VOLUME XXXVII
Sam~lin
s:
A SELECTED OFFERING OF ANTIQUE SAMPLERS AND NEEDLEWORK
est. 1947
M. Finkel as Daughter. AMERICA'S LEADING ANTIQUE SAMPLER & NEEDLEWORK DEALER
936 Pine Street. Philadelphia. Pennsylvania. 19107-6128 215-627-7797.800-598-7432. fax 215-627-8199 www.samplings.com
detail of sampler by Anna Spencer, page 28
CopyrightŠ 2010 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.
Welcome to our Samplings catalogue, Volume XXXVII ••• We hope that you enjoy this catalogue, our 37th issue, and we thank all of you for your continued and growing interest in this field. Schoolgirl samplers and needlework provide fascinating opportunities to collectors. A sampler acts as a window into the specific history of a young girl, her family, a teacher, a town, a region, and a tradition, and as such provides us with unusual insight. It goes without saying that samplers, from a simple marking piece to an elaborate scene, are also extremely visually appealing. Each of our samplers has been fully researched and documented; it is well-known that we both conduct ourselves and have others engage in intensive genealogical research and often achieve important results. When we describe a sampler or silk embroidery, we frequently refer to a number of fine books that have been written in this field. Aselected bibliography is included at the end of the catalogue and is updated regularly. If any of these books prove difficult to procure, let us know and perhaps we can assist in locating them. We also include a description page about our conservation methods and encourage you to call us with any questions in this area This year marks the 63rd anniversary of the founding of our firm. We continue to value our positive relationships with clients, many of whom are now second generation, and strive to maintain our commitment to customer service. 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 Monday through Friday, and are available on weekends except when we are exhibiting at antiques shows. Please let us know of your plans to visit us. We suggest that you contact us in a timely fashion if one or more of our samplers is of interest to you. Please let us know if you would like us to email you additional or larger photos than appear in this catalogue. The majority of the pieces in the catalogue have not yet appeared on our website so as to give our catalogue subscribers the advantage of having a first look. Should your choice be unavailable, we would be happy to discuss your collecting objectives with you. Our inventory is extensive, and we have many other samplers that are not included in our catalogue but which are on our website. Moreover, through our sources, we may be able to locate what you are looking for; you will find us knowledgeable and helpful. Payment may be made by check, VISA, Mastercard, or American Express. Pennsylvania residents should add 6% sales tax. All items are sold with a five day return privilege. Expert packing is included: shipping and insurance costs are extra. We prefer to ship via UPS ground or Federal Express air, insured. We look forward to your phone calls and your interest. Amy Finkel Morris Finkel Jamie Banks mailbox@samplings.com
www.samplings.com
800-598-7432
Please check our website for a more expanded, and frequently updated, inventory of our samplers
Are you interested in selling? We are 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. Please call us for more information.
AMERICA's LEADING sAMPLER AND NEEDLEwoRK DEALER
M. Finkel ~ Daughter.
ALPHABETICAL LISTING OF CONTENTS
Agnes Salome Beam, Baltimore, Maryland, 1824 ............................................ 29 Maria Beyerle, Frederick County, Maryland, 1808 ............................................ 15 Elizabeth Ann Caughy, "Busy Yard Sampler," Baltimore, MD, 1827 ............................. 20 Frances Crowell, Rahway, New Jersey, 1824 ................................................. 27 Lydia Cummings, Winchendon, Massachusetts, 1824 ........................................ 29 Kittura Dillion, Abington, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, circa 1810 ....................... 17 Louisa England, Pennsylvania, 1828 ........................................................ 4 Eleanor Fisher, Rush Township, Northumberland Co., Pennsylvania, 1839 ....................... 8 Maria Greenacre, Plumstead, Norfolk, England, 1834 ........................................ 26 Henrieta Haas, Pennsylvania German, 1839 ................................................ 24 Martha Hobson, Westtown School Darning Sampler, Chester Co., Penna., 1816 ................... 5 Eunice L. Holt, Hopewell, New Jersey, 1837 ................................................ 24 Jemima Jacacks, Nine Partners Boarding School, Dutchess Co., New York, 1806 ................. 13 Martha Lincoln, Leominster, Massachusetts, 1811 ........................................... 31 Sarah Milner, Ackworth School, Yorkshire, England, 1831 .................................... 12 Sarahann A. Myers, Philadelphia and Bucks Co., Pennsylvania, 1830 ........................... 11 Needle Book worked by Ann Coleman, American, circa 1832 .................................. 32 Needlework Flowers on Paper, England, 1803 ............................................... 16 Hannah L. Paulin, Cumberland County, New Jersey, 1839 .................................... 22 Elizabeth Perkins, "A Map of England and Wales," Leeds, England, 1788 ........................ 10 Hannah Pharo, Little Egg Harbor, New Jersey, circa 1830 ...................................... 3 Sophia Pulsipher, Conway, Massachusetts, Deerfield ''White Dove School," 1811 ...................2 Sophia L. Richardson, Cornish, New Hampshire, 1831 ....................................... 30 Ann Rodeback, Chester County, Pennsylvania, 1834 ......................................... 14 Charlotte Rooks, Mrs. Easter Jones' School, Hoddesdon, England, 1822 ........................ 28 FCC, Plain Sewing Samplers, European, circa 1850 .......................................... 32 Mary Smith, England, 1768 .............................................................. 33 Anna Spencer, Sleaford, Lincolnshire, England, 1818 ........................................ 28 Ann Suydam, Brooklyn, New York, 1833 .................................................... 9 Anna Symonds, Middleton, Massachusetts, 1805 ............................................. 7 Sally Thomas, Chester County, Pennsylvania, 1831 .......................................... 19 Ruth Wells, Chester County, Pennsylvania, 1834 ............................................ 25 Nancy B. Whitcomb, Stockbridge, Vermont, 1823 ........................................... 18 Hannah Willets, Long Island, New York, 1824 ............................................... 16 Mary F. Wisler, Columbia, Lancaster Co., Pennsylvania, 1826 ................................... 1 Rhoda Wooters, Georgetown Ridge, Dearborn Co., Indiana, 1840 ............................... 6 Mary Ann Worman, Allentown, PA, made at Mary Ralston's School, Easton, 1819 ................ 23
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Mary F. Wisler, Columbia, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, 1826
}1ary F. Wisler of Columbia, Pennsylvania, created this exceptional and important sampler in 1826, a portrayal of a fine Federal house with two tall ladies on a lawn, enclosed within an elaborate and finely worked border. It
is closely related to a sampler made one year earlier and published as figure 475 in Betty Ring's Girlhood Embroidery: American Samplers & Pictorial Needlework 1650-1850, vol. II. These extraordinary samplers were likely worked under the instruction of Sarah McCardell, as discussed by Mrs. Ring. While many fine pictorial samplers were made in Pennsylvania in the 1820s and 30s, few present the combination of excellent needlework and folky subject matter presented on this example. The history of the Wisler family in Columbia, Lancaster County began with Michael Wisler, grandfather of the samplermaker. Michael Wisler was born in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania (close to Philadelphia) in 1756, his parents having emigrated from Alsace-Lorraine circa 1740. He served in the Revolutionary War in Henry Christ's Rifle Company participating in the battles of White Plains, NY, Princeton, Trenton, Brandywine and Germantown. Settling in Columbia, a fine town along the banks of the Susquehanna River in Lancaster County, Michael set up a brickyard and prospered there. Amongst his nine children was Lewis, born 1780, who married Anna Forrey and the sixth of their ten children was Mary F. Wisler, born circa 1816. She married a stonemason, Robert Harry, and they remained in Columbia where Mary died in 1871. The sampler remained in the family until2009. The unusual and very effective side borders of the sampler are formed from the lush flowers and leaves on thorny vines that grow out of the two-handled baskets; the bottom border is a series of large queen's-stitched strawberries linked together with the a pair of bluebirds atop a leafy cartouche surrounding the date. Other details include the glass beads used for the eye, earring and necklace of the taller lady. The sampler was worked in silk and glass beads on linen and it retains its original green silk ribbon. It is in excellent condition and has been conservation mounted into its original mahogany frame. Sampler size: 18W' x 22W'
Frame size: 21 W' x 25W'
Price upon request.
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M. Finkel aJ Daughter.
