Complete Listing of
Antique Samplers Available
from The Scarlet Letter

Without the inspiration generated by the needlework of our foremothers, THE SCARLET LETTER would not exist. Textiles are a more intimate and socially revealing antique than objects made of wood, glass, or clay. Their production necessitates many hours of rumination and close touch, they bear witness to not only the social struggles of the needleworker's historic environment but also the personal hurdles encountered daily, situations that have become alien to modern women: making soap, grinding grain for flour for the daily bread, weaving for days to create the cloth with which to make a simple chemise, or sampler. Health issues, marriage issues, isolation, cleanliness, things as mundane as knitting stockings and keeping the stock water from freezing, all this, and still there was time to be creative with the needle, and to have fabricated works of lasting beauty and significance. These designs are the raw inspiration of this needlework studio. We buy them to listen to their stories, learn from their technique, and be uplifted by their artistry. The other side of the story is that they are then offered for sale to you, modern day needlewomen, who will cherish them as we have.

Listed below is our current selection of genuine antique needleworks for sale, some of which have been reproduced as kits/patterns, some of which have not. All items are guaranteed to be authentic antiques. If you are interested in a particular piece and require more information, Marsha Parker can be contacted at samplers@scarlet-letter.com for more information. All items listed are subject to prior sale.

Please click on the name to see more detailed information, photos and prices of each item. Note; In most cases, you can see a larger version of the photographs by clicking on them. Some of the photos  appear a bit whitish because of glare on the glass

1833 Silkwork Sampler by Matilda Ann Charles.
Framed in a modern maple frame with gilt slip and glass. Stitched over card dust cover. The sampler is worked in silk on linen ground, in cross stitch throughout. Meandering floral border. Colours dark green, cream, light brown, gold and pink. A good set of motifs, including Adam & Eve standing either side of the tree of life with a snake coiled around its trunk, a dog, birds, stags, flowers and thistles 16.5ins by 12.5ins wide

SARAH BROWN 1834  This English sampler is a memorial to her deceased brother. It is framed in an old- possibly original- mahogany frame with gilt slip and glass. The sampler is stitched with silk on linen, entirely in cross stitch. It is packed with motifs including a cathedral a lion, stars, birds, fruit baskets, fir trees, hearts, a crown, flowers, insects, acorns and potted flowering plants including a bold and beautiful four sided undulating floral border.

JANET CARSELS 1787
A fine Scottish sampler exhibiting many traditional characteristics including elaborately illuminated lettering, bold color primarily red and green, flower-trees, and family initials. A delicate four-sided floral border executed in double running and satin stitch surrounds the central reserve with various flowering plants, trees, potted flowers, animals (dogs, cows, geese).
"GR3" at the center refers to the current monarch George the Third.

 

Elizabeth Cox, dated 1838 An English sampler
This beautifully preserved sampler retains its original, intense color, and exhibits a wide variety of stitches in its rendering of floral sprays and a bucolic scene, complete with a thatched cottage with mullioned windows, a garden folly, and fields of ripened grain. There is some minor wear to the background, but it has been professionally remounted, cleaned, and stabilized. In a period frame, it measures 15"x18"

Frances B. Jones, dated 1817 Burlington County, New Jersey
The sampler is stitched with silk thread on a loosely woven homespun linen ground. The Quaker "Extract" format is flanked by (we assume) the names of Frances' parents, while four sets of initials outside the verse cartouche might be those of a teacher, a friend, or another relative. Stitches used in the sampler are cross, counted satin, and Queen. 22"x22"

Margaret Logan English, circa 1825
Margaret Logan's pictorial sampler displays an excellent composition which incorporates a fine house and garden scene with many sampler motifs and beautifully stitched lettering. The house sits on an interesting lawn with two distinct paths and a pair of leafy trees, with birds nestled into the branches. Additionally two enormous and wonderfully shaded roses flank the scene, with a dog, an owl and a pair of blue-bell flowers worked to provide further decoration. Lions, birds, stars, baskets of fruit, pots of flowers and trees also were worked onto this sampler.

Mary Ann Michell circa 1810
Very fine English pictorial sampler worked in brilliant polychrome silks on fine tammy cloth, with an unusual four-sided deeply undulating floral border surrounding a six-line verse and a pastoral scene with a thatched cottage in a landscape surrounded by trees. Professionally cleaned and conserved, excellent condition, 22-1/2"x19". 

