Samplings: XIII

VOLUME XIII

S_A_JVIPLI~<JS: A selected offering of antique samplers and needlework

M. Finkel e:J Daughter. established 194 7 ANTIQUE TEXTILES AND PERIOD FURNITURE 936 Pine Street, Philadelphia , Pennsylvania 19107 215-627-7797

. 800-598-7432

fax 215-627-8199

Samplings ... volume XIII '.'Like other forms of material culture, samplers are products of a particular society and thus reflect attitudes, expectations, and changes within that society. Samplers are also works of art that not only please modern eyes, but tell us what was considered aesthetically pleasing in the past. More importantly, these examples of plain and decorative needlework illuminate the lives of people often overlooked in written history: the girls and women who lived during the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries."

The interest in schoolgirl samplers and silk embroideries as a window to understanding our history continues to grow. The above quote from Kim Smith Ivey's new book, In the Neatest manner: The Making of the Vrrginia Sampler Tradition, which accompanies an exhibition of the same name at Colonial Williamsburg, well represents the basis for our interest in the field. Fortunately, we continue to discover fascinating examples and our genealogical research has been rewarding. We hope that you will share our enthusiasm.

The selected bibliography included at the end of the catalogue is regularly updated and we refer to some of the books as they pertain to specific samplers. If any of these books prove difficult to procure, let us know and perhaps we can assist in locating them. 1997 marked the 50th anniversary of the founding of our firm, a fact of which we are quite proud. We like to think that our positive relationship with clients, many of whom are now second generation, is because of our commitment to customer satisfaction.

Buying antiques should be based in large measure on trust and confidence, and we try to treat each customer as we ourselves like to be treated. We operate by appointment and are at the shop five days a week, except when we are exhibiting at an out-of-town antiques show. Please let us know of your plans to visit us.

Every item in this catalogue is guaranteed to be authentic and original, and you can rely on our expertise in describing each piece as to age and condition. Most of the samplers are described as being "conservation mounted," and where this is noted, the work has been done according to description of the process at the back of this catalogue.

All merchandise is offered subject to prior sale. Should your first choice be unavailable, we urge you to discuss your collecting objectives with any one of us. Our inventory is extensive, and we have many items not included in our catalogue. Moreover, through our sources, we can often locate the sampler that you are looking for; you will find us knowledgeable and helpful.

Payment may be made by check, VISA, Mastercard, or American Express, and we ask for payment with your order. Pennsylvania residents should add 6% sales tax. All items are sold with a five day return privilege. Expert packing is included: shipping and insurance cost are extra. We prefer to ship via UPS second day air or Federal Express, insured.

Amy Finkel Morris Finkel Martine Webber 800-598-7432 Are you interested in selling? We are constantly purchasing antique samplers and needlework and would like to know what you have for sale. We can purchase outright or act as your agent.

Photographs sent to us will receive our prompt attention. Call us for more information.

Cover Illustration: Sophia Bowen, 1804, page 1 Copyright Š 1998 by M. Finkel & Daughter, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this Publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system now known or to be invented, without the permission in writing from M. Finkel & Daughter, Inc. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

ALPHABETICAL LISTING OF CONTENTS 'Margaret Ackerman, New York, 1802 ......................................................................................... page Mary Balm, Gunnerby, England, 1772 ........................................................................................ page Catharine Bartolet, Oley, Pennsylvania, 1843 ............................................................................ page Elizabeth S. Billings, Manitoba, Canada, 1835 ........................................................................... page Elizabeth Blackiston, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1784 ............................................................ page Mary Bonne!, Hunterdon County, New Jersey, 1835 .................................................................. page Sophia Bowen, Warren, Rhode Island, 1804 ............................................................................... page Cross-Stitched Cat, circa 1860 .................................................................................................... page Adeline Eliza Clark, Schenectady, New York, 1831 .................................................................... page Julia Covenhoven, Franklin Juvenile Seminary, circa 1810 ...................................................... page Round Darning Sampler, England, circa 1800 ........................................................................... page Plushwork Dog, circa 1860 .......................................................................................................... page Cornelia Donaldson, New York, 1822 ......................................................................................... page Hannah Edge, England, 1854 ...................................................................................................... page Deborah Green, Tauton, Massachusetts, 1784 ............................................................................ page Margery Greenough, Plymouth, New Hampshire, 1801 ............................................................ page Lydia Vose Gregery, Concord, Massachusetts, 1808 ................................................................... Page Mary Ann Jewell, Hampshire, England, 1817 ............................................................................. page Sarah E. Hanna, Harford County, Maryland, 1842 ..................................................................... page Mary Elizabeth Hoffman, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, 1836 ............................................. page Barbara Hougendobler, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, 1845 ................................................ page Hannah Jones, Delaware or Maryland, 1832 .............................................................................. page Elizabeth Pratt, Chester County, Pennsylvania, 1823 ................................................................ page Elizabeth Lee, Salem, Massachusetts, 1765 ................................................................................ page Rachel Lippincott, West Hill Seminary, 1820 ............................................................................. page Susanna Maris, Chester County, Pennsylvania, 1786 ................................................................ page Ann Mitchell, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1793 ........................................................................ page Desire Norris, New London, Connecticut, 1803 ......................................................................... page Peacock Sampler, Scotland, circa 1800 ...................................................................................... page Betsey Putnam, Danvers, Massachusetts. 1796 .......................................................................... page Nancy Rice, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, 1806 ................................................................................ page Fanny Rine, Mrs. Armstrong's School, Lancaster Pennsylvania, 1808 ..................................... page Sally Ross, Ipswich, Massachusetts, 1809 ................................................................................... page Hanora Scanlan, Pennsylvania, 1836 .......................................................................................... page Roxana Seward, Cheshire County, New Hampshire, 183l......................................................... page Silk Embroidery, Basket of Fruit & Berries, New England, c. 1810.......................................... page Mary Smith, Bedford, New Hampshire, 1826 ............................................................................. page Mary Thompson, Carrick-on-Suir, Ireland, 1814 ....................................................................... page Sarah Ann Weidman, Lititz Moravian Girls School, 1827 ......................................................... page

AMEII.ICA's LEADING sAMPLER AND NEEDLEWORK DEALER

23 20 31 10 12 27 1 32 2 14 16 32 18 16 6 20 11 25 17 3 18 30 24 7 11 19 22 33 17 8 9 5 4 13 28 29 26 21 15

M.Finkel ~Daughter.

Sophia Bowen, School of Mrs. Martha Davis, Warren, Rhode Island, 1804 On March 20 1794, Sophia Bowen was born in Warren, Rhode Island, the daughter of Pardon and Mary (Thurber) Bowen. In 1818 she married Capt. Suchet Mauren, a prominent sea captain and later president of the Atlantic Insurance Company of Providence. Sophia had six children and died on April14, 1847. In 1804, when she was just ten years old, Sophia finished working this outstanding sampler and inscribed it, 'Wrought at Warren Sept the 13 1804." Her sampler is an excellent example from the highly regarded group about which Betty Ring wrote in both Girlhood Embroidery, Vol I, 'Warren Samplers and Schoolmistress Martha Davis" and Let Virtue Be a Guide to Thee: Needlework in the Education of Rhode Island Women 1730-1830. The majority of the Warren samplers which illustrate Mrs. Ring's writings are in the collections of museums and historical societies and we are extremely pleased to be able to offer this piece for sale.