2
Sophia Pulsipher, Conway, Massachusetts, Deerfield "White Dove School", 1811 The ''White Dove Samplers" from Deerfield, Massachusetts were made in the late 18th through early 19th centuries and are distinguished by several characteristics, including the eponymous large white birds outlined in black. In Girlhood Embroidery, Vol. I, Betty Ring shows, as figure 163, the 1801 White Dove sampler made by Marietta Stebbins, which is in the collection of Historic Deerfield. Sophia Pulsipher's sampler offers many of the very appealing motifs that can be found on these samplers, along with the initials "OS", which may well be those of the instructress responsible for teaching many local girls. Along with the white dove, another device that is found on these samplers is the large basket with carefully arranged fruit or flower blossoms and leaves in pyramid formation. Sophia's newly discovered sampler is an excellent example made by a schoolgirl from a family living within a few miles of Deerfield. Sophia signed her sampler "Sophia Pulsipher Conway Aged 13 Born March 5 1798." (This inscription was worked in fine white silk thread below the lines of alphabets and while subdued, it is legible). Conway was a small town just west of Deerfield, later incorporated into Deerfield itself. Sophia's parents were Joseph and Sophia (Billings) Pulsipher, who married in Conway in 1786. Sophia married Chester Barrett and they became the parents of at least two children, remaining in Conway. The sampler was worked in silk on linen and is in excellent condition. It has been conservation mounted and is in a black painted frame. Sampler size: 17W' x 12W'
Frame size: 19W' x 14%"
Price: $4800.
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3
Hannah Pharo, Little Egg Harbor, New Jersey, c. 1830 Large, fully-developed family record samplers were frequently made in New England and far less frequently in the Mid-Atlantic States. Even less commonly found are family record samplers documenting Quaker
families, however this is precisely that: an elaborate and almost showy family record sampler, with a wonderful house and lawn scene, listing the vital information of the family of Samuel and Phebe (Collins) Pharo. This prominent Quaker family belonged to the Little Egg Harbor Monthly Meeting, which was established on the mainland across from Long Beach Island, New Jersey, in 1704. All of the dates on the sampler are phrased in the traditional Quaker fashion ("born the 25th of the 2nd month"), and the motif below Hannah's name is a classic Quaker sampler design. Hannah was born in 1809, the second of nine children. Her sampler was likely made after the birth of her youngest sibling in 1827. Interestingly, Hannah attended the Westtown School, the highly regarded Quaker school in Chester County, Pennsylvania, for several months in 1827. She certainly may have learned needleworking skills while there but it isn't likely that she made this sampler while there. Interestingly, it's possible that Hannah attended the school that the Little Egg Harbor Meeting built and which was operating on and off, in 1830, according to Quaker Education in the Colony and State of New Jersey by Thomas Woody, published in 1923. (continued on the next page)
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AMERICA's LEADING sAMPLER AND NEEDLEwoRK DEALER
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M. Finkel ~ Daughter.
4
Hannah Pharo, Little Egg Harbor, New Jersey, c. 1830 (cont'd) The Pharo family in America began with James Pharo of Lincolnshire, England who sailed on the ship "Shields" in 1678. James was a surveyor for William Penn and the family settled in Burlington, New Jersey; Hannah was born six generation later. In 1833 Hannah married Henry Leeds at the Little Egg Harbor Meeting and the original parchment marriage certificate accompanies the sampler. rmrJS..:n:z~mmunr,n~ZJrlW::.Ili:&JI'li.II .. ,..~,~·""' '•:J~~------·--illl Family and friends who attend Quaker marriage ceremonies each sign the actually certificate and this document includes the signatures of the 34 people in attendance, members of the Pharo, Collins, Leeds and other families. Hannah and Henry's son, Samuel Pharo Leeds married Sarah West Clement, a descendant of the famed Philadelphia artist, Benjamin West (1738-1820). Hannah Pharo Leeds died in 1840. The sampler was worked in silk on linen and is in excellent condition. It has been conservation mounted and is in a figured maple frame. Sampler size: 25" x 22"
Frame size: 30" x 27"
Price: $14,000.
Louisa England, Pennsylvania, 1828 Needleworkers throughout many centuries have stitched portrayals of a simple vase of flowers, as perhaps no other subject lends itself as pleasingly to this medium. And when used solely, the chain stitch creates an enormously appealing picture, with graceful lines and rich texture. Louisa England used various shades of green, pale yellow, putty and ivory punctuated with raspberry to great advantage in her composition. This piece came from York County, Pennsylvania and was thought by the family that owned it for many years to have been made there, as well. Worked in silk onto fine linen, it is in excellent condition and has been conservation mounted into an early 19th century paint decorated frame. Sight size: 9%" x 8" Frame size: 13W' x 11 %" Price: $4400.
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Martha Hobson, Westtown School Darning Sampler, Chester County, Pennsylvania, 1816 The darning samplers of Westtown School, the renowned Quaker boarding school established in 1799 in Chester County, Pennsylvania, are a highly appealing genre. No other body of American darning samplers exists and these white-on-white samplers present the spare Quaker aesthetic combined with the fascinating darning technique. The maker of this newly discovered sampler was Martha Hobson, born on November 10, 1800 to Francis and Ann (Johnson) Hobson. The Hobsons lived in New Garden, Chester County, Pennsylvania, and were members
of the Quaker Monthly Meeting in that town. Francis was a shoemaker and farmer and had married Ann in 1797. On 5th month, 20th day of 1816, Martha entered Westtown School, as student #1452. That same year she worked this fine darning sampler with its seven different examples of darned patterns. Martha spent a year at the school and also made a fine sewing bag which remains in the school's collection.
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Martha married a farmer, Thomas Whitson, who was also a Quaker, in 1827. The ceremony was at the New Garden Meeting and a photocopy of the original hand-written minutes of that meeting accompanies the sampler. The couple removed to Sadsbury Meeting, in Lancaster County, and the births of their 8 children, born between 1828 and 1842, are recorded there. Martha died in 1889; again this death was recorded in the minutes of that meeting. The sampler was worked in silk and linen on linen and is in excellent condition. It has been conservation mounted and is in a fine mid 19th century half-spindle frame. Sampler size: 11" square
Frame size: 14" square
Price: $9200.
AMERICA's LEADING sAMPLER AND NEEDLEwoRK DEALER
M. Finkel ~ Daughter.
6
Rhoda Wooters, Georgetown Ridge, Dearborn County, Indiana, 1840
Samplers made west of Ohio are extremely rare and we are delighted to have acquired Rhoda Wooter's sampler which was made in Indiana in 1840. The sampler, with its portrayal of a fine house with a water pump, trees and a bird, is quite charming and aesthetically appealing, but, more importantly, presents a significant family history that has been fully documented through extensive research. Quite fortunately, the maker of this sampler included a long list of family initials on her work, as well as the specifics regarding the death of one particular family member. Additionally, an inscription on the original backboard provided the following: "Rhoda Wooters died Sept 1st 1845." Born on October 5, 1825, Rhoda was the daughter of John and Nancy (Jackson) Wooters. John Wooters had been born circa 1799 in Guilford County, North Carolina and Nancy Wooters was born in 1804 to Ezekiel and Rhoda (Goodwin) Jackson, of Dearborn County, Indiana. Ezekiel Jackson, Rhoda's grandfather, had been born in Maryland and was part of the western migration, marrying in Ohio and settling in eastern Indiana, then known as the Northwest Territory, by 1799. He held many important civic positions, including five terms in the Indiana General Assembly, Justice of the Peace of Dearborn County, postmaster, and county commissioner. His occupation was that of a farmer but he was clearly a highly influential citizen. Much of this information is taken from the History of Dearborn and Ohio Counties, Indiana, published in 1885, as well as family letters at the Indiana Historical Society. Ezekiel Jackson, Sr. died in September 17, 1835, as inscribed on this sampler beginning on the fourth row, "EJ DIED SEPTEMBER THE 17 1835 Aged 57 Y." (continued on the next page)
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Rhoda Wooters, Georgetown Ridge, Dearborn Co, IN, 1840 (cont'd) Listed on the sampler are a great number of Jackson family members and a few Wooters, all are specifically identifiable. Included are all of Rhoda's aunts and uncles, and their spouses. Rhoda's father, John Wooters, proved to be a ne'er-do-well and her parents divorced in 1832. It was predominantly the Jackson family that Rhoda listed on her sampler, which she worked in 1840 when she was fifteen years old. The information written on the backboard of the sampler is indeed correct: Rhoda died on September 1, 1845, and was buried at Georgetown Cemetery. Her sampler remained in the family for generations and was last owned by Mrs. Lucille Schooley Hill, a Jackson family descendant, in the 20th century. The sampler was worked in silk on dark brown-green linen. It is in excellent condition and has been conservation mounted, remaining in its outstanding original grain painted frame. The original backboard accompanies the sampler, as well. Sampler size: lOW' x 13W' Frame size: 13W' x 16W' Price: $18,500.
