost seems to be gently blowing in a soft breeze.  It gives a sense of movement. The two branches of flowers with the large birds perched on them are equally as lovely.  But without a doubt, my favorite motifs on this gorgeous sampler are the four corner motifs.  These satin stitched florals are different in each corner and I think they are very beautiful.  Elizabeth added two small cherubs, lots of birds, an unusually detailed basket of fruit, dogs, deer, trees, crowns, alphabets and a verse.

    

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Her verse reads:

"You whose fond Wishes do to Heaven aspire
Who make those blest Abodes your sole Desire
If you are wise and hope that Bliss to gain
Use well your Time live not an Hour in vain
Let not the Morrow your vain Thoughts employ
But think this Day the last you shall enjoy"

(n.b. I have changed all of the lower case "f s" to s.)

She signed her sampler "Elizabeth Boughton".

                                                                                    

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The sampler is in good condition.  There are no holes in the fabric and no losses to the silks. The colors are vibrant and are still showing a nice sheen.  There is however, an overall darkening to the fabric, especially on the upper right side of the sampler. It has been mounted on acid-free board.                                                                                                                                                                $3195

                                                                             #8025                                                                                                      Elizabeth Pycock Sampler              

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11 1/2 " x 15 1/2".  16 1/2 " x 20 1/2 " including a bird's eye maple frame. Elizabeth's sampler depicts a wonderful bucolic scene. At the top she stitched a very large building (with 21 windows!). This was probably her school. Below that, she worked a charming scene with hills and valleys, an elaborate church and several other buildings.  Elizabeth was born in Kirton, Lincolnshire, England and christened in the year 1800. Her parents were John and Tabitha Pycock. Based on her christening date, I believe the sampler to be circa 1806.

    

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As her sampler is absolutely filled with scenic motifs, she did not add a verse, but she did sign her sampler, "Elizabeth Pycock Aged Six Years Kirton".

So, like the Mary Ann Enderwick sampler listed above, we have another amazing sampler stitched by a very young child.

                                                                                    

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There are some losses to the fibers. The white sky behind the school building shows a bit of loss. The roof of the church has lost some stitches as well and there is a bit of overall darkening to the fabric. But I'm not finding any holes in the fabric or stains. It has been mounted on acid-free board.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             $1950