The group of samplers worked under the instruction of Mrs. Martha Pease Davis (1743-1806), share virtually all of the design characteristics exhibited on our Bowen sampler: the impressive five-bay brick house flanked by diagonally-striped pillars surmounted by a pair of birds perched on finial balls, the overall format including front stairs, lawn and trees, and the use of many different stitches to depict varying pictorial images. All of these samplers are peopled with fashionably dressed couples and children and, in the case of our Bowen sampler, a shepherdess tending her flock at lower left. The reserves above the house and below the large group of figures are similarly worked on all of the Warren samplers and the samplermakers typically include the date of their birth as well as the date of completion of the sampler. Many of these pieces display the same banner-like inscription across the top which reads, "Honor and renown will the virtuous crown", however young Sophia seems to have initially forgotten the word "the", which she worked above the line with an insertion mark.

The format of the verse is also consistent. According to Betty Ring the local Baptist elder, the Reverend Luther Baker, composed customized acrostic verses for Mrs. Davis's pupils and, in fact, Sophia credits Rev. Baker as such after the final line of her verse.

Sophia Bowen's impressive sampler adds to the body of work known to have been accomplished under the tutelage of this obviously highly talented schoolmistress. The sampler is in excellent condition, worked silk on linen, with slight loss to the roof of the house and a small area of ground linen to the left of the left pillar. The last digit of the year of Sophia's birth, 1794, was reworked, most likely by the needleworker herself at an advanced age. It has been conservation mounted and is in a black painted and molded frame.

Sampler size: 17 114'' x 16 1//' Price: $38,000.

M.Finkel

es Daughter.

AMERICA'S LEADING SAMPLER AND NEEDLEWORK DEALER

1 Sophia Bowen, School of Mrs. Martha Davis, Warren, Rhode Island, 1804

AMERICA's LEADING sAMPLER AND NEEDLEWORK DEALER

M.Finkel ~Daughter.

2

Adeline Eliza Clark, Schenectedy, N.Y., circa 1831 "The death of Washington on December 14, 1799, set into motion the first display of national mourning in the history of the young republic ... (and) gave impetus to the development of mourning art in America," according to Mourning Becomes America

by Anita Schorsch, who further states that "Mourning art ...was a way of showing that one had good taste and proper manners".

Over thirty years later, twelve-year-old Adeline Eliza Clark worked this charming albeit heartrending little sampler in memory of her two deceased brothers, Charles and Joseph. The pictorial scene depicts two mourners, most likely their parents, at two gravestones between symbolic weeping willow trees. While Adeline did not have a large vocabulary of sophisticated sampler stitches, she was able to demonstrate great compassion in this scene; the female mourner, especially, is appropriately expressive and costumed. In Our Own Snug Fireside: Images of the New England Home 1760 - 1860,

Jane C. Nylander writes that in 1814, "it was generally recognized as important for people to be furnished with the distinctive clothing that symbolized their grief and loss".

(detail)

Birth records indicate that Adeline Eliza Clark was born on July 12, 1818, in Schenectedy, N.Y. and Charles Wesley Clark was born October 28, 1820 in the same town. Our researcher was unable to find the records for the infant Joseph, or track the family further. Adeline later attempted to hide her age by removing the threads indicating the last digit of the year she worked the sampler, a practice which was not uncommon in the 19th century.

Worked in silk on linen, it is in excellent condition,conservation mounted into a 19th century frame.

Sampler size: 10 3/4'' X 8 1/4'' Price: $3850.

M.Finkel ~Daughter.

AMERICA'S LEADING SAMPLER AND NEEDLEWORK DEALER

3

Mary Elizabeth Hoffman, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, 1836 (detail)

In Samplers and Samplermakers,

Mary Jaene Edmonds describes a sampler worked in 1832 by Catharine Stape of Maytown, East Donegal Township, Lancaster County, characterizing it as an "amusing pictorial scene [with a] tree of feathery branches, a large figure of a woman carrying a reticule and walking a reluctant little dog. Dominating the sampler format are immense paired birds worked in crinkled silk floss."

Our equally amusing Mary Elizabeth Hoffman sampler was quite clearly worked at the same school of needlework and a comparison of the two samplers provides a glimpse into the development of sampler design at this school. Elements of design which appear on our Hoffman sampler which were not worked onto the Stape sampler include a memorial, in this case to her late father, John Hoffman, with the touching sentiment, ''What I have lost Heaven has in store," and a wonderful pair of striped, tent-stitched horns of plenty stuffed with vigorously worked flowers. A series of three low baskets, sprouting similar flowers is also exclusive to the Hoffman sampler.

Our research into the identity of the samplermaker pointed towards Mary Hoffman, the daughter of Mary and John Hoffman of West Donegal Township, adjacent to Maytown in East Donegal Township.

Mary worked the initials of her mother and those of her three sisters, Susan, Rebecca and Sarah after her line of inscription, "Mary Elizabeth Hoffman work'd this sampler in the 13th year of her age AD 1836". It is a delightful example of Lancaster County samplermaking, worked in silk on linen, in excellent condition, conservation mounted into a cherry and maple corner block frame.

Sampler size: 17 W' x 17" Price: $14,000.

AMERICA's LEADING sAMPLER AND NEEDLEWORK DEALER

M.Finkel fJ Daughter.

4

Sally Ross, Ipswich, Essex County, Massachusetts, 1809 Sally Ross's endearing sampler epitomizes the pictorial spirit and free form of American samplermaking; each of her baskets, trees birds and vines has a life of its own and transforms a relatively simple form into a visual delight. The tightly worked 3-sided polychromed edging provides a geometric counterpoint and the teal-blue border along the bottom is the platform from which the tree and vines spring. Three carefully worked birds provide a wonderful animation to the scene.

The sampler displays two elements indigenous to the area of the northern shore of Massachusetts: the diagonally checked baskets and the expanded tessellated upper case "W", used in the word "wrought".

It is likely that the samplermaker was the Sally Ross who was born on December 27, 1798, to Jeremiah and Hannah Ross of Ipswich, Massachusetts. She married John Holmes of Allentown, N.H. on January 12, 1823.

Worked in silk on linen, the sampler is in excellent condition, conservation mounted into a figured maple frame.

Sampler size: 15 If/' x 17" Price: $5800.

M.Finkel ~Daughter.

AMERICA'S LEADING sAMPLER AND NEEDLEWORK DEALER

Fanny¡Rine, Mrs. Armstrong's School, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, 1808 According to Betty Ring in Girlhood Embroidery, Vol II, "Samplers of the Susquehanna Valley", there are only four known samplers from the school of Rachel Bratten Armstrong of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Three of these samplers are in museum collections (Winterthur Museum, the Cooper-Hewitt Museum of the Smithsonian and the Heritage Museum of Lancaster). We feel privileged to possess and have available for sale the fourth, worked by Fanny Rine, whose sister, Willamina, worked the sampler owned by the Cooper-Hewitt Museum. Mrs. Ring considers these Susquehanna Valley pieces "A wonderfully appealing and cohesive group" and devotes twenty pages to their study, illustrating two out of the four known Armstrong school pieces.

In 1808 Fanny Rine worked thi~ delicate yet visually commanding sampler and included the following inscription in minute stitches: "Fanny Rine a daughter of Christian and Barbara Rine was born in the borough of Lancaster the 26th day of Sept. 1796 and made this sampler in Mrs. Armstrong's School A.D. 1808". In 1921 when the ground-breaking American Samplers by Bolton & Coe was published, Fanny's sampler was allotted a full page illustration (plate LXXXIV) and the sampler was described in full detail in Historic Samplers of Pennsylvania by Margaret Schiffer (pages 66-67). Clearly, this sampler has an impeccable provenance.

Fanny Rine, as stated on her sampler, was born September 26, 1796. She was the eldest daughter and second of the five children born to Christian and Barbara (Huber) Rine of Lancaster. In 1820, Fanny married John Bair, a distinguished citizen of Lancaster and the most prominent printer and publisher of that city in his day. Their five sons grew to adulthood and prominence, reflecting well upon their parents. The file of family papers, information and photocopies of early photographs which accompanies this sampler is extensive.