Anna Symonds, Middleton, Massachusetts, 1805 An interesting group of finely worked samplers made in Salem, Danvers, Topsfield, Boxford and Middleton, feature the same unusual structure to the wide borders, with linked circles and floating flowers. The bottom is formed from a low hilly lawn with more free-form flowers and plants, some of them sprouting from a decorated low basket. Although we haven't come across the series of large and small satin-stitched suns worked along the top of these samplers previously, it is a noteworthy and logical treatment. The date, 1805, was worked twice on the sampler -just outside of the lower right comer of the sawtooth inner border and above the lawn at the lower right. Anna Symonds lived in Middleton and worked her sampler in 1805 and it is closely aligned with the outstanding samplers made in Boxford in 1804 and 1805 (see Samplers and Samplermakers: An American Schoolgirl Art 1700-1850, by Mary Jaene Edmonds, plate 14). Born on November 15, 1793, Anna was the second of nine children of Joseph and Sarah (Peabody) Symonds who were married in Middleton in 1791. In 1814Anna married John Fuller, in Middleton and their daughters, Sarah and usan were born there, as well. The sampler was worked in silk on linen and is in excellent condition. The coloration of the sampler is very close to its original palette as a photo taken of the reverse of the sampler indicates. It has been conservation mounted into its fine original gold leaf frame. Sampler size: 17W' x 15W' Frame size: 21 W' x 19W' Price: $8200.
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M. Finkel ~ Daughter.
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Eleanor Fisher, Rush Township, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, 1839 Very occasionally, schoolgirls worked samplers featuring American eagles and these are considered highly desirable in the field of folk art. These samplers were only worked in Pennsylvania and they rarely become available; we are pleased to be able to offer Eleanor Fisher's outstanding needlework with a handsome eagle surmounting her fine composition. This sampler was in the collection of Theodore H. Kapnek, widely considered one of the premier collectors of American samplers; this provenance is one of the most important that any sampler can offer. The sampler is signed, "Eleanor Fishers work done in the lOth year of her age in the township of Rush in the year of our Lord 1839." While Ted Kapnek had researchers who worked diligently to identify his samplermakers, he was unable to find young Eleanor. Sources now available to our researchers allowed for identification and a full picture of Eleanor and her family now accompanies the sampler. Eleanor named her parents, Jacob and Margaret on her sampler and included the initials of her eleven older siblings: Rebecca, Catherine, Fannie (whose early death is indicated by the black thread used for her initials) Joseph, Albert, Sarah, Patterson, George W., David K., Clotworthy, Asher and her two younger half-siblings: William G. and Margaret. Her great-grandfather was Joseph Fisher, born in Saxony, Germany in 1734. He came to America and settled in â&#x20AC;˘ Northumberland County, Pennsylvania by 1788. His wife was Catherine Minegar, born in Holland, and their son Jacob, a farmer, and his wife Margaret Kimpbel were the parents of our samplermaker. The Genealogy of Joseph Fisher and his Descendants, compiled by Clarence Woodward Fisher, provides a great deal of specific (detail) (continued on the next page)
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Eleanor Fisher, Rush Twp, Northumberland Co, PA, 1839 (cont'd) information about this family.
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Eleanor was born on September ~. 6, 1829 and lived her life in Rush Township. Northumberland County is in just east of the center of Pennsylvania. She seems not to have married and was living with her parents in 1850. Her death on December 26, 1868 was recorded in the Fisher genealogy book. The Kapnek collection was exhibited at the Museum of American Folk Art in New York in 1978, and the excellent book, A Gallery of American Samplers: The Theodore H. Kapnek Collection by Glee F. Krueger, was published at that time, with this sampler as figure 118.
(detail)
The sampler was worked in silk and linen on linen and is in very good condition with very minor weakness to the linen ground. It has been conservation mounted into a fine mahogany and maple comerblock frame. Sampler size: 16" x 16%"
Frame size: 19W' x 20"
Price: $12,500.
Ann Suydam, Brooklyn, New York, 1833 Ann Suydam, a ten-year-old from one of the early Dutch families of New York and Brooklyn, made this elightful sampler, which is dominated by a handsome basket of flowers surrounded by a rhythmic and graceful border of flowers and leaves. The verse reads, "The rich flowers of fancy by genius entwined I Form a bouquet of sweets for the classical mind," an appropriate and unusual couplet. The Suydam family's history in America began in 1663, when the emigrant ancestor arrived in New Amsterdam. Ann was the daughter of a merchant, Henry Suydam, and his wife, Elizabeth. She was born in 1823 and the 1830 census show Henry and his family residing in Brooklyn. By 1850, they were living in Manhattan, Ann was unmarried and living with her parents.
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The sampler was worked in silk on linen and is in very good condition with minor weakness to the linen in two areas. It has been conservation mounted and is in a mahogany frame. Sampler size: 12%" x 12W' Frame size: 14%" x 14W' Price: $3200.
A.\ fERicA's LEADING sAMPLER AND NEEDLEwoRK DEALER
M. Finkel aJ Daughter.
10
Elizabeth Perkins, "A Map of England and Wales," Leeds, England, 1788
A great number of samplers and silk embroideries depicting "A Map of England and Wales" were made in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, many exhibiting very fine needlework. These were classroom exercises that combined lessons of needlework with those of geography (patterned on published maps of the period). We have seen many examples over the years; however none that include the highly appealing details presented by Elizabeth Perkins of Leeds, age 13 in 1788: a dozen tiny but elaborate sailing ships with furled sails and oar holes, some with little men, and all of the vessels sit on stitches that delineate water or waves. Elizabeth, living in the inland city of Leeds (northeast of Manchester), created a greatly appealing S H and very creative rendition of the classic Map of England and Wales. I
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The sampler was worked in silk on linen. All of the lettering is stitched and the sampler is in excellent condition, conservation mounted into a late 19th century frame. Sampler size: 23" x 18W' Framed size: 26%" x 22W' Price: $5400.
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M. Finkel as Daughter. AMERICA'S LEADING SAMPLER AND NEEDLEWORK DEALER
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Sarahann A. Myers, Philadelphia and Bucks County, PA, 1830
A small and highly appealing group of samplers was made in Bucks County, just north of Philadelphia, and \ hile the teacher remains unidentified, she was quite clearly a needleworker of great ability. The first sampler of this group to gain appreciation is that made by Hannah M. Hillborn in 1832 and it was in the Whitman Sampler Collection at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and appears as figure 42 in The Story of Samplers, published in 1971. Another of this group, made by Mary Torbert in 1835, is owned by the Bucks County Historical Society. Identifying characteristics of this group include the squirrel, cardinal, butterfly and other elements surrounding a vase or basket of beautifully worked flowers, all arranged in a splendid compositions. The needlework was accomplished with great skill as evidenced by the queen's-stitched elements, the tightly worked flowers with contrasting outlines and the veined leaves. Additionally these samplermakers used a delicate four-sided stitch for the upper case letters of their names. We are delighted to offer Sarahaan A Myers' sampler, a newly discovered addition to this group. The sampler remains in its original gold leaf frame which, qujte fortunately, retains its framer's label from Mickley & Hey!, whose shop was located in Philadelphia at 1241 Vine treet. Sarahann seems to have resided in Philadelphia and attended school just further north, in Bucks County. She was likely the daughter of Henry and Ann Myers, residents of the . orthern Liberties neighborhood of Philadelphia. Henry Myers erved with the Volunteer Corps of Infantry, Northern Liberty Guards during the War of 1812.
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The sampler was worked in silk on linen and is in excellent condition. It has been conservation mounted and, as mentioned previously, is in its original frame. Sampler size: 11 W' x 9"
Framed size: 13W' x 11"
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Price: $8200.
AMERICA's LEADING sAMPLER AND NEEDLEwoRK DEALER
M. Finkel e» Daughter.
12
Sarah Milner, Ackworth School, Yorkshire, England, 1831 The Ackworth School was the most important Quaker school in England and a great number of outstanding samplers were made by the many girls who were educated there. Carol Humphrey's excellent book, Quaker School Girl Samplers from Ackworth (Needleprint Press, 2006) provides great background information regarding the school, the students and the samplers of Ackworth. Sarah Milner was the daughter Charles Milner, an ironmonger and iron merchant, and his wife, Mary Ann Norton, who were married in Sheffield in 1817 and joined the Society of Friends after their marriage. They were members of the Balby Monthly Meeting which was under the administration of the Yorkshire Quarterly Meeting. In 1829 Sarah entered the Ackworth School and remained there for two years; six of her siblings also attended
RESIGNATION Since all the downward tracts of time God's watchful eye surveys, Oh who so wise to choose our lot And regulate our ways. Since none can doubt his equal love, U nmeuurahly kind, To his unerring gracious will, Be every wish resigned. Good when he gives supremely good, Nor less when he denies, Even crosses from his sovereign hand, Are blessings in disguise. Sarah Milner, Ackworth School !831.
the school. In 1831 she worked this praiseworthy sampler entitled "Resignation," onto which she stitched three faultlessly rendered stanzas composed by James Hervey, an 18th century English author. Another Ackworth sampler, greatly similar to Sarah Milner's, was worked in 1825 by Rachel Spence, published on page 118 of the Humphrey book, and in the collection of the Ackworth School. Both stitchers used the same verse and surrounded it with a rectangular double border with cut comers. The sampler was worked in silk on linen and is excellent condition. It has been conservation mounted and is in a figured maple frame. Sampler size: lOW' x 8W'
Frame size: 13" x 11"
Price: $3800.
