#7017
 Jane Skinner Sampler

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17" x 17 1/2 ".    21" x 21 1/2 " including an old painted wood frame.  Jane's lovely sampler has many of the things that we look for in a wonderful Scottish house sampler. She stitched a beautiful house with four multi-paned (32 panes each!) windows. The house has two chimneys and an arched door with eight more tiny window panes at the top. The front garden features birds, dogs and rabbits and is surrounded with an apple tree and a pine tree. 

As is typical with Scottish samplers, she stitched many of her family' member's initials including CM, AM, JMS, MS, CS, and her parents initials, PAS, CS and TS (probably a mother and a step-mother.

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We were able to find the record of Jane's christening. She was christened on Sept. 9, 1841 at St. Nicholas Parish, in Aberdeen, Scotland.  Her father's name was Peter Skinner.

She signed her sampler " Jane B. Skinner  Aberdeen 1850 MS".                                                                                          
                                                

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Jane's sampler does have a bit of thread loss, mostly in the alphabet area and in the garden fence area.  But there are no holes in the fabric and the colors of the sampler are still vibrant. The sampler has been mounted on acid-free board.                                                                                                                                       $2850.00      

 #5700
 M. Martin Sampler

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12 3/4" x 14 3/4 ".    15 1/2" x 17 1/2 " including a lovely 19th century burled maple frame.   In spite of the fact that this sampler has some fairly significant condition issues, there is just something about this piece  that is very appealing. It features a mansion with two smaller side buildings, lots of trees, a charm- ing picket fence, two baskets of flowers, two cherubs and a delicate floral border, as well as an alphabet and a verse. We found birth records for Martha Martin who was born in Exning, Suffolk, England "about 1848", which would mean she was eight years old when she stitched her sampler.

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                                                                               Her verse reads:                                        

 "Favour is deceitful
and beauty is vain;
but a woman that feareth the Lord,
she shall be praised.  Pro 31" (Proverbs 31)

She signed her sampler " M. Martin  Exning  1856".                                                                                          
                                                

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                                  As I mentioned above, there are some condition problems.  There are quite a few holes in the fabric.  The worst of the holes are in the left and bottom border area.  But there are also holes in the right border and the bottom line of trees as well as a few tiny ones near the house.  But, because the sampler has been framed backed by a second similar colored piece of linen, the holes are not nearly as bothersome as you would ex- pect.  There is also a bit of bleeding in the bottom row of trees.  The sampler has been mounted on acid-free board.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             $975.00       

     #6331
 Patience Phillips Sampler

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15 3/4"  x 17".    17 1/2" x 18 3/4 " including modern frame.   Patience filled her lovely needlework with everything we expect to see in a 19th century sampler.   There are florals, trees, baskets of fruit, stags, Adam & Eve standing under the tree of life, wonderful birds, a verse and a charming carnation border.   There are even a couple of cute little squirrels standing next to Adam & Eve, and the two urns in the bottom corners are especial- ly lovely.   She paid a lot of attention to detail, as her sampler is perfectly balanced and symmetrical. She signed her sampler, " Performed at Bath Cottage Semi- nary,  by Patience Phillips in the year  1861."  We found  Patience in the 1861 census living in Kington, Hereford- shire, England with her parents, Richard and Sarah.
Her verse reads:                                                                                                                        

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" Pleasures of Religion                                              Tis Religion that can give                                             Sweetest pleasures while we live                               Tis religion must supply                                             Solid comfort when we die                                                                                                                              After death Its joys will be                                         Lasting as eternity                                                        Be the living God my friend                                          Then my bless shall never end"                                                                                                                                  

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The condition is good except for two problems:   there is a fair amount of thread loss throughout the sampler, and the fabric has darkened over the years.  Most of the thread loss is in the garland above the verse, the tree of life at the bottom, and the border. There is one small hole below the urn in the right bottom corner and two more on the left bottom outer edge of the fabric.  The holes are almost unnoticeable.                                                                                                     $725.00