The sampler was worked in silk and paint on linen gauze and is in excellent condition; it has been conservation mounted into a federal style walnut frame.

Sampler size: 18" x 16 3//' Price: $16,000.

AMERICA's LEADING sAMPLER AND NEEDLEWORK DEALER

M.Finkel ~Daughter.

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6

Deborah Green, Taunton, Massachusetts, 1784 The inscription on this sampler reads " Deborah Green Her Sampler Made in Taunton November 17, 1784 Born May 8th 1778." The town of Taunton, in Bristol County, Massachusetts, was settled in 1638 and thrived through the 17th and 18th centuries because of its highly sucessful ironworks. Eleven-yearold Deborah Green attended school' in Taunton, probably as a boarding student, as the town was 12 miles from her home in Mansfield, Massachusetts. Deborah was born on May 8, 1773 to Roland and Hannah Green. She married David Gilbert on February 17, 1800 in Mansfield and their three daughters and four sons were born ¡ there as well.

Deborah's sampler is in a classic band format design, with multiple alphabets above a tulip center band.

The corner designs repeat the tulip motif and the trefoil border was worked in a strong polychrome palette.

The cautionary verse represents the attitude of the period and was, no doubt assigned to the samplermaker by her instructress.

The sampler was worked in silk on linen and is in excellent condition, conservation mounted into a 19th century black painted frame.

Sampler size: 12 1/2 "x 11" Price: $3800.

Elizabeth Lee, Salem, Massachusetts, 1765 "The needlework of eighteenth-century Salem schoolgirls rivaled the work from Boston, and can generally be recognized by the presence of crinkly silk worked in uncouched stain stitches of exceptional length, often in diagonal directions. This unusual technique was evidently initiated around 1740 by a Salem schoolmistress with fresh ideas and considerable talent and was continued by her successors until the close of the century." This quotation begins the section entitled "Silk Embroideries and Samplers of Salem" in Betty Ring's Girlhood Embroidery, Vol I. It is our privilege to offer a highly important newly discovered addition to this group - an outstanding sampler worked by Elizabeth Lee of Salem, dated 1765. TWo published examples of Salem samplers are extremely similar to the work of Elizabeth Lee. Dorothy Ashton's 1764 sampler is in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and has been published in Glee Krueger's New England Samplers to 1840 (figure 23) and Elizabeth Herbert's 1764 sampler, owned by the Peabody Essex Museum of Salem is published in Girlhood Embroidery, Vol1 (figure 108). These three samplers demonstrate the highly sophisticated patterns and techniques of this group.

M.Finkel ~Daughter.

AMERICA'S LEADING sAMPLER AND NEEDLEWORK DEALER

7

(continued) Elizabeth Lee, Salem, Massachusetts, 1765

(detail)

Lustrous satin stitches were used to work most of the scene including the figures and their costumes, while bullion stitches comprise the textured flowers at the bottom and in the center band. Elizabeth Lee did not complete the needlework on her sampler; visible sketch lines drawn onto the linen indicate the sun and butterfly which appear on the other two known examples.

The Lee family of Essex County was quite prominent. Elizabeth Lee's parents were Captain Richard Lee (1720-1767) and Hannah (Hibbird) Lee of Salem. Captain Lee was considered one of the town's most distinguished men, a merchant as well as a town clerk and selectman who lived at 200 Essex Street. Elizabeth was baptized on February 3, 1750 and on April 30, 1779 married Dr. William Tuck (1741-1826) of Beverly and Salem. They had seven children and Elizabeth died April 1, 1793 at age 42.

The sampler is in very good condition with a bit of loss to some of the small sheep and to the house.

These samplers seem to survive in less than perfect condition. The Boston Museum's Dorothy Ashton sampler has sustained the loss of needlework to an entire large hill. The Lee sampler was worked in silk on linen and has been conservation mounted into a molded and ebonized frame.

Sampler size: 19 W' X 15 314'' Price: $18,000.

AMERICA's LEADING sAMPLER AND NEEDLEWORK DEALER

M.Finkel ~Daughter.

8

Betsey Putnam, Danvers, Essex County, Massachusetts, 1796 Documented 18th century American samplers have become increasingly scarce and we were delighted to have purchased this praiseworthy example inscribed "Betsey Putnam's sampler wrou/ght in the twelth year of her age/ 1796 ."This sampler bears a strong resemblance to plate 14 in Samplers and Samplermakers by Mary Jaene Edmonds, a sampler worked in Boxford, Mass., circa 1804. These two samplers share the charming cross-hatched center basket with looped handle, odd stylization of the capital letter "D", geometric pine trees and exact verse: "Each pleasing art lends soft/ness to the mind and with our/ studies are our lives refined". The letters which appear at the end of the alphabets are most likely three sets of initials of classmates, a treatment which appears on the Boxford sampler as well.

Our research in the area of Essex County revealed Betsey Putnam to be the daughter of Dr. James Phillips and Mary (Herrick) Putnam, born in Danvers (a town quite close to Boxford) on November 11, 1785. Betsey did not marry, and most interestingly, according to published family and histories, became, along with her sister Hannah, a "famous school teacher" about whom many accounts have been written.

Betsey died 1847 and was well remembered through the end of the 19th century.

Betsey's sampler, worked when she was eleven years old, combines classic alphabets and verse with the pictorial sophistication indigenous to Essex County. Worked in silk on linen, the sampler is in excellent condition, conservation mounted into a tiger maple frame.

Sampler size: 12 W' X 10 %" Price: $3800.

M. Finkel G Daughter.

AMERICA's LEADING sAMPLER AND NEEDLEWORK DEALER

9

Nancy Rice, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, circa 1806 (detail)

lri 1806, just three years after Ohio attained statehood, fourteen year old Nancy Rice worked this sophisticated and charming sampler, reminiscent of samplers worked in Massachusetts, the area from which Nancy Rice's family emigrated.

Nancy's parents, Joseph Rice of Claremont, Massachusetts and Emblem Comstock of New London, Connecticut were married in 1788 and Nancy was born in 1792, their second child. According to A Genealogical History of the Rice Family (Boston, 1858), "They removed to Ohio where Joseph Rice died in 1802". Nancy's sampler is inscribed, "Nancy Rices' work wrought in the 14th year of her age"; in 1818 the marriage of Nancy Rice of Brecksville, Ohio to Ebenzer Warren of the same town was recorded. They had 3 sons and 1 daughter and Nancy di.ed in Brecksville in 1844. Later in the 19th century, her sampler was sewn to a charcoal drawing on artist board which depicts a labeled scene from Clifton Park, Ohio, a small town nearby in Cuyahoga County. It was this charcoal drawing which provided the clue that we should research records from Ohio, and published family and county records provided the rest of the information.

Nancy's sampler depicts multiple alphabets with a delightful scene below. One rarely finds a house of three stories on schoolgirl samplers and the smaller building was worked in an unusual shade of deep yellow. Additionally, the samplermaker included a whipstitched rendition of the sky above her housescape. The foursided border is a delicate leafy vine worked in the flat stitch and surrounded by a polychromed sawtooth border, with drawn work at the outer edge. overall this presents a very appealing picture.

The sampler was worked in silk on linen and is in excellent condition, conservation mounted into a beveled figured maple frame.

Sampler size: 16 W' x 13 Price: $11,500.

1 //'

AMERICA's LEADING sAMPLER AND NEEDLEWORK DEALER

M.Finkel ~Daughter.

