#7009                                                                                                  Quaker Motif 'Primer' Sampler               

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12 1/2 " x 12 1/2".    15 " x 15 " including its original frame. While this lovely sampler is not signed or dated, I believe it to be circa 1790 - 1810. It is actually fairly  rare to see a Quaker sampler with so many different motifs. I counted twenty-nine different ones, many of them used multiple times.  And every one of these lovely motifs is characteristic of Quaker samplers. One of the most charming perhaps, is the swan under a tree or branch that appears four times on this piece of needlework.  It is surrounded by an elegant double sawtooth border on the sides and a sweet floral border at the top and bottom.    
                                          

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One reason that I think this is a wonderful and special sampler is that it was very probably stitched by a teacher in a Quaker school. It was likely meant to be a 'primer' or reference for her students as they learned to stitch the motifs. The multi-windowed building near the bottom is probably a representation of her school.  How lovely to have an actual example of the history of young girls learning needlework.
                                        

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The colors of the silks are still vibrant and there are no losses to the threads. There are several tiny holes throughout the background fabric, but since the sampler has been mounted on a similar colored piece of linen, they are very difficult to see. Overall, I believe the sampler is in very good condition.  It has been mounted on acid-free board.                                                                                                                                                                                          $2895.00

                                                                             #7003                                                                                                      A. Caldwell Sampler               

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12 1/2 " x 13".    16 3/4 " x 17 1/4 " including a vintage frame.  Finding a house on a sampler is not unusual. But this one has one of the most charming houses I have ever seen. Each of the five windows has sixteen panes of glass and the door has an unusual arched window at the top of it.  But the lovely floral vine growing up and around the door is absolutely my favorite part of this beautiful sampler.  It's an idyllic scene. There are also two graceful trees next to the house and in the one on the left you will see what appear to be two lovebirds. And then this delightful vingette is surrounded by a graceful floral border.  The sampler is signed  "A. Caldwell's work aged 9 1823".  
                                          

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Her verse reads:

An Address to the Deity
Teach me to quit this transitory scene
With decent triumph and a look serene.
Teach me to fix my ardent hopes on high
And having liv'd to thee in thee to die".
                                        

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The linen is a bit darkened in both the verse area and the signature area.  And there is a bit of thread loss on the roof of the house.  There is also a bit of bleeding near the bottom border.  But there are no holes in the fabric and the colors are strong and vibrant.  It has been mounted on acid-free board.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           $1475.00

                                                                         #7010                                                              Ann Brough Sampler
    

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15 1/2" x 16 1/2".   20 1/2" x 21 1/2 " including a lovely inlaid modern frame.  Ann was christened on January 4, 1829 in Nottingham, England. Her parents were John Brough and Esther James.   Sadly, Ann died at the tender age of eleven, just one year after she finished her beautiful sampler. 

 Her sampler is filled with wonderful motifs including florals, birds, dogs, peacocks, windmills, trees, baskets of fruit, and a beautiful eagle (or possibly a griffin).   The bottom of her lovely sampler shows a a gated estate labeled "Nottingham".    She surrounds her sampler with a strawberry border.   

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Her verse reads:                                                                 " God is our refuge and strength
a very Present Help in Trouble".
She signed her sampler with the words  " Done by Ann Brough   Aged 10 in the Year of our Lord  1839".
It is, of course, very poignant to know that she died so soon after completing her sampler. 

    

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There are several holes in Ann's sampler, although most of them are fairly small.  The largest one is in the upper right corner of the sampler.   Other holes are located under the word "Lord", the upper left corner and near the bottom left windmill.  There is also some staining mostly on the left side of the sampler.   But the silks are vibrant and the sampler has been conservation framed on acid-free ragboard.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                $2400.00

                                                                             #7007                                                                                                    Christian Sinclair Sampler               

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15 " x 18 1/2".    20 1/2 " x 25 " including a lovely period frame.   Christian stitched a delicate and beautiful filligree alpha- bet that is very characteristic of Scottish needlework.  In fact, almost everything on this striking sampler is very Scottish. From the wide pansy band, to the seven tailed peacocks to the row of Scottish trees that line the bottom of the sampler, she (or possibly he) is telling us that she was a Scot.  Because she did not give us a date, it is difficult to identify where in Scotland she was born.  But I believe the sampler to be circa 1760-1765.  There are dogs, birds, trees, fruit baskets and florals scattered throughout her vibrant piece.  But, perhaps most notable motif is the striking building in the center of the sampler.       
                                          

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Christian's sampler is very similar to two examples pictured in Margaret Swain's book entitled "Scottish Embroidery Medieval To Modern". Please see Color Figure VIII for the Margaret Boog sampler, stitched in 1761, and figure 86, for the Janet Learmonth sampler stitched in 1765.  You see a varieation of the same building on both of these samplers, so they were all most likely done in the same school.  Unfor- tunately, we don't know the name or location of the school.

                                      

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Christian's sampler is very beautiful and quite vibrant. But there are some issues with its condition.  It appears that the sampler has at one time been framed with its border folded under. As a result of that, there is significant wear to the border area. The top and right borders are fine, but the left and bottom borders are showing some losses.  And there is a medium sized hole just under the large letter "M". It has been mounted on acid-free board.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 $4475.00