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Jemima Jacacks, Nine Partners Boarding School, Dutchess County, New York, 1806 -~
interesting companion piece to the Ackworth School sampler on the facing page is our American Quaker 5a.Illpler made at the Nine Partners Boarding School in Dutchess County, New York; indeed both plermakers explored the same subject in similar compositions.
. - e Partner's School was a very early and well-regarded Quaker school, established in 1796 and located in the · e of Mechanic, Dutchess County, New York. The school attracted students from local families along with lafly who traveled quite a distance to attend. The school was much smaller than other American Quaker
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~ .."".., and subsequently far fewer Nine Partners School samplers were made than those from schools such .·,-~-ttmvn . This sampler was made by Jemima Jacacks in 1806; her verse was taken from the Poetical
· rks of Edward Young and was worked with classic Quaker letter-perfect precision and surrounded by a .:. :- line framework. - - ;ma Jacacks was the daughter of David and Mary (Thome) Jacacks who lived nearby the school and 6ed to the Nine Partners Monthly Meeting. In 1818 Jemima married, as his third wife, Albro Atkins. The
ublication, Commemorative Biographical Record of Dutchess County, New York, published - information about this family; Mr. Albro is described as, "one of the most influential and distinguished --c - of his day," a successful merchant and agriculturist. They lived in the nearby Quaker Hill • rhood and raised seven children. Jemima died in 1859. w -
Partners Boarding School samplers have been the subject of much study recently and a book on the . / of the school, its samplers and their makers is currently being written by independent sampler - rian, Kathy M. Moyer. The sampler was worked in silk on fine linen and is in excellent condition. It has onservation mounted and is in a figured maple frame. -
er size: 8%" x 6W'
Frame size: 11" x 8%"
Price: $5200.
A.\ IERicA·s LEADING sAMPLER AND NEEDLEwoRK DEALER
M. Finkel e; Daughter.
14
Ann Rodeback, Chester County, Pennsylvania, 1834 This splendid sampler exhibits a remarkable combination of attributes - the needlework is of the highest quality while the pictorial composition is folky and free-form. The border is highly unusual and is greatly reminiscent of 18th century Philadelphia needlework; it is also identical to the border on a fine sampler in the collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and published as plate 158 in The Fine Art of Thxtiles: The Collections of the Philadelphia Museum of Art by Dilys Blum. That undated sampler, which was part of the original Whitman Sampler Collection, was made in Marple, Pennsylvania by Alice Maris. Ann Rodeback was the daughter of George and Hannah (Nichols) Rodeback of Newlin, Chester County. Her grandfather was Charles Rodeback who seems to have been born in Germany and emigrated to Pennsylvania as a young man. Family indications are that Ann was born circa 1824 and that she married and removed to the West. Her sampler descended in the family for generations.
The bright coral house was worked in long, lustrous silk stitches and is nestled into a grapevine garland of polychrome grape bunches with teal green leaves. 1\vo fanlight-topped doors and detailed mullioned windows embellish the house, which is surmounted by a large bird perched on a bell-flower device. The lawn supports a pair of umbrella-shaped trees, as well as many birds and animals. The initials HSR, possibly those of a teacher, were worked just above the pair of lions centered on the lawn. The center of the sampler is truly outstanding and the border is equally compelling. The sampler was worked in silk on linen and is in excellent condition. It has been conservation mounted into a maple and cherry cornerblock frame. Sampler size: 17" x 17%"
Frame size: 20%" x 21 W'
Price: $9500.
M. Finkel 6j Daughter. AMERICA's LEADING sAMPLER AND NEEDLEwoRK DEALER
15
_taria Beyerle, Frederick County, Maryland, 1808 - stantially fewer samplers were made south of Pennsylvania and we are privileged to be able to offer this "" \'ly discovered Maryland sampler made by Maria Beyerle of Frederick County. A Maryland Sampling: Girlhood Embroidery 1738-1860, the outstanding book by Gloria Seaman Allen (Maryland Historical - iety, 2007) documents the extraordinary body of needlework from this state and includes a section on the 路 ding samplers of Frederick County (pages 136 -142). Figure 9-8, a sampler made by Charlotte Mantz in ' 3 is described by Dr. Allen as possessing all of the characteristics of an early Frederick County sampler, 路i th a ''brick house flanked by pine trees on a stepped lawn terrace, a balanced arrangement of floating vases 路flowers and a broad arcaded floral band." The samplers by Charlotte and Maria are greatly similar and the -:5. Is obviously attended the same school. Another very similar sampler made by Charlotte's cousin, Louisa . tantz, in 1808 was documented by the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts. All three samplers portray :he same one-story brick house and identical striped baskets with queen's-stitched strawberries . . 1aria Beyerle was the first born of ten children of John and Maria Dorothea Beyerle of Mechanicstown, Frederick County. The family was of German descent and first settled in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, later migrating to northern Maryland. John was a tanner and, as such, involved in one of the many industries that ourished in that area. Maria's full name was Maria Barbara and she was likely named for her maternal grandmother; her christening seems to have taken place at the German Reformed Church. On April23, 1821 she married Daniel Ditch and sadly died just seven months later. The sampler was worked in silk on linen and is in excellent condition. It has been conservation mounted into a cherry frame. Sampler size: 16W' square
Frame size: 19" square
Price: $18,500.
Virluu tk dtiefcll btavty ot'Uc llliiHf .. ~lit uilaA Orn&~~~tltt of hma~~ Kil\c ,. ull""' CuidiarM ';tl'!:li:!II-JI!I:l!l rhilt. ftw. "' ~til when 8llf 'l'ftJ' m. .
路vwt.-.., ...,, ,.,.,.
AMERICA'sLEADINGsAMPLERANoNEEoLEwoRKoEALER
M.Finkel ~Daughter.
16
Hannah Willets, Long Island, New York, 1824 This handsome Quaker sampler descended with a history of ownership from Long Island, New York. Made by Hannah Willets in 1824, the sampler presents five alphabets and one numerical progression in a carefully composed format with a fruit basket and other Quaker motifs below. The second upper case alphabet, accomplished in a square, block-letter font, along with the only lower case alphabet, are also characteristic of Quaker sampler design. This style of lettering was published by John Woolman in Philadelphia in 1768, in A
First Book for Children. The Willets family in New York began with Richard Willets who was born in England and who was amongst the first settlers of Hempstead, Long Island, circa 1658. The Willets were considered an eminent Quaker family and proliferated in the area. The Cow Neck Peninsula Historical Society is headquartered in the Edmund Willets (1800-1875) house in Port Washington. There was more than one Hannah Willets who might have made this sampler and so a specific identification isn't possible. The sampler was worked in linen and silk on linen and is in excellent condition. It has been conservation mounted and is in a black painted frame. Sampler size: lOW' x 11 %" Frame size: 12W' x 14" Price: $4200.
Needlework Flowers on Paper, England, 1803 Needlework on paper has always had an interesting appeal, as it allows for no missteps; the hole made by a needle must be incorporated into the work. This composition, called a "florilegium" in the period, is tied together with a bow and various sprigs and blossoms fill the picture. It is accompanied with the original paper backing to the frame which is inscribed: "The work of Elizabeth Honvood date 1803 -who became the wife ofMr. John Hewitt, 74 High Street, Cowes." Cowes is a small town at the northern tip of the Isle of Wight, in the English Channel. Genealogical research indicates that Elizabeth Horwood married John Hewitt in 1815. Worked in silk on paper, the needlework remains in excellent condition in its original black and gold carved frame. Sight size: 7" x 5W' Frame size: 9" x 7W' Price: $1450.
