#6931                                                                                                      Eliza Slack Quaker Sampler               

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     Attleboro, Massachusetts

26 1/4 " x 22 1/4".    27 3/4 " x 23 3/4 " including a vintage frame.   Eliza was born in Attleboro, Massachusetts in 1800.   Her parents were Samuel Slack and Lucy Miller.   Samuel's ancestors trace back to as early as 1606 in Massachusetts, so the family must have been among the earliest settlers.   Eliza's sampler is a lovely example of a classically Quaker sampler.   All of the motifs are typically Quaker as is the black block lettering and the verse.          
 

 

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Her verse reads:

" Jesus permit thy gracious name to stand
As the first effort of my youthful hand.
And while my fingers o'er this canvass move
Engage my tender heart to seek thy love.
With thy children let me bear a part
And write thy name thyself upon my heart".

She signed her sampler,  "Eliza Slack's Work   1822".                                                                                                   

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While the silks are vibrant and they still retain quite a bit of their sheen, there are several holes in the fabric.   The most noticable of these are in the verse and signature areas and along the top edge of the fabric.  The sampler has been mounted on acid-free board.                                                                                                                                                                                                              $2750.00

                                                                                 #6861                                                                                                          Carver Family Tree               

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Taunton, Bristol County, Massachusetts

19 " x 22 1/2".    23" x 26 1/4 " including a period painted gilt frame.   It is exceptionally rare and very special to find a family record embroidery actually worked in the tree format.  This needlework is stunning!  It records the parents names at the base of the tree as David Carver and Hannah Harlow, as well as the names and dates of twelve Carver family siblings.  The silk on silk needlework is exquisitely worked.  The tree is surround- ed with a lovely oval floral border.          
 

 

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The siblings names listed are Mary, Lucy, Simeon, Hannah, David, Lucy, Henry, Sarah, Frederick, Ruth, Robert, and William.   I belive the needlework was probably stitched by Mary.  Interestingly, the geneology research listed Polly as being born in 1770, while the needlework lists Mary as being born in 1770.  So, either Mary and Polly are the same young girl, or they were twins and one was not listed on the sampler.  The needlework is circa 1780 - 1790.                                                                                                  

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There is an obvious water stain along the bottom of the embroidery.  The silk is fairly fragile, so when we tried to mount it on acid-free board we were not able to attach it.   We did manage to lay the embroidery on a piece of linen and mount the linen to an acid-free board.   But because the silk was so weak we were not able to stitch the embroidery  to the linen, which meant we had to put it back in its frame against the glass (without spacers). In spite of being fragile, the silk is completely intact except for a few splits along the top edge.                                                                                                                                                                                                                $2850.00

                                                                         #6927                                                                                                        " S.H."  Sampler              

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17 1/2 " x 18".    20 " x 20 1/2 " including a modern frame.   Our sampler maker did not give us her name, but she did include the initials " S.H." and "age 12" as well as the date 1839.   She also gave us her parents initials - " J.H. and B.A. H".  So we don't know exactly who she was or where she was from, but we do know that she stitched a very charming sampler filled with the wonderful motifs that would have appealed to a twelve year old girl.  Her sampler has a naive kind of charm that I find very appealing.              
 

 

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The focal point of the sampler is a  lady carrying a basket and wearing a bonnet.    Her face, bonnet, bodice and basket are all stitched over one thread, which gives the lady a lovely texture.  The stitches used include cross stitch over one thread and over two threads, eyelet stitch and sawtooth satin stitch.  There are florals, birds, trees, hearts and two fairly detailed houses in the bottom corners of the sampler.   There is also an interesting three sided border with strawberries at the top and florals down the sides.                                                                                                   

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The condition of this sweet sampler is quite good.   There is a bit of thread loss in the sawtooth satin stitched band and a couple of minor stains.  The only noticable stain is in the bottom left border area. But there are no holes in the fabric and the colors are quite good.     The sampler has been mounted on acid-free board.                                                                                                                                                                                                              $1285.00

                                                                         #6923                                                                                                      Mary Anne Pipe Sampler               

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11 3/4 " x 13".    14 1/2 " x 15 1/2 " including a vintage frame.  Mary Anne stitched two wonderful fighting swans.   I was not aware that swans were fighters, but these two certainly seem to be in an aggressive pose!  They are outlined in black and filled in with white silk using a chain stitch.   They are two of the best swans that I have ever seen.   She also added a beautiful band of flame stitch that looks especially nice within the delicate floral border.  Everything about this lovely sampler is appealing.   I wonder if Mary Anne lived in a manor house with swans swim- ming nearby?         
  
 

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                                                                                            Her verse reads:

" Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth,
while the evil days Come not,
nor the years draw nigh when thou shalt say,
I have no pleasure in them.
Fear God, and keep his Laws."

She signed her sampler,  "Mary Anne Pipe   1798".                                                                                                   

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As the pictures show, there are some holes in the fabric.  These are located above the flame stitch band, near her name, and just above the band of numbers.  But there is very little thread loss and the silks are still quite vibrant.   There is no bleeding and no noticable staining.  The sampler has been mounted on linen which was then mounted to an acid-free board.                                                                                                                                                                                                                             $2475.00

                                                                         #6921                                                                                                      Hannah Johnson Sampler               

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16 " x 21".    19 " x 24 " including a period maple frame.   Hannah stitched a stunning gazebo with delicate vines and flowers growing up the sides, surrounded by two fabulous trees.  What a gorgeous garden scene!  This young girl had a wonder- ful artistic flair with her needle.  There are four different alpha- bets worked in eyelet stitch, cross stitch and satin stitch divided by a decorative band of queen stitch.  She added an outer border of strawberries on three sides surrounding an inner border of satin stitch and eyelet stitch.  Simply put, this sampler has everything you could want in a sampler.  I believe it to American in origin, but because Hannah Johnson is a fairly common name, I have not been able to verify where she was born.           
  

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                                                                                          Her verse reads:

" Thou Canst Accomplish All Things
Lord Of Might.
And Every Thought Is Naked
To Thy Sight".

She signed her sampler,  "Hannah Johnson   October 12, 1774".                                                                                                  

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The first alphabet and the signature band have faded in color a bit so that is somewhat difficult to read.   And following her name something appears to have been picked out (probably her age).  There is also some overall darkening to the fabric, although the linen was probably fairly dark in color when it was new.   But there are no holes in the fabric and no losses to the silks, so the sampler is in very good condition.  It has been mounted on acid-free board.                                                                                                                                                                                                             $3875.00