10

Elizabeth S. Billings, Sidney, Manitoba, Canada, R.!. Merrell, Instructress, 1835 (detail)

Documented Canadian samplers are extremely rare and we were very pleased to have discovered this delightful example inscribed: "Elizabeth S. Billing's sampler wrought in Sidney June 10 1835/R.T. Merrell Instructress from the USA". The town of Sidney is in Manitoba, substantially west of Winnipeg and the more populated areas of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. It is interesting to note that the instructress, Mrs. Merrell had the samplermaker include a bit of an advertisement on her sampler, when she designated the inscription, "Instructress from the USA"; clearly that was a desirable status.

Our genealogical research turned up a Canadian birth record for Elizabeth Billings on March 23, 1824, the daughter of a Mr. Billings and his wife, Thedosia Spencer Billings.

Along with alphabets, verse, a basket, birds and border, the sampler features a rendition of Solomon's Temple, found most typically on English samplers. The sampler was worked in silk on linen and is in excellent condition, conservation mounted into a black painted and molded frame.

Sampler size: 16" x 17 114'' Price: $3800.

M.Finkel ~Daughter.

AMERICA'S LEADING SAMPLER AND NEEDLEWORK DEALER

Lydia Vose Gregory, Concord, Massachusetts, 1808 Lydia Vose Gregory was born on June 21, 1799, to Marshall and Grace (Vose) Gregory of the town of Concord in Middlesex County, Massachusetts. On August 23, 1808, at the age of 9, she completed a lively little sampler, most likely her first effort in the field. The basic form is that of a marking sampler, with alphabets, numbers and a listing of vowels but the satin-stitched flowers, chain stitched vine and satin-stitched edging indicate that Lydia's teacher was preparing her young student for more advanced needlework.

Lydia married Darius Merriam, a Concord wheelwright on May 8, 1821, and they were the parents of three sons. She died at age 38 and her sampler descended five generations in the family, as notations on the back of the frame indicate. The sampler is in excellent condition worked in silk on linen, conservation mounted into a 19th century gilt frame.

Sampler size: 10" x 8" Price: $1900.

Rachel Lippincott, West Hill Seminary, Pennsylvania or New Jersey, 1820 By the 1820's there were a relatively large number of teachers working in the Philadelphia and southern New Jersey area, instructing young ladies in the needle arts. Many of these teachers had themselves learned samplermaking at Quaker schools in this region and were teaching in this distinctive style. Our samplermaker, a young lady from the prominent Quaker Lippincott family of Philadelphia and New ¡ Jersey, attended a school which she named on her sampler, the West Hill Seminary, which was quite clearly one of these institutions.

Rachel's alphabets include a bold uppercase alphabet in the classic and graphic Quaker style, and other alphabets, all worked in the marking cross-stitch. A pair of hearts flank 'West Hill Seminary 1820", and the work is surrounded by a blue cross-stitch border. The sampler was worked in silk in linen and is in excellent condition, conservation mounted into a fine 19th century mahogany corner block frame.

Sampler size: 10 !Jz'' x 8 IJ/' Price: $1750.

AMERICA'S LEADING SAMPLER AND NEEDLEWORK DEALER

M.Finkel as Daughter.

11

12

Elizabeth Blakiston, Philadelphia, 1784 We are very pleased to be able to offer this fine example of classic 18th century Philadelphia needlework. Elizabeth Blakiston's sampler showcases both a format which was regional to Philadelphia alone and the quality of the instruction that she received.

Most interestingly, we offered a very similar sampler which was worked in 1791 by Elizabeth's younger sister, Mary Blakiston, in our second catalogue (on page 30) and even a cursory comparison of the two indicates that the two girls were taught by the same teacher. In addition, a sampler worked

by Margaret Hollingsworth in 1785 and published in Historic Needlework of Pennsylvania by Margaret Schiffer, on page 33, shares many of the same characteristics as these Blakiston samplers: compartmentalized verse with sawtooth separations, center band with distinctive links and identical flowers and the use of contrasting colored threads for capital letters throughout the sampler. These and other regional characteristics appear on samplers in Betty Ring's Girlhood Embroidery, Vol. II in the section entitled "Philadelphia in the Federal Period." (See figure 394 for a sampler with the identical border as that worked by our samplermaker, Elizabeth Blakiston.)

Elizabeth Blakiston was born in 1773 to Sarah Warnock and Presley Blakiston, a shoemaker with an address at 212 S. Front Street in Philadelphia. In 1808 Elizabeth married Issac Forsyth at historic Christ Church, where her parents were married in 1765. Elizabeth Blakiston Forsyth died in 1858 at age 85 and is buried along with other family members at St. Peters graveyard at 3rd & Pine, just a short walk from our shop. A file of family information, including a copy of Presley Blakiston's 1819 will, accompanies the sampler. Worked in silk on linen, the sampler is in excellent condition and has been conservation mounted into a fine walnut reproduction of a Philadelphia Federal frame.

Sampler size: 18" x 17 114'' Price: $7200.

M.Finkel ~Daughter.

AMERICA'S LEADING SAMPLER AND NEEDLEWORK DEALER

Hanora Scanlan, Pennsylvania, 1836

13 (detail)

On July 23, 1836, Hanora Scanlan completed a sampler replete with whimsical needleworked images which center on a handsome twochimney brick house. The house is set upon a very unusual lawn; green merino yarn was worked with a deep pile which simulated grass and added to the folky nature of this piece.

Above the verse another scene unfolds, with Adam and Eve and a peculiar little winged figure. A geometric border surrounds the sampler on three sides, underscoring the fact that this sampler does not fit into any one known tradition. It is most likely that Hanora's sampler was worked in southeastern Pennsylvania where a number of Scanlan families resided.

The sampler was worked in wool on linen and is in excellent condition, with some very minor loss, conservation mounted into a beveled cherry frame with a maple bead.

Sampler size: 16 :w' square Price: $7800.

AMERICA'S LEADING SAMPLER AND NEEDLEWORK DEALER

M.Finkel ~Daughter.

14

Julia Couenhoven, Franklin Juvenile Seminary, N~w York, circa 1810 The school that this samplermaker attended, the Franklin Juvenile Seminary, instructed its students in one of the most sophisticated techniques within the "vocabulary" of early 19th century samplermaking. The double chimney Federal house was first worked in the cross-stitch and then an overlay stitch provided the texture outlining individual bricks. This technique was very rarely used as it required a great deal of time as well as an excess of silk floss, but the results are splendid. And while the house dominates the sampler, all of the needlework was executed with a high degree of expertise.

(delail}

The exact location of the Franklin Juvenile Seminary is not yet known but we can be certain that it was in the New York City area; this specific border and stylized Greek key band are found exclusively on New York samplers.

Julia's verse, frequently referred to as the "proof of infant industry" verse was a popular one with sampler instructresses and was registered in American Samplers by Bolton and Coe as early as 1806.

The Couenhoven family was of Dutch origin, early settlers to New York and northern New Jersey. In later years the family name came to be known as Conover and Crownover.

The sampler was worked in silk onto linen and is in excellent condition, conservation mounted into a beveled maple frame.

Sampler size: 15 IN' x 15" Price: $7400.

M.Finkel G Daughter.

AMERICA'S LEADING sAMPLER AND NEEDLEWORK DEALER

Sarah Ann Weidman, Lititz Moravian Girls' School, Lititz, Lancaster ~ounty, Pennsylvania, 1827 An important early institution of American education, the Moravian school of Lititz, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, opened its doors in 1748. Their decision, in 1794, to open enrollment to nonMoravians, coupled with the fact that boarders were accepted, allowed the school to become one of the very first institutions to offer a "broad academic program to young women of any religious persuasion", according to Patrica T. Herr in The Ornamental Branches: Needlework and Arts from the Lititz Moravian Girls' SchoollS00-1865. By the early 19th century, relatively large numbers of young ladies from many different areas were sent to the school to take advantage of the excellent education and various "ornamental branches" that were offered: drawing and painting, music and, of course, fine needlework. High style silk embroidered pictures were clearly a specialty of the school and "mourning was the most popular theme used in Lititz silk embroidery from 1815 until the demise of the technique in Lititz in 1830's".