M. Finkel ~ Daughter. AMERICA's LEADING sAMPLER AND NEEDLEwoRK DEALER
17
Kitturn Dillion, Abington, Montgomery County, PA, circa 1810
The scholarship in this field owes much to the young samplermakers who documented their work by luding the name of their town on their needlework; this not only adds to the interest of the specific sampler, but increases the general knowledge regarding the origin of other, very similar samplers. e verse on this fine sampler begins "Kittura Dillion is My Name I Abington is My Nation" and genealogical research confirms its origins as Abington, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. The carriage house with arcaded doorway and black dog, pine trees with oversized birds and two-handled urns of flowers appear on ther samplers from this area. Specifically, a sampler made by Rebecca Barton in 1808 and in the Theodore Kapnek Collection for many years (figure 58, A Gallery of American Samplers: The Theodore H. Kapnek Collection, Glee Krueger) shares these elements; when published in 1978, its Abington origins were unknown. ··ttura Dillion was hom July 3, 1796 to Jacob and Mary Dillion, prominent citizens of this small early town t north of Philadelphia. The family resided in a stone house that remained standing until the early 20th century; a photo taken of the house prior to its demolition is shown in a book published by the Old York Road Historical Society. Kittura would have worked her sampler when she was between 10 and 14 years old, hence ·.-e can date her work circa 1810. The family belonged to the Abington Presbyterian Church, where she was tized and later buried. Kittura died, unmarried, in Abington on September 5, 1865 and a photocopy of her .i ll and the extensive inventory of her estate accompany this sampler.
:
e sampler is in excellent condition, worked in silk on linen, conservation mounted into a figured maple :rune with a black bead. Sampler size: 18" x 20"
Frame size: 22" x 24"
Price: $12,500.
AME RICA's LEADING sAMPLER AND NEEDLEwoRK DEALER
M. Finkel ~ Daughter.
18
Nancy B. Whitcomb, Stockbridge, Vermont, 1823 This outstanding sampler exhibiting both great exuberance and delicacy was made in 1823 by Nancy B. Whitcomb in Stockbridge, Vermont, a small rural village in the central part of the state. The sampler is inscribed along the bottom, ''Wrought by Nancy B. Whitcomb Stockbridge 1823 AE 11." It has a strong, folk appeal and was accomplished in an unusual palette of teal blue, deep orange and dark greens. Vermont samplers exist in far fewer numbers than those from other New England states and the great majority of those known are less pictorial and far more simple than this one. Nancy included the name of her teacher directly on her sampler: "Mary Cooper Instructress," (read at either end of the white fence) and this is the third sampler known to have been worked under her tutelage. The samplers were made between 1823 and 1826 and each feature the same house and lawn scene and almost identical free-form side borders and basket of flowers at the top. The sampler made in 1826 by Diana Paine was in the highly regarded collection of Theodore Kapnek and was then thought to have been made in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Recent research has confirmed that Miss Paine was actually from Stockbridge, Vermont. That sampler is published as figures 96 and 96a in A Gallery of American Samplers: The Theodore H. Kapnek Collection by Glee Krueger when it was exhibited at the Museum of American Folk Art in 1978. These three samplers comprise the finest known group of Vermont samplers. Nancy Whitcomb was born in Stockbridge, Vermont on June 4, 1812, the tenth of fourteen children born to Branch and Olive (Baker) Whitcomb. The Whitcomb family was well documented in a 1904 published biographical genealogy, which states that Branch served many terms in the state legislature. Nancy's grandfather, Lot Whitcomb, was one of the early settlers of Stockbridge, Vermont and was taken prisoner in 1780 during a skirmish with the local Native Americans. Nancy married a physician, Dr. O.T. Houghton, of Bakersfield, Vermont, and they remained in Bakersfield, which is in northern Vermont. They did not have children and Nancy died in 1896. Avery good assortment of stitches was used to work this sampler. The house is fully worked and the flowers and grapes were done in a handsome long satin stitch. The lettering is very delicate and the verse reads: "Dear Lord protect the female heart I From every vice and treacherous art I And while she labours to improve I 0 may she feel thy grace and love I Preserve her soul from sin and shame I And in thy book enrol (sic) her name." This is the same verse as is on the Diana Paine sampler. Worked in silk on linen, the sampler is in excellent condition. It has been conservation mounted and is in a cherry frame with maple beads. Sampler size: 16W' x 22W'
Frame size: 20" x 26"
Price upon request.
M. Finkel es Daughter. AMERICA'S LEADING SAMPLER AND NEEDLEWORK DEALER
19
Sally Thomas, Chester County, Pennsylvania, 1831 An outstanding group of samplers was worked in Chester County, Pennsylvania under the instruction of
Elizabeth Passmore of East Bradford Township. She was obviously a woman of extraordinary talent and a fine teacher, as these samplers exhibit an excellence that is almost unparalleled in both design and execution. The characteristics that define this group include the lawn with its sheep, rabbits and plants, the cartouche formed of beautifully realized bunches of grapes, the pair of parrots on branches, the gracious, threeided borders formed of large tlower blossoms on vines and mention of family members by name. This particularly praiseworthy sampler was made in 1831 by Sally Thomas, a young lady from a Quaker family of East Bradford. The verse worked by Sally, under the title "Extract" is considered by scholars to be the most popular used by samplermakers in the early 19th century. Above this are the names of Sally's parents, "Enos & Hannah Thomas." The three white sheep, worked in the bullion-stitch, are particularly fine and showcase the talents of this samplermaker. Sally Thomas was the daughter of Enos and Hannah (Forsythe) Thomas, born in 1818. The family belonged .o the Concord Friends Meeting and copies of records from this meeting accompany the sampler. Sally married Darlington Cope, a member of a distinguished local family and the couple remained in Chester County where they raised four children. Sally died in 1852 at age 32. The sampler was worked in silk on linen and is in excellent condition with a very minor area of weakness to e linen along one edge; it has been conservation mounted and is in its very fine original mahogany comerblock frame. ~pier
size: 17" x 16%"
Frame size: 21 W' x 21"
Price: $18,000.
AM ERICA's LEADING sAMPLER AND NEEDLEwoRK DEALER
M. Finkel aJ Daughter.
20
Elizabeth Ann Caughy, "Busy Yard Sampler," Baltimore, Maryland, 1827 along with the sampler by her sister, Sarah Caughy, at Mrs. Burke's school, Pacca St., Baltimore, 1821
Amongst the most visually commanding of all of the fine samplers made in Baltimore are the "Busy Yard Samplers"; these have been well documented by Gloria Seaman Allen in A Maryland Sampling: Girlhood Embroidery 1738-1860 (Maryland Historical Society, 2007), as well as by Betty Ring in Girlhood Embroidery: American Samplers & Pictorial Needlework 1750-1850 (Knopf, 1993). These are large, superbly worked samplers which depict fine building and elaborate lawn scenes populated with female figures, animals and outbuildings, worked in the 1820's and later. The best of these samplers feature a splendid five-bay house with a gracefully curved railing at its front stair and with large, distinctive palm trees and other deciduous and evergreen trees flanking the house. Rich green lawns form a fine contrast to the people and animals that define this group and these figures are generally worked in a padded or raised stitch. Precisely worked white picket fences edge the lawns, while lush floral borders frame the samplers. The samplermaker was Elizabeth Ann Caughy, who was ten years old when she worked this outstanding sampler. Born in November, 1816, she was the daughter of Patrick and Elizabeth (Dixon) Caughy who were married in Baltimore in 1800. Patrick was the proprietor of a grocery and dry goods shop in central Baltimore. In 1840, Elizabeth married a cousin, John Henry Caughy, and notice of this was reported in The Baltimore Sun. They remained in Baltimore, where John was a clothier merchant. They raised six children and Elizabeth died in 1909. (continued on the next page)
M. Finkel e; Daughter. AMERICA's LEADING sAMPLER AND NEEDLEwoRK DEALER
21
Elizabeth Ann Caughy, "Busy Yard Sampler," Baltimore, Maryland, 1827 along with the sampler by her sister, Sarah Caughy, at Mrs. Burke's school, Pacca St., Baltimore, 1821 (continued)
(detail) l e remarkably, a sampler made by Elizabeth's older sister Sarah Caughy, when she was seven years old in l\21 accompanies the "Busy Yard Sampler." It is large and includes many complex stitches, quite an - mplishment for such a young girl. In tiny stitches, the sampler is inscribed, "Sarah Caughy's Work [D ]one · the Sevent[h] Year of Her Age in The Year Of Our Lord One Thousand Eight Hundred And 1\venty One At Ars. Burke's School Pacca St." Mrs. Burke's school was not aiously known to scholars in this field and she may well have n the instructress responsible for the "Busy Yard Samplers." nt research has uncovered listings in Baltimore directories · . 1rs. Margaret Burke's school from 1816 through 1833. Sarah UlaiTied Noah Dixon Walker, a prominent clothier merchant and · end of John Henry Caughy. We are very grateful to Wendy 'te independent historian, for the discovery of this sampler _ for her research. L.L.L~th
Ann's sampler was worked in silk on linen and is in - llent condition. It has been conservation mounted and is in a early 19th century gold leaf frame. Sarah's sampler was also rked in silk on linen. It is in very good condition with some C2S of slight loss. This sampler has been conservation mounted - is in a painted frame .