ELIZABETH MITCHELL 1828

This American Quaker sampler was probably made in Pennsylvania. It is worked with silk on linen, dated 1828, with the text "Elizabeth Mitchell's Work aged thirteen years" surrounded by apposing flower and leafy vines crowned by facing birds. Typical Quaker motifs include eight point stars, a basket, bunches of grapes and naturalistic flower motifs, all bordered by an angular bud and leaf design. Colors used are several shades of green, gold, ivory, brown, peach and black more

Scottish Needlework Picture Circa 1750
This extraordinary silk needleworked picture, retaining almost all of its original bright color, was stitched using long and short satin, Queen, back stitches, and French knots. It depicts a Scots shepherd in kilt and tam, with his sheep crook, admiring a magnificent landscape that includes a Highland cow, and a fine bricked house. The trees fairly sway in the wind, and oversized birds swoop above. The workmanship is exquisite. The condition is very good and it is framed in a period mahogany veneer frame. 24"x19"

17?4 Silkwork Sampler by Susey Oliver. Framed in an old 'molded composition over wood' and gilt frame with rippled, old glass. Stitched to linen with wooden backing and brown paper dust cover. The sampler is finely worked in silk on linen ground, in a variety of stitches including Algerian eye. Meandering leafy border. 12.25 inches by 8.75 inches wide

Petite Point Floral Urn, circa 1740, English
This very finely stitched petit point canvaswork picture of a blue and white urn burgeoning with naturalistic flowers (carnations, tulips, periwinkles, daisies, chrysanthemums) was probably made as a chair back, or a fire screen. It is signed with the initials "MC". It has been professionally cleaned and conserved by Frances Faile, and is museum mounted within a new period style frame. The condition is excellent, as well as the color. 24-1/4"x21"

MARY PLATT 1835This unusual English memorial sampler features a chapel and a churchyard, and an elegy to Mary's deceased father. The sampler is worked with fine wools and silk, entirely in cross stitch, and is framed in an old black ebonized wood frame with a gilt liner.

Mary Poole 1828
The workmanship of this extraordinary sampler suggests an accomplished teacher, as well as an eager student. The scene in the lower third includes a thatched cottage and a barn with mullioned windows, fronted by verdant pastures, leading to a pond. The sampler has been professionally cleaned and conserved by Frances Faile, in its original gilded gesso frame, and is in excellent condition. Measuring 20"x21"

MARION ROBERTSON, 1834
A Scottish sampler
Framed in a 19th century mahogany frame, with gilt liner, this sampler has been conservation mounted on acid free board, with a chipboard dust cover. The sampler is worked in silk on linen, using cross, and eyelet stitches, with a meandering strawberry border. The colors are very strong, and the condition is good (with a number of very small holes, barely noticeable), with no staining. Family initials are stitched in the corners, characteristic of Scottish samplers, as well as wonderful motifs including the mansion house with a walled garden, dogs, birds, fruit trees, rabbits, peacocks, evergreen trees, potted plants, and fruit baskets. 16-1/2" x 12-1/4"

Scandinavian or German Whitework
Dated 1601, 22"x22" (33" by 33" with frame) 

Luise Schutz 1901
This darning sampler was probably made in Germany, and is executed with fine and coarse aniline dyed wools on a linen ground. The sampler has suffered some color bleed over the years. It has never been framed: the color bleed could be the result of having been stored in a damp place. The various stitches demonstrated across the top, and the complex pattern darns, show a high level of expertise. The sampler measures 12-3/8"x13-1/2"

Louisa Silver Smith, 1827 Aged 10 years
This English sampler is closely related to others, some in the collection of The Scarlet Letter, and surely was the product of a skilled and inspired teacher. Louisa Silver Smith's sampler has been professionally cleaned and conservation mounted, within its original gilded frame, It measures 21"x24"

L. WHITEAR 1816

This English silkwork sampler is stitched in a variety of stitches with a meandering floral border. The condition is very good, no stains, no stitch loss (other than to a few spots where there are small holes, that have been backed with matching linen so they are barely noticeable),