The needleworker, Sarah Ann Weidman, is listed in the student roster of the Lititz Moravian Girls' School in Ornamental Branches as having matriculated in 1827. She was born on December 20, 1815, the daughter of Jacob Barge Weidman and Mary Eliza (Morris) Weidman. This silk embroidery was worked in memory of her mother who died December 8, 1816, when Sarah was barely one year old. Sarah herself died on April 30, 1833.

This silk embroidery picture includes examples of two other types of decorative work peculiar to Moravian schools and well-developed at the Lititz school: crepe work, as evidenced by the nine flowers surrounding the young girl at left and ribbon work, as evidenced in the woven basket, filled with tiny flowers, held by the young lady at right. Other traits frequently found on Lititz silk embroideries are the black-outlined rocks and wide chenille border worked with metal spangles.

The painting of the heads of the two figures and the wonderfully detailed chapel among the trees in the background is the work of Peter Lehn Grosh. He was a professional painter of Moravian ancestry who was employed by the school from 1819 to 1829 to paint onto the young ladies' silk embroidered pictures. Many examples in Ornamental Branches display the hand of Peter Grosh combined with Lititz school needlework.

The silk embroidery was worked in silk, chenille, paint, ink and spangles on twill-weave silk and is in excellent condition in its original frame with a replaced reverse paint glass mat.

Size of the needlework: 18" in diameter Overall framed size: 24 W' square Price: $14,500.

AMERICA's LEADING sAMPLER AND NEEDLEWORK DEALER

M.Finkel ~Daughter.

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Round Darning Sampler, England, circa 1800 The darning sampler is a fascinating combination of "plain sewing" and "fancy work." It provides an exceptional geometric needlework picture while teaching even a casual observer exactly how darning would have been learned.

The darnings recreate the intricate, richly patterned fabrics of the 18th and early 19th centuries and serve as reminders for a needleworker who might encounter such fabrics in need of mending throughout her life. Six squares of linen were cut and discarded and the samplermaker created "darns" to fill in those areas. She also worked an intricate floral bouquet and vine border in the "pattern darning" stitch which is formed when the existing linen is enhanced by a darning stitch which creates a textured pattern.

The round format of this sampler sets it apart from the other darning samplers. Round samplers of any sort are highly unusual and prior to finding this example, we had not known of the existence of any round darning samplers. Worked in silk on linen, it is in excellent condition in its original black molded and painted frame.

Sampler size: 13 lfz'' diameter Price: $2800.

Hannah Edge, England, 1854 There is an appealing simplicity to this classic Adam and Eve sampler worked by Hannah Edge and dated 1854. This is a subject that had been popular for centuries, appealing to schoolgirls working samplers as well as highly sophisticated professional needleworkers. Hannah Edge was working in the middle of the 19th century but continued the traditional format and tightly worked stitches favored throughout the 18th and early 19th centuries.

Silk on linen, excellent condition, conservation mounted.

Sampler size: 14 W' x 12 W' Price: $2200.

M.Finkel ~Daughter.

AMERICA'S LEADING sAMPLER AND NEEDLEWORK DEALER

17 Sarah E. Hanna, Harford County, Maryland, 1842 "Samplers and pictorial embroideries survive from the South in far lower numbers than from the North," according to Betty Ring in American Needlework Treasures, and our experience is certainly consistent with that information. We are rarely able to find documented Southern samplers and are pleased to be able to offer this praiseworthy example, inscribed, "Sarah E. Hanna Harford Co. Md Sept 42".

Sarah Elizabeth Hanna, the daughter of William and Jane (McGaw) Hanna of Harford County, Maryland, was born circa 1833, probably in the town of Deer Creek.

On June 1, 1853, she married William Finny Bayless (1814-1873), also of Deer Creek, Maryland, a member of the State Legislature and State Senator in the 1860's.

They were the parents of six children.

Sarah's sampler features two phrases which render it a particularly unusual example: "Needle first used 1545" and "pin first used 1543". Sarah's teacher must have prescribed these phrases which were instructive as to the history of the needleworker's tools. While these facts are inaccurate, the year 1543 was an important one for pins as it was then that the "Act for the True Making of Pynnes" was passed in England, according to Gertrude Whiting in Old-Time Tools and Toys of Needlework (Dover Publications, 1928 & 1971).

Worked in silk on linen and in excellent condition, conservation mounted into a beveled curly walnut frame.

Sampler size: 14 W' x 15 1/4'' Price: $4800.

Peacock "Adam & Eve" Sampler, Scotland, circa 1800 On a recent trip to Edinburgh, we purchased this whimsical Scottish sampler which appears to have been patterned after a classic Adam and Eve under the apple tree format with the use of male and female peacocks in place of the human couple.

The male peacock is shown "in pride" (with his tail fully opened) as he faces his female counterpart.

Scottish samples were frequently worked in a palette of varying shades of reds and greens as is obvious on this example. The rows of crowns and coronets and the deeply arcaded band of stylized grapes are also typically Scottish. The argyle-like trees, worked in the double cross-stitch are an unusual and graphic addition. The sampler is worked in silk on linen and is in excellent condition, conservation mounted with one minor hole, in a figured maple frame with a gold liner.

Sampler size: 17" x 16 W' Price: $1400.

AMERICA's LEADING sAMPLER AND NEEDLEWORK DEALER

M.Finkel OJ Daughter.

18

Cornelia Donaldson, aged 9, New York, 1822 We are always grateful to the young samplermakers who include the name of their town or city on their samplers. This allows us to recognize, or confirm, regional styles and characteristics and increases the body of knowledge in this field. This sampler was inscribed "Cornelia Donaldson aged 9 years New York July 8th 1822". It is a classic sampler indicating a remarkable degree of neatness, with whip-stitched floral spray and vine and a verse which reads as follows: "How blest the maid whom circling years improve/ Her god the object of her warmest love/ Whose useful hours successive as they glide/ The book the needle and the pen divide/ Who sees her parents heart exult with joy/ And the fond tear stand sparkling in their eye."

The samplermaker was quite adept at a very young age as her needlework attests. Silk on linen, excellent condition, conservation mounted in a later mahogany veneer frame.

Sampler size: 17" x 13 'N' Price: $2800.

Barbara Hougendobler, West Hempfield Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, 1845 Our presence in southeastern Pennsylvania positions us to be in close proximity to the source of samplers worked within the Pennsylvania German tradition. Tandy and Charles Hersh's book, Samplers of the Pennsylvania Germans, documents this fascinating group and provides interesting comparisons. Our current offering is a splendid piece worked by a Pennsylvania German girl from the village of Silver Spring, West Hempfield Township, Lancaster County. Barbara Hougendobler, was born July 8, 1828 to a weaver Jacob Hougendobler and his wife, Catherine Erford. As inscribed on her needlework, she "made this sampler in 1845" fully in the cross stitch and with many classic Pennsylvania German sampler motifs such as the oddly-proportioned chairs and table, carnation filled flower pot, stars in the corners and stylized heart.

Barbara died at age 23, on February 10, 1852 and is buried just south of the village of Silver Spring. Her sampler is in excellent condition, conservation mounted and in a maple and cherry corner block frame.

Sampler size: 16" x 16 '12'' Price: $3800.

M.Finkel ~Daughter.