........,..u.oA-th's sampler size: 16W' x 24W' .. me size: 20W' x 28W' Sarah's sampler size: 25" x 1514'' - me size: 27" x 1714'' "ce: 38,000.
MERicA's LEADING sAMPLER AND NEEDLEwoRK DEALER
M. Finkel ~ Daughter.
22
Hannah L. Paulin, Cumberland County, New Jersey, 1839 As stitched onto her excellent sampler, Hannah was born on November 13, 1827. She was the daughter of Lemuel and Sarah (Husted) Paulin, who married in 1819 and lived in Cohansey Township, Cumberland County, located in southern New Jersey. Lemuel was a blacksmith and Hannah was one of six children; Hannah was living with her parents in 1850 and indicated that she was a "tailoress." The Paulin family began with the arrival of Henry Paw lin (later Paulin) who settled just north of Philadelphia circa 1681 and much of the family history has been traced by recent generations.
In 1853 Hannah married Harrison Perry, of Bridgeton, Cumberland County. The family remained in the area and became the parents of nine children. Harrison was a successful farmer and both Harrison and Hannah were active members of their community. Information about the family was published in Biographical Review: Leading Citizens of Cumberland County New Jersey (1896). This sampler belongs to an outstanding group made from the end of the 18th century through the early 1840s in this area of Cohansey and Fairfield Townships of Cumberland County. Characteristics of this group include elaborately worked baskets of flowers and compartmentalized alphabets and inscriptions. The needlework itself is defined by a strong vocabulary of stitches accomplished with great skill. The flowers worked by Hannah are actually padded and worked dimensionally. One or more teachers must have had
quite a following amongst the many prosperous families in the area. Hannah's praiseworthy piece, made towards the end of the long period during which schoolgirls worked these samplers, is an indication that the instruction remained constant throughout. Samplers from this group are in major public and private American collections. We hope that continued research will determine the identity of the teacher or teachers responsible for creating this extraordinary needlework legacy. Worked in silk on linen, the sampler is in excellent condition. It has been conservation mounted and is in a beveled, figured maple frame with a cherry bead. Sampler size: 16W' x 17W' Frame size: 20W' x 21" Price: $7200.
M. FinkeJ6j Daughter. AMERICA's LEADING sAMPLER AND NEEDLEwoRK DEALER
23
Mary Ann Worman, Allentown, Pennsylvania, made at Mary Ralston's school in Easton, 1819 Mrs. Mary Ralston, a welleducated and highly regarded schoolmistress, established a private school for girls in Easton, Northampton County, Pennsylvania by 1812 and the fine samplers worked there are a testimony to her talents in the needle arts. Betty Ring wrote extensively about this school and the samplers produced there (Girlhood Embroidery, volume II, Easton Samplers and Mary Ralston's School, pages 450455), identifying the specific characteristics of these samplers. Mary Ann Worman, a young girl from nearby Allentown, attended the school and made this handsome and ·ell-developed sampler there in 1819. It exhibits traits ound on other Ralston school samplers of this early period and published by Mrs. Ring figures 509, 510 and 511); ·o of these samplers are med by area historical 50Cieties .
O.
-.onua ...... hatoH.lw 1:,y wue 'nr iiiiWOir ewe ...,.... .... •-
~ ..,.,.,.air• Heaver II\' -..r tllit dl>" 01'1' lW'ai>' ..'\'4MaH tofli'li'e'IICOWU'tettPUtet'.
\lVC __. ...,.~,,.envt A..n 1t
Au.a.v . ..,~ ......,. ~a.ewtot.,.r•u...,..,.~ .. ,. • Ctoo- tO'( ft'tt .A.n
. 1ary Ann depicted a large
ouse with its architectural elements outlined in off-white cotton thread, and flanked it .,ith a pair of abstracted and striated evergreen trees - both treatments are Ralston school characteristics. The upper border of shaded fat grape leaves with embroidered veins and the narrow outer border of linked circles fall into the same category. e sampler is inscribed, "Mary Ann Worman Aged 11 Years Daughter of I Jacob and Mary Worman Allentown .anuary 14, 1819." The immigrant ancestor of the Worman family was Heinrich Worman who was born in ~ .\·itzerland in 1696 and sailed on the ship "Mary," arriving in Philadelphia on June 28, 1735. Part of the large Pennsylvania German community, he settled in Montgomery County and by the end of the 18th century a branch ·the family removed to Allentown. Mary Ann Worman was born on February 28, 1807 and married James Lackey, a merchant, also from Allentown. The sampler was later owned by their daughter Margaret Lackey. e sampler was worked in silk and cotton on linen and is in excellent condition. It has been conservation ;nounted and is in a beveled figured maple frame. Sampler size: 21 %" x 16%"
Frame size: 25W' x 19%"
Price: $8200.
AMERicA's LEADING sAMPLER AND NEEDLEwoRK DEALER .
M. Finkel ~ Daughter.
24
Eunice L. Holt, Hopewell, New Jersey, 1837 This endearing little sampler was stitched by twelve-year-old Eunice L. Holt and she included the town name of Hopewell, New Jersey on her work. Hopewell is a town in Mercer County, at the western border of central New Jersey. The roots of the town began with a purchase of 30,000 acres of land by Daniel Coxe, a Royal British governor in the 17th century, who then sold it to a company who broke it down and sold off the plots. The samplermaker filled the top with alphabets and a numerical progression and filled the lower register with a charming and somewhat naive depiction of a double-chimney house with a smaller dependency, flanked by a pair of stylized pine trees. Afine border of lustrous pale blue diamonds surrounds the sampler on three sides. Worked in silk on linen the sampler remains in excellent condition. It has been conservation mounted and is in an oak frame.
Sampler size: 11" x 10" Frame size: 13" x 12"
Price: $3400.
Henrieta Haas, Pennsylvania German, 1839 Needlework made by the varied sects of the Pennsylvania Germans can display the strong color and great whimsy found on much of the folk art produced within these communities. Certain of the specific motifs worked by Henrieta Haas point to the origin as being from eastern Berks County - the most obvious being the vase with seven flowers, two of them on low hanging branches, centered on the bottom of her very appealing sampler (refer to Samplers of the Pennsylvania Germans by Tandy and Charles Hersh, figure 4-65). Another device, the strawberry plant which was worked in the center at the top of this pictorial register, is both interesting and informative. It is one of the signature motifs of the samplers made under the instruction of Sarah Boone, a revered Quaker teacher from this area. Little dogs, a deer and a pair of birds provide a note of animation to her work. Henrieta worked her name in the same large scripted font as she used for her large alphabet, and spaced the letters of her name along the bottom line ending with the date. Worked in silk on linen, the sampler is in excellent condition. It has been conservation mounted and is in a painted frame. Sampler size: 16W' x 17%"
Frame size: 18W' x 19%"
Price: $3800.
M. Finkelai Daughter. AMERICA's LEADING sAMPLER AND NEEDLEwoRK DEALER
25
Ruth Wells, Chester County, Pennsylvania, 1834
The samplers of Chester County, Pennsylvania are an extraordinary body of needlework, well documented by the many books and articles on the subject. This extremely fine sampler, worked on a monumental scale by Ruth Wells of Charlestown Township, exhibits this excellence through the great variety of motifs that were carefully composed and finely stitched. There is strong influence from the Quaker schools that predominated in this area, although the specific school that Ruth attended is unknown. The center cartouche, an elegant garland of flowers caught by a lustrous and graceful pale blue bow, contains the information that allowed for specific identification of the samplermaker: "My Parents names John & L.atharine Wells Ruth Wells's Work 1834." Ruth was born in 1819, the oldest child of John and Catharine Young) Wells. She married a farmer, Aaron Beaver, who was also from this area in northeastern Chester ounty, and they had three children. Aaron died in 1864 and Ruth outlived him by almost 40 years. She med substantial land and didn't remarry. She died in 1902 and is buried in St. Peter's Pikeland Cemetery. e genealogical file that accompanies this sampler is very detailed and includes copies of the wills and estate ventories of Ruth and both of her parents. She was a descendant of John Roberts, a well-known Quaker :Tom Wales who, in 1682, bought 250 acres just outside Philadelphia, where he operated a large mill. _ hining green lawn formed of long satin stitches grounds the sampler well. Large clover plants and a fine .¡.illow tree topped by a whimsical bird give way to enormous white flower blossoms and three pots of flowers. e verse, entitled "Extract," is found on many early 19th century samplers; it expresses the hope for a spiritual life on earth and afterwards. Along with the great number of Quaker motifs are fat butterflies and irds sitting on little stitched bundles. The border of stylized flowers and leaves on a vine frames the sampler ¡cely and serves to further indicate Ruth's skill, as it turns the comers effortlessly. e sampler was worked in silk on tan linen and is in excellent condition. It has been conservation mounted 3.nd is in a fine mahogany comerblock frame. Sampler size: 26W' x 26"
Frame size: 31 W' x 31"
Price: $12,000.