                                                                             #7015                                                                                        Mary Elizabeth Gore Commemerative Sampler             
 

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13 1/4 " x 19 1/2".    16 1/2 " x 22 1/2 " including an old wood frame with old wavy glass.   Mary Elizabeth's gorgeous sampler was stitched to commemorate the rare alliance between England and France during the Crimean War. Not only was the alliance a rare one, but a sampler with this subject matter is also ex- tremely rare.  She stitched the flags of England and France crossing over a very unique motif of a hat, which features the English style on one side and the French style on the other. She added a classic symbol of unity, the clasping hands. And then she surrounded all of this wonderful symbolism with the words, "God save the Queen  may they ever be united Vive L'Empereur".

In addition to being rare her sampler is also very beautiful.  She stitched a wonderland of forest animals below including birds, stags, dogs, plants, trees and flowers all standing on a stunning layered hillside.  The trees, worked in many different stitches are very special. 
                                          

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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,  "Mary Eliz th Gore  Aged 11 years 1856".

                                                                                

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Mary Elizabeth's sampler is in good condition.  It does have several holes in the fabric, however most of the holes are in the area outside of the stitching.  The only holes within the stitching area are in the top right border, the 7th strawberry down on the left border, and along the bottom edge of the stitching.  The colors are vivid and there are no thread losses. It has been mounted on acid-free board.                                                                                                                  $1950.00

                                                                             #7013                                                                                                        Perpetual Calender            
 

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15 1/2 " x 19 ".   18 " x 22 1/4 " including a modern frame.  I have truly never seen anything like this clever perpetual calender. The twelve months of the year are stitched on approximately 3 inch diameter circle discs, which of course can be switched around as the months pass. The days of the week are there as well as the year.  Sixteen more numbers and four more blank squares are attached to the back of the piece. The calender is edged in lace.

 
                                          

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                                                                                                       Surprisingly, the discs are attached with glue rather than tacked on with stitches. I would have expected them to be stitched on. Because of the extra numbers attached to the back of the piece, it has been framed with glass on both sides of the calender. I would estimate this calender to be late 19th century or early 20th century. The current year attached to the calender is 1866, but I doubt that it is quite that old.  The stitching is not hand work.                            

                                                                                

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The condition of this unusual piece is very good.  It appears that all of the moving pieces are still there and the calender is showing no losses that I can see.  There are a couple of small stains, but nothing that detracts very much from the look of the piece. I cannot see any sign that the gluing has caused any deterioration. While this calender is not very old, it is quite charming and very, very unique.                                                                                                      $675.00

                                                                             #7016                                                                                                        Elizabeth Howard Sampler            
 

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19 1/2 " x 17 1/2 ".   25 1/2 " x 23 " including an old gilt frame. Elizabeth's stunning needlework has to be one of the most beautiful pictoral samplers I have ever seen.  She didn't just create a very realistic picture, she created a serene and peaceful mood, which is something we seldom see in needlework.  It's as if she was using a canvas and a palette of paints. Elizabeth used many different stitches and fibers to create her gorgeous work of art.

There are two people in a small boat floating past an incredibly beautiful church up on a hill. The trees are worked with an amazing amount of texture, as is the hillside. Elizabeth succeeds in making you feel as if you are a part of the beautiful pastoral scene she has painted. This needlework actually does feel as if it is a painting.

                                                                                                                              

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Her verse reads:

"RESIGNATION

Shall he not then thy guardian be
will not his aid extend to thee
Oh safely mayest thou rest
Trust in his love
and e'en should pain should sorrow tempt thee to complain
know that his will is best".

She signed her sampler "Elizabeth Howard  Aged 11 1843".                                                                                                                      
                                                                                

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There are no holes in the fabric and the colors are still strong and vibrant, but there is an overall darkening to the sampler. In the top right corner of the scene, there are a couple of broken threads and there are a few more broken threads in the water area.  In the water area it's more a case of the threads looking a bit fuzzy, rather than broken. The sampler is in overall very good condition.                                                                                                           $3800.00