AMERICA'S LEADING sAMPLER AND NEEDLEWORK DEALER

Susanna Maris, Chester County, Pennsylvania, 1786 This wonderfully refined 18th century Chester County sampler worked by Susanna Maris bears a great similarity to the sampler made by her sister Hannah Maris, also dated 1786 and published in Arts and Crafts of Chester County, Pennsylvania by Margaret Schiffer. These sister samplers attest to the very high level of sophistication of their teacher; there are intricate stitches and techniques, including extremely precise areas of drawn-work on each Maris sampler. Many of the baskets, trees, flowers, buds and strawberries on Susanna's sampler were also executed by Hannah onto her sampler with equal discipline. Another example of Hannah's needlework, a silk embroidery dated 1791 is published in Betty Ring's Girlhood Embroidery Vol. II, figure 381.

The Maris family had its roots in Chester County as early as the 1680's. Susanna and Hannah were daughters of George and Jane (Foulke) Maris, of the Chester and Gwynned Monthly Meeting. Susanna was born December 1, 1771 and in 1795 married Levi Huston, by whom she had two daughters.

Susanna died May 28, 1809.

This sampler is an excellent example of the positively outstanding needlework accomplished in 18th century Philadelphia and Chester County by young ladies from prominent Quaker families. The sampler was worked in silk on linen gauze and is in excellent condition, conservation mounted into its original black painted frame.

Sampler size: 16 lfz'' x 12" Price: $6800.

AMERICA's LEADING sAMPLER AND NEEDLEWORK DEALER

M.Finkel eJ Daughter.

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Mary Balm, Gunnerby, Lincolnshire, England, 1772 This endearing little sampler originated in the village of Gunnerby in central England where the samplerinaker was christened on February 28, 1762. Mary Balm, the daughter of John and Mary Balm, worked her sampler when she was ten years old, completing it on September 8, 1772. While her alphabet, cautionary aphorism and inscription would be considered relatively standard, the pictorial image of two hunters and their dogs amidst various birds, insects, a . squirrel and a peacock would be considered quite uncommon. As hunters are so rarely found on samplers, one wonders if a play on words relative to the name of the town was intended. Silk on linen, excellent condition in a later frame.

Sampler size: 12 W' x 11 W' Price: $2450.

Margeary Greenough, Plymouth, New Hampshire, 1801 This pleasing little sampler was worked in the town of Plymouth, New Hampshire, along the Merrimack River in Grafton County. The History of Plymouth New Hampshire (University Press, 1906) indicates that the samplermaker was indeed, as she inscribed on this sampler, born March 6, 1783, and that she was the daughter of Hannah Wells and William Greenough, a noted citizen Df Plymouth, well-known for his ability as a drummer throughout his two enlistments in the Revolutionary War. Margeary was their sixth daughter and later married James McQuesten and after his death, Edward Hall.

The sampler was worked primarily in deep green silk and was inscribed with the following verse: "The soul reles'd [sic] from Human Strife/ Smiles at the cares and ills of life", a classic sentiment of the period. Silk on linen, excellent condition, conservation mounted.

Sampler size: 12 314'' x 10 W' Price: $1650.

M.Finkel ~Daughter.

AMERICA'S LEADING sAMPLER AND NEEDLEWORK DEALER

21

Mary Thompson, Mrs. Lenigan's School, Carrick-on-Suir, Ireland, 1814 Perfectly executed samplers served as advertisements for both the samplermaker and the school that she attended. This outstanding Irish sampler attests to the talents of Mary Thompson and her highly skilled instructress, Mrs. Lenigan. The sampler is inscribed: "Mary Thompson's Sampler Finished in the 14th Year of Her Age in th Year of Our Lord 1814 Worked in Mrs. Lenigan's School Carrick-on-Suir" and also features several ambitious and elaborate vignettes of either local or biblical interest.

Carrick-on-Suir is a tiny village in County Tipperary in Ireland, with ancient origins. According to a 19th century geographical gazetteer, the village had been enclosed by walls which contained a "parish church of high antiquity, a nunnery, a monastery and a castle". The samplermaker worked a high detailed rendition, using the herringbone and flat stitch, of "CASTLE TOWN The Elegant Seat of Michael Cox, esq" which would represent no doubt, the local castle. Also very appealing is the "Paradise Lost" scene with Adam, Eve and a very ferocious serpent. ¡ The highly vertical format of the sampler is reminiscent of samplers worked a century earlier than this piece, and some of the bands of stitches, such as the satin-stitched diamonds, have early origins as well. The sampler is a visual triumph and a first class example of school girl accomplishment. Worked in silk on linen gauze, it is in excellent condition with some very minor loss, in a later 19th century gilt frame.

Sampler size: 28 W' x 13 W' Price: $7400.

AMERICA'S LEADING sAMPLER AND NEEDLEWORK DEALER

(detail)

M.Finkel ~Daughter.

22

Ann Mitchell, Philadelphia, 1793 A depiction of a stately Federal three-story building dominates the central scene of this graphic sampler and clearly demonstrates the needleworking capabilities of talented 18th century samplermaker. It is a highly detailed house with a blue interior, flanked by two wonderfully stylized trees set upon a stitched lawn. The deeply arcaded borders and the similar band above her name and date were worked with queen-stitched strawberries and further attest to Ann Mitchell's abilities; this sampler was the product of one the demanding schools of needlework which existed_in Philadelphia in the 18th century.

The sampler was worked in silk onto fine linen gauze and is in very good condition. The linen gauze has sustained some slight loss along the center horizontal fold line and has now been stabilized. It has been conservation mounted into a Federal style cherry frame.

Sampler size: 18 lfz'' x 13 W' Price: $6800.

M.Finkel ~Daughter.

AMERICA's LEADING sAMPLER AND NEEDLEWORK DEALER

23

Margaret Ackerman, aged 9, New York, 1802 Schoolgirls working in New York in the 18th and early 19th centuries created an important group of samplers that were fully worked (solidly stitched so that no background linen shows) and this example by Margaret Ackerman well represents this genre. The linen was totally worked in the cross-stitch with many variations of stylized flowers, geometric motifs and birds. The needleworker was only "aged 9 yers 2 months" where she completed this sampler and must have been working under the tutelage of a demanding teacher . Only the mispelling of the word "year" and the consistent appearance of the backwards lower case letter "a" indicates Margaret's age and lack of experience.

Our research indicated that Margaret was the daughter of Daniel and Frowtje (Demarest) Ackerman and was christened the 26th of January, 1794 at the Reformed Dutch Church in New York. It is likely that further research will reveal more information regarding this sample maker. Worked in silk on linen, the sampler is in excellent condition with loss to a small area along the left edge.

Sampler size: 14" x 15 114'' Price: $16,000.

AMERJcA¡s LEADING sAMPLER AND NEEDLEWORK DEALER

M.Finkel ~Daughter.

24

Elizabeth Pratt, Chester County, Pennsylvania, 1823 In the 1820's and 30's a proclivity for working large, handsome pictorial samplers, with flowers, birds, baskets and stars, developed in Chester County. Many of these samplers feature lustrous lawns with grazing sheep, cartouche-enclosed listings of the needleworker's family members and an elaborate cartouche encircling the verse which typically begins "This work perhaps my friends may have".

Elizabeth Pratt's sampler fits squarely into this Chester County tradition and is an interesting comparison to another of this group, worked by Ann Vodges also- in 1823 and part of the Kapnek collection, published in both A Gallery of American Samplers by Glee Krueger and Arts and Crafts of Chester County

by Margaret Schiffer. These two samplers appear to have been worked side-by-side, quite obviously under the instruction of the same teacher as they share all salient features.

The samplermaker was born July 31, 1807, to Joseph and Sarah (Hoopes) Pratt of East Bradford Township; the names of her parents, grandparents and siblings are listed on her sampler. Elizabeth married Eusebius Townsend (1780-1863) a farmer and prominent citizen of East Bradford, on March 19, 1829 and they became parents of nine children. Elizabeth Pratt Townsend died November 18, 1894, in West Chester. A substantial file of family information accompanies this sampler.