AMERicA's LEADING sAMPLER AND NEEDLEwoRK DEALER
M. FinkelaJ Daughter.
26
Maria Greenacre, Plumstead, Norfolk, England, 1834
Co on dar Girl pi"'eeed with care "t'.be coarM wl.icil yor/v• b~n
So a.lnH aucc•n yoar Labou crown And fltUIU"a y•t 11n.k.nowa.
This exemplary sampler was worked in northern England and belongs to a group of outstanding samplers that were made in Norfolk from the middle of the 18th through the early 19th centuries; the same large stepped diamond central element dominates a large number of these samplers, some of which are in museum collections in England, as well as the United States. The letters on these samplers are perfectly formed and the dividing bands are composed of splendid patterns of the sort that had been worked by English samplermakers for generations. The triangular areas in the four comers are embellished with tightly worked baskets of flowers, little animals and miniature trees. Maria Greenacre was born in 1823, the fourth of ten children of William and Ann (Williamson) Greenacre who resided in the town of Plumstead, in northern Norfolk, near the coast. William was a cattle dealer and further research may reveal more information. The sampler was worked in silk on wool and it is in excellent condition. It has been conservation mounted into a painted frame. Sampler size: 15%" x 14"
Frame size: 18" x 16W'
Price: $5800.
(detail)
M. Finkel ~ Daughter. AMERICA's LEADING s AMPLER AND NEEDLEwoRK DEALER
27
Frances Crowell, Rahway, New Jersey, 1824 Frances Crowell, in the tenth year of her age in 1824, worked a very pleasing sampler using a strong vocabulary of stitches and motifs. Baskets and pots of flowers, a good assortment of birds, a large eyelet-stitched alphabet and a tightly worked moralistic verse are all surrounded by an extremely fine border of queen's-stitched strawberries on a stylized leafy vine, as well as a Greek key design. The flower pots are unusually inventive, with the center one featuring a large heart framed with sprouting buds. The daughter of Joseph Crowell, Frances (also known as Fanny) was born on December 28, 1813. The family resided in the little town of Milton, near Rahway, located southwest of Newark. In 1837 Frances married Henry E. Mundy, a gentleman from a family that traces its history in New Jersey back to 1640. They remained in Rahway where they raised seven sons and one daughter. The Passaic Valley, New Jersey in Three Centuries, John Whitehead, editor, includes a biography of one of their sons, John Crowell Mundy (b. 1838), who gained prominence as a business man and public official in Newark. Regarding his ancestry, it is stated that his maternal grandfather, Joseph Crowell, served well in the Revolutionary War. Frances died in 1888 and is buried in Rahway. The sampler was worked in silk on linen and is in excellent condition; it has been conservation mounted into a beveled cherry frame with a maple bead. Sampler size: 15W' x 18W'
Frame size: 19W' x 22"
Price: $4800.
AMERicA's LEADING sAMPLER AND NEEDLEwoRK DEALER
M. Finkel ~ Daughter.
28
Charlotte Rooks, Mrs. Easter Jones' School, Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire, England, 1822 Charlotte Rooks was attending a charity school in Hoddesdon, a fine small village in Hertfordshire, north of London, when she worked this interesting band format sampler in 1822. It is inscribed, "Charlotte Rooks Aged 12 Years Finished February 8 1822 Mrs. Jones School Hoddesdon." This school was established by a benefactress, Mrs. Easter Jones, in 1818 and her endowment saw to it that the poor girls of this town were educated for many years, until inl874, when the school became a part of the National School system. Papers concerning the building of this school and its administration are at The National Archives of England. Three nicely developed traditional bands decorate the sampler along with alphabets and a moralistic verse. The skills taught at this school were certainly intended to help the students attain future employment, and proficiency with needle and thread would have contributed greatly towards this goal. Worked in silk on linen, the sampler is in excellent condition and it has been conservation mounted into a black painted frame. Sampler size: 21 %" x 8" Frame size: 24" x lOW' Price: $3200.
Anna Spencer, Sleaford, Lincolnshire, England, 1818 English samplermakers occasionally stitch detailed depictions of important architectural structures and these samplers, for obvious reason, are considered very desirable. Anna Spencer of Sleaford, an early town in Lincolnshire, north of London, used Lincoln Hospital as her subject and depicted it with great precision. This was the original hospital building, which was demolished in 1876 to make way for a "modem" facility. Many classic sampler devices provide further decoration and an outstanding band, of early 18th century design, appears along the bottom of the sampler. The verse is a tribute to true friendship and was used by samplermakers for centuries. The sampler was worked in silk on wool and is in excellent condition. It has been conservation mounted and is in a painted frame. Sampler size: 11 %" x 12W' Frame size: 13%" x 14W' Price: $4400.
M. Finkel e:s Daughter. AMERICA's LEADING sAMPLER AND NEEDLEwoRK DEALER
Agnes Salome Beam, Baltimore, Maryland, 1824 A newly discovered Baltimore sampler, this features many varied alphabets, an interesting verse entitled "On Dreaming," and two finely worked pairs of Quaker birds on stylized branches. The samplermaker, Agnes Salome Beam, was born on October 20, 1816 to Elijah and Charlotte (Robison) Beam who were married in Baltimore in 1813. Elijah was a merchant who was listed in the 1814-15 city directory with a business at 50 Pratt Street and a residence at 55 Hanover Street. He served in the War of 1812 as a lieutenant in Capt. Homer's Co. of Maryland Chasseurs. The sampler was made when Agnes was 8 years old. The presence of the Quaker motifs may indicate that she attended a Friends school or that her teacher had been educated in one. It's also possible that these motifs had entered the mainstream of sampler design by then. Agnes didn't marry and died in 1838. Baltimore City Deaths & Burials 1834-1840 indicate that she is buried in the First Presbyterian Cemetery. Worked in silk on linen, the sampler is in excellent condition. It has been conservation mounted and is in a molded and painted frame. Sampler size: 17" x 16짜.!'' Frame size: 19" x 18짜.!'' Price: $4200.
Lydia Cummings, Winchendon, Massachusetts, 1824 Eleven-year-old Lydia Cummings worked this very good, small sampler in Winchendon, the town in north central Massachusetts where her family resided. She was born in 1813, the youngest of seven children of Isaac Cummings and his wife Betsy (Emery) Cummings. The Cummings family was amongst the early settlers of Massachusetts and the subject of The
Cummings Memorial, A Genealogical History of the Descendants of Isaac Cummings, an Early Settler of Thpsfi.eld, Massachusetts. In 1844 Lydia married Andrew Beard, a farmer from Palmer, Massachusetts in the southern part of the commonwealth, where the family settled. They became the parents of at least one child, Andrew, born in 1846. Lydia died in 1861. The sampler features alphabets, a full inscription which includes the town name, an interesting horizontal band and a series of narrow borders. Worked in linen on linen, it is in excellent condition with very minor loss. It has been conservation mounted and is in a painted frame. Sampler size: 8" x 12짜.!''
Frame size: 10" x 14짜.!''
Price: $1900.
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M. Finkel e:s Daughter.