The sampler was worked in silk in linen and is in very good condition with some slight loss, in a mahogany corner-block frame.

Sampler size: 20 1/4'' x 21" Price: $4600.

M.Finkel ~Daughter.

AMERICA'S LEADING sAMPLER AND NEEDLEWORK DEALER

Mary Ann Jewell, Mrs. Ventham's Boarding School, Winton, Hampshire, England, 1817

25 (detail)

At Age!

It is a delight to offer this wonderfully documented and animated sampler, worked by Mary Ann Jewell

in 1817 at Mrs. Ventham's Boarding School which was in the town of Winton in Hampshire, England.

Mary Ann was the daughter of Charles and Jemima Jewell of Winchester and was christened on April 1, 1807 at Saint Maurice, one of the many churches in this ancient town. She worked her age into her sampler but removed those telling numerals, at a much advanced age no doubt; this practice was quite common on both sides of the Atlantic. Further research conducted in England would most likely reveal more details regarding the samplermaker as well as, perhaps, her teacher, Mrs. Ventham of Winton.

The needlework evidenced on this sampler is extraordinarily finely wrought; the tent and cross stitch were used in a minute scale which allowed for great detail. The depiction of the house with its early architecture, the dovecote, the barn in which a farmer leads his cow, the duck pond at the lower left and the various animals and people that populate the lower half of the sampler provide us with a surprisingly complete picture of farm life of the period. It is a wonderfully appealing sampler, worked in silk on wool in overall very good condition with some very minor areas of loss, conservation mounted into its original molded and carved frame.

Sampler size: 15" x 10 W' Price: $4200.

AMERicA¡s LEADING sAMPLER AND NEEDLEWORK DEALER

M.Finkel G Daughter.

26

Mary Smith, Bedford, New Hampshire, 1826 "Genealogical samplers, known also as Family Record or Family Register samplers, peaked in popularity between 1820 and 1830 .... Privileged young girls attending private academies made most of them," according to Family Record: Genealogical Watercolors and Needlework published by the DAR. in conjunction with a definitive exhibition at their Washington, D.C. Museum in 1989. Our handsome rendition, entitled "Register of Samuel Smith's Family," was worked by Mary Smith, aged 13, and completed on July 23, 1826. The family lived in the town of Bedford in southern New Hampshire where Samuel Smith married Hannah Atwood on February 17, 1793. The samplermaker was the last of their ten children, born July 23, 1815.

In addition to the carefully charted genealogical information are the inscriptions "Friendship", "Life is uncertain to all" and "Charity" in the scalloped and arcaded upper border and a classically dire verse, "Soon our transient moments fly/ and pleasure only blooms to die." The border is a delightful combination of thorny vines and open-faced flowers with a pair of weeping willow trees filling in the upper corners. As was frequently the case with family register samplers, the needleworker or a family member continued to add to the sampler and worked in vital statistics as late as 1883. These samplers frequently replaced the family bible as a chronicles of family history. The sampler was worked in silk on linen and is in excellent condition in its original mahogany beveled frame.

Sampler size: 18" x 16 IN' Price: $4900.

M. Finkel~ Daughter.

AMERICA'S LEADING sAMPLER AND NEEDLEWORK DEALER

27

Mary Bonnel, Hunterdon County, New Jersey, circa 1835 As stated on her sampler, "Mary Bonne! was born September 15, 1821," the daughter of a farmer, John

Bonne!, and his wife, Jemima Van Syckle Bonne!, of the town of Alexandria, Hunterdon County, New Jersey. Mary's great uncle, Abraham Bonne!, was a prominent Revolutionary war patriot whose Hunterdon County tavern was widely known as a meeting place during the war and whose family bible, with family record, is now in the collection of the Hunterdon County Historical Society. Mary married Samuel Severs (1819-1898), also a farmer in Hunterdon County and they became the parents of three sons, Abraham, George and John; she died on November 25, 1853.

Mary Bonnel's sampler stands as fine example of Quaker-inspired sampler design from the early 19th century. The Quaker influence is apparent in the stylized lilies and floral sprays, cartouche-enclosed inscription and two pairs of birds. A Quaker meetinghouse was active in nearby Quakertown and Mary had descended from prominent Burlington County, NJ. Quakers. In fact, Quaker schools throughout many counties of New Jersey were widely respected for the quality of the samplers produced by their needleworkers.

The impressive two-chimney house, with its deep green interior is flanked by small lions and large recumbent deer. The verse chosen by the teacher or samplermaker is unusual in that the subject is undying romantic love, far different from the more typical religious or cautionary subjects. Most samplers were worked by young ladies between 11 and 14 years of age and so we can assume that this sampler dates circa 1835. It was worked in silk on linen and is in excellent condition, conservation mounted into a corner block cherry and maple frame.

Sampler size: 16 W' x 17 W' Price: $4200.

AMERICA's LEADING sAMPLER AND NEEDLEWORK DEALER

M.Finkel ~Daughter.

28 Roxana Seward, Cheshire County, New Hampshire, 1831 We are always pleased when we can offer a sampler with as much to recommend it as this outstanding example "wrought by Roxana Seward Aged 10" in 1831 in Cheshire County, New Hampshire. Roxana was born on the 22nd of May, 1821 to Abijah and Roxana Seward, the oldest of their six children.

The sampler shares regional characteristics with many samplers made in the southwestern corner of New Hampshire. The long stitches worked along the bottom in crinkled silk, showy lustrous flowers that form the border, and the low two-handled basket are a few of the elements that appear on other pieces from this geographic area that produced such exceptional samplers. Roxana's verse, "While I this canvas do adorn/ With flowers and letters fair as morn/ May grace my cruder heart prepare/ And print my saviours image there," is a classic verse chosen by many young ladies for their sampler work in the early 19th century. Roxana's liberal use of teal, blue and green silk is also appealing. The sampler is in excellent condition, worked in silk on linen with some raised work in the border, conservation mounted into a 19th century gold frame.

Sampler size: 16 1/z" square Price: $5400.

M.Finkel ~Daughter.

AMERICA'S LEADING sAMPLER AND NEEDLEWORK DEALER

29

Silk Embroidery of a Basket of Fruit and Berries, New England, circa 1810 Our stylish, meticulously wrought silk embroidery depicts a lustrous still life in the classic fashion of the early years of the 19th century. The lattice-worked basket brims over with polychromed fruit, silvery leaves and bunches of french-knotted berries. The basket sits upon a satin-stitched hillock from which sprout whimsical tiny plants as if to remind us that this was a schoolgirl accomplishment and not a Peale still life painting. In fact the ink drawing on the silk, most likely that of the instructress, is still visible in some areas.

Worked in silk on silk and in excellent condition, in a period gilt frame with a replaced glass mat.

Size of the needlework: 11 1/ / ' X 14 1/4'' Price: $5800.

AMERICA's LEADING sAMPLER AND NEEDLEWORK DEALER

M.Finkel tJ Daughter.

30

Hannah Jones, Delaware or Maryland, 1832 This vigorously worked sampler made by Hannah Jones in 1832 shares many salient features with an important group dubbed the "Fruit and Flower Samplers", worked by Delaware and Maryland girls spanning the years 1807 to 1839. These samplers feature wide borders on four sides decorated with lushly worked flowers and baskets (some with fruit as well as flowers). Large showy butterflies and an occasional plump bird surround verse or inscription, which is typically contained within a narrow inner border.

The butterflies and large blue bird on Hannah's sampler add a great deal of interest to the design as they are strongly colored and richly worked. The verse worked by Hannah Jones is entitled "Extract", and is flanked by a pair of winsome birds with sprigs in their beaks. These identical birds with sprigs appear on a sampler worked by Nancy Semple in 1798 which is in the collection of Colonial Williamsburg and illustrated in their new book, In the Neatest Manner: The Making of the Virginia Sampler Tradition by Kimberly Smith Ivey (see the back of this catalogue for notice of the accompanying exhibition).

The identity of our samplermaker has not yet been established and research into this entire "Fruit and Flower" group continues; some of these samplers are discussed in Betty Ring's Girlhood Embroidery Vol. II, pages 494 to 497. Hannah Jones' sampler was worked in silk on linen and is in very good condition with some Joss at the lower left corner, in its original frame.

Sampler size: 15" x 16" Price: $4800.

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AMERICA'S LEADING sAMPLER AND NEEDLEWORK DEALER

31

Catharine Bartolet, Oley, Berks County, Pennsylvania, 1843

A group of sampler and needlework pictures worked in Berks and Lehigh Counties through the 1830's and 40's are characterized by their boldly drawn houses, trees, lawns and floral elements, and by the needleworkers' use of richly colored merino wool; our Catharine Bartolet sampler fits firmly into this tradition. The large, impressive building sits upon the multi-colored lawn with its carefully worked brick path. Outsized roses were worked into the background and flank the brick path; the floral border was designed to appear only across the top of the sampler.

Catharine Bartolet's sampler descended in the town of Oley, Berks County and our genealogical research rewarded us with the following information: Catharine was the daughter of John and Matilda Bartolet of Oley, born circa 1833. She married Hiram K. Cleaver, also of Oley, on June 19, 1853 and they had a son named Daniel. Catharine Bartolet Cleaver died prior to 1860.

The sampler was worked in merino wool on linen and is in excellent condition, conservation mounted into a fine cherry and maple corner block frame.

Sampler size: 17 1/4'' x 17 3/ / ' Price: $4200.

AMERICA's LEADING sAMPLER AND NEEDLEWORK DEALER

M.Finkel eJ Daughter.

32

Plushwork Dog on a Cushion, circa 1860 Th'e third quarter of the 19th century saw the flourishing of a needlework technique often called "plushwork"; set against a cross-stitched background, we find flowers, fruit and, occasionally birds or animals, densely worked in a raised and sculpted fashion. Our winsome spaniel lying on a red oval cushion is an excellent example of this stylish form which was typically worked by ladies rather than schoolgirls and was rarely signed or dated. This piece is in excellent condition worked in wool onto wool and in a late 19th century shadow box painted frame.

Sight size: 9 1//' x 13 Price: $1650.

1 //'

Cross-Stitch Cat, circa 1860 Variations of animal portraiture in needlework abound from the third quarter of the 19th century and our striped tabby is a delightful example.

The border is unusual and especially appealing as it simulates a three dimensional ribbon using several varying shades of red, violet and pink.

Worked in wool on linen, it is in excellent condition in a 19th century gilt frame.

Sampler size: 10 Price: $1200.

1 //'

x 13 W'

M.Finkel ~Daughter.

AMERICA'S LEADING SAMPLER AND NEEDLEWORK DEALER

Desire Norris, New London, Connecticut, 1803 An important group of samplers was worked in New London County, Connecticut beginning in the

middle of the 1760's and characteristics of this style continued to appear on samplers from this area into the early 19th century. Examples are illustrated in Betty Ring's Girlhood Embroidery, Vol I, pages 195 to 201, and this Norris sampler features some of these regional patterns, including the large stylized flowers and the greek key design band. Desire also included a wonderful inscription, "Let virtue be your constant guide and learning be your greatest pride."

Initial research indicates that Desire Norris was the daughter of Henry and Desire Norris of New London, born August 12, 1790. It is likely that further research will provide greater detail. The sampler was worked in silk on linen and is in excellent condition in a 19th century frame with its original painted finish.

Sampler size: 15" x 10" Price: $3850.

AMERICA's LEADING sAMPLER AND NEEDLEWORK DEALER

M.Finkel e:J Daughter.

33

Conservation Mounting Of Antique Samplers and Needlework Because of the important role that condition plays in the field of antique samplers and needlework, we strive to insure that these pieces undergo proper preservation while in our care. Below is a step-bystep description of the "conservation mounting" process. Our techniques are simple and straightforward; we remove the dust and dirt particles mechanically, never wet-cleaning the textiles. We use only acid-free materials and museum-approved techniques throughout the process. Please call us if you have any questions in this regard.

0

Carefully clean the piece using our special vacuum process.

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Mount it by means of hand-sewing onto acid-free museum board that has been slip-cased with fabric appropriate to the piece itself, and at the same time stabilize any holes or weak areas.

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Refit the item back into its original frame, or custom-make a reproduction of an 18th or early 19th century frame using one of our exclusive patterns.

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Supply a reverse painted black glass mat, if appropriate, done in correct antique manner.

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When necessary, install true VueÂŽConservation Clear glass which blocks 97% of the harmful Ultra-violet light.

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In the framing process, the needlework is properly spaced away from the glass, the wooden frame is sealed, and the dust cover is attached with special archival tape.

M.Finkel ~Daughter.

AMERICA'S LEADING SAMPLER AND NEEDLEWOKK DEALER

SELECTED NEEDLEWORK BIBLIOGRAPHY Allen, Gloria Seaman. Family Record Genealogical Watercolors and Needlework.

Washington, DC: DAR Museum, 1989.

Bolton, Ethel Stanwood and Coe, Eve Johnston. American Samplers.

Boston: The Massachusetts Society of the Colonial Dames of America, 1921.

Brooke, Xanthe. Catalogue of Embroideries.

The Lady Lever Art Callery. Alan Sutton Publishing Inc., 1992 Edmonds, Mary Jaene. Samplers and Samplermakers, An American Schoolgirl Art 1700-1850.

New York: Rizzoli, 1991.

Epstein, Kathy. An Anonymous Woman Her Work Wrought In The 17th Century.

Curious Work Press, 1992.

Herr, Patricia T. The Ornamental Branches, Needlework and Art from the Lititz Moravian Girls' School Between 1800 and 1865.

The Heritage Center Museum of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, 1996.

Hersh, Tandy and Charles. Samplers of the Pennsylvania Germans.

Birdsboro, PA: Pennsylvania German Society, 1991 Humphrey, Carol. Samplers, Fitzwilliam Museum Handbooks.

Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1997.

Ivey, Kimberly Smith. In the Neatest Manner: The Making of the Virginia Sampler Tradition.

Colonial Williamsburg and Curious Works Press, 1997 Krueger, Glee F A Gallery of American Samplers: The Theodore H Kapnek Collection.

New York: E.P. Dutton, 1978.

New England Samplers to 1840 Sturbridge, Mass.: Old Sturbridge Village, 1978.

Ring, Betty. American Needlework Treasures.

New York: E.P. Dutton, 1987.

Girlhood Embroidery: American Samplers & Pictorial Needlework, 1650-1850.

Knopf, 1993.

Let Virtue be a Guide to Thee: Needlework in the Education of Rhode Island Women, 1730-1820.

Providence: The Rhode Island Historical Society, 1983.

Schiffer, Margaret B. Historical Needlework of Pennsylvania.

New York. Charles Scribner's Sons, 1968.

Schorsch, Anita. Mourning Becomes America: Mourning Art in the New Nation.

Clinton, New Jersey: The Main Street Press, 1976.

Studebaker, Sue. Ohio Samplers, School Girl Embroideries 1803-1850.

Warren County Historical Society, 1988.

Swan, Susan B. A Winterthur Guide to American Needlework.

New York: Crown Publishers, 1976.

Plain and Fancy: American Women and Their Needlework, 1700-1850, New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1977.

AMERICA'S LEADING sAMPLER AND NEEDLEWORK DEALER

M. Finkel~ Daughter.