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Sophia L. Richardson, Cornish, New Hampshire, 1831
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Sophia Louisa Richardson stitched this sampler at the age of eleven ("in the 12th year of her age") under the tutelage of Joann Cumings, as she so notes in her inscription. It has an appealing freshness with excellent color; the alphabets were stitched in fine black silk and the other colors are pink, green and peach. The verse reads: "Then I'll not be proud of my youth or my beauty I Since both of them wither and fade I But gain a good name by performing my duty I This will scent like a rose when I am dead." This is the last verse of a poem entitled The Rose by the oft-quoted Dr. Isaac Watts. Two lovely trees stand in bright green to the right of the verse, and Sophia stitched a fine garland of large pink blossoms on a leafy vine below, tightly nestled between the verse and the sawtooth border of her work. Sophia Richardson was born in 1820, the third of eight children of Amos and Sophia (Cummings) Richardson, as noted in the History of the Thwn of Cornish, New Hampshire, by Wm. H. Child. Amos was a prominent citizen in Cornish, a productive farmer and a deacon of the Baptist Church, who represented the town in the State Legislature in 1847. Sophia was noted to have filled her time with educational work. She didn't marry, and died at age 62 in 1882. Sophia's teacher, Joann Cumings, was likely a relative on her mother's side. She was born in Nottingham, New Hampshire, in 1806 and the Cummings Genealogy, published in 1904, indicates specifically that she was a school teacher prior to her marriage in 1835. She married Cyrus Burge of Hollis, New Hampshire, and they raised six children there. The sampler was worked in silk on linen and remains in excellent condition. It has been conservation mounted and is in a fine beveled cherry frame. Sampler size: 15%" x 17W'
Frame size: 19W' x 20%"
Price: $4200.
M. Finkel as Daughter. AMERICA'S LEADING SAMPLER AND NEEDLEWORK DEALER
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Martha Lincoln, Leominster, Massachusetts, 1811 While unfinished samplers aren't always of great interest, we are pleased to offer this one, made by Martha Lincoln at age 14.1t is the second known sampler made by the same samplermaker. The first was in the Theodore Kapnek Collection and is illustrated as figure 52 in A Gallery of American Samplers: The Theodore H. Kapnek Collection by Glee Krueger. Martha worked that sampler in 1806 and included the name of her town, Leominster, which is north of Worcester. They are very similar sampler, with the same cut-cornered center square formed of satin stitched diamonds, surrounded with extraordinarily lovely vines of leaves and flowers. The alphabets and verse are the same, as well. On our sampler Martha worked a fine basket of flowers from which the vining borders emanate. Mary Jaene Edmonds, in Samplers and Samplermakers: An American Schoolgirl Art 1700-1850, shows the 1816 sampler by Laura Murdock of Leominster as figure 17, another of the same group. Once again, the sampler presents the same composition, the same verse and the same borders. Born to Capt. Ephraim and Eunice (Richardson) Lincoln, Martha was born June 6, 1797, the last of their four children. The Leominster vital records published much information about this family. Martha didn't marry and died there in 1849. The sampler was worked in silk on linen and has been conservation mounted into a painted frame. Sampler size: 11 %" x 11 W'
Frame size: 13%" x 13ÂĽ.!''
Price: $4800.
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M. Finkel as Daughter.
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Needle Book worked by Ann Coleman, American, circa 1832 Along with samplers and other large needlework projects, girls often made pincushions and needle books, which were embellished with pictorial embroidery. This charming little book, with several little "pages" of wool inside, was decorated with two different exotic birds, with metallic beads for their eyes, sitting on branches of flowers or berries. 'Worked by Ann Coleman abt 1832," is written in pencil on the inner leaf of one cover. It measures only 3 by 2 inches. Price: $375.
FCC, Plain Sewing Samplers, European, circa 1850 These two samplers demonstrate the plain sewing techniques of buttonhole making, mending and pattern darning. Well into the 19th century schoolgirls were taught practical sewing skills, and in some cases worked small samplers to prove their competency. Quite obviously, practical sewing was very important to young ladies as they anticipated running a household. The maker initialed her work in the center of a mended square of the smaller sampler. Worked in silk onto glazed cotton, the samplers are both in excellent condition and have been conservation mounted together into an oak frame. Frame size: 14W' x 9%"
Price: $1200.
M. Finkel as Daughter. AMERICA'S LEADING SAMPLER AND NEEDLEWORK DEALER
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Mary Smith, England, 1768 We very rarely encounter a sampler, English or American, which is unlike any other known example. Mary Smith's extraordinary sampler is comprised of eight fully-worked miniature scenes, each stitched with great proficiency and remarkable workmanship. The subject of each vignette is an idealized vision of country life, depicting gentlefolk busy at tasks and at play in a bucolic world. This genre was popular with needleworkers as early as the 17th century when imagery of everyday life in the country began to appear. Kathy Staples, scholar and author of
British Embroideries Curious Works from the Seventeenth Century (The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, 1998), discusses ladies and gentleman at leisure in the countryside, and this particular sampler reminded her of the following delightful early traditional English folk song: It's a rosebud in June, and the violets in full bloom; I And the small birds are singing love songs on each spray. I We'll pipe and we'll sing, love, I We'll dance in a ring, love, I ltWzen each lad takes his lass, I All on the green grass. I And it's oh, to plough, I ltWzere the fat oxen graze low, I And the lads and the lasses to sheep shearing go. The needleworker may have intended the eight little narratives to tell one story or may have planned each to stand on its own. Some of the more intriguing portrayals include the gentleman at the upper right contemplating his reflection in a pond and, two below that, the cottage with an owl above it under the moon and stars, which were worked in couched metallic threads. Agreat assortment of buildings are shown, including little huts, windmills, churches, manor houses and a cathedral. Barges, bridges, gazebos, archways and many little animals and birds provide further detail, rendering this sampler a veritable catalogue of 18th century pictorial sampler design. Fine checkerboard bands worked in the satin stitch separate the vignettes and a border of classic mid-18th century design frames the sampler well. The maker, Mary Smith, signed and dated her work in delicate red stitches worked into the border at the center of the bottom. It was worked in silk and metallic thread on wool and is in very good condition with some very minor areas of wear. It has been conservation mounted into a mahogany frame with an outer bead of gold leaf.
(detail)
Sampler size: 17W' x 12" Price: $14,500. AMERICA'S LEAD! csAMPLERANDNEEDLEwoRKDEALER
Frame size: 21" x 15W'
M.Finkei6S Daughter.
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detail of sampler by Mary Ann Worman, page 23
detail of sampler by Ann Rodeback, page 14
detail of sampler by Kittura Dillion, page 17
M. Finkel ~ Daughter. AMERICA's LEADING sAMPLER AND NEEDLEwoRK DEALER
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detail of sampler by Rhoda Wooters, page 6
detail of sampler by Nancy Whitcomb, page 18
detail of sampler by Maria Beyerle, page 15
'G- ~.fPLER A.' \0 :\'EEDLEWORK DEALER
M. Finkel as Daughter.
SELECTED NEEDLEWORK BIBLIOGRAPHY Allen, Gloria Seaman. Family Record Genealogical Watercolors and Needlework. Washington, DC: DAR Museum, 1989. A Maryland Sampling: Girlhood Embroidery,1738-1860, Maryland Historical Society, 2007. Bolton, Ethel Stanwood and Coe, Eve Johnston. American Samplers. Boston: The Massachusetts Society of the Colonial Dames of America, 1921. Browne, Clare and Jennifer Wearden. Samplers from the Victoria and Albert Museum. London: V&A Publications, 1999. Edmonds, Mary Jaene. Samplers and Samplermakers, An American Schoolgirl Art 1700-1850. New York: Rizzoli, 1991. 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, Pa, 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. Quaker School Girl Samplers from Ackworth. Needleprint & Ackworth School Estates Limited, 2006. Ivey, Kimberly Smith. In the Neatest Manner: The Making of the Vrrginia 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, Massachusetts: Old Sturbridge Village, 1978. Parmal, Pamela A. Samplers from A to z. Boston, Massachusetts: MFA Publications, 2000. 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. Staples, Kathleen, This Have I Done: Samplers and Embroideries from Charleston and the Lowcountry. Curious Works Press and the Charleston Museum, 2002. Studebaker, Sue. Ohio Samplers, School Girl Embroideries 1803-1850. Warren County Historical Society, 1988. Ohio Is My Dwelling Place. Ohio: Ohio University Press, 2002. Swan, Susan B. Plain and Fancy: American Women and Their Needlework, 1700-1850. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1977.
M. Finke16i Daughter. AMERICA's LEADING sAMPLER AND NEEDLEwoRK DEALER
Conservation
ounting 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-by-step 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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Re-fit 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 TruVue Conservation Clear glass which blocks 97% of the harmful ultraviolet 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.
detail of sampler by Mary Smith, page 33
detail of sampler by Sally Thomas, page 19
AMERICA'S LEADING SAMPLER AND NEEDLEWORK DEALER
M. Finkel as Daughter.
detail of sampler by Ruth Wells, page 25
est. 1947
M. Finkel ~ Daughter. AMERICA'S LEADING ANTIQUE SAMPLER & NEEDLEWORK DEALER
936 Pine Street. Philadelphia. Pennsylvania. 19107-6128
215-627-7797.800-598-7432. fax 215-627-8199 www.samplings.com