Antique Samplers

MARY ANN MYERS 1832 An English sampler stitched with wool and silk on linen with a beautiful four sided floral border centering alphabets, numerals, attributions, flowers, butterflies, birds, a verse, and Adam and Eve under the tree of life. The color is excellent, the condition good with some thinning and splits to the linen in…

MARGARET GOWER 1825 Unframed English sampler of very distinct and unusual design with a carnation band across the top and a stylized depiction of Solomon’s Temple at the bottom.  Quirky, wonderful details include a hunting scene with a huntsman and dog taking aim at a stag, flying cherubs in blue tunics, floating swans, and a…

English sampler stitched on fine tammy with a four-sided floral border surrounding a verse and a female allegorical figure identified as the virtue of “Prudence”.  She is flanked by baskets of flowers. The verse is:WISDOMOne thing I ask and wilt thou hearAnd grant my soul a gift so dear?Wisdom descending from above;The choicest token of…

An English sampler stitched with silk threads on a fine tammy (wool) ground, with a three-sided floral border (the fourth border possibly missing), including two rows of alphabets and numerals, stitched in cross and petit point stitches. Flanking the verse are two images of Solomon’s Temple, trees, and birds. The verse:THE LOVE OF PRAISEOf all…

Executed in gros and petit point stitches with fine wool and silk threads, this needlework vignette illustrates one of Aesop’s fables. It has been conservation mounted in a new frame. It is in excellent condition. The panel itself measures 9-1/2″ square, with the frame it is 13-1/2″ square.

Elizabeth McLean 1853 Possibly Scottish sampler executed in wool and silk on homespun tammy (wool) cloth, consisting of a strawberry border surrounding an inner reserve with nine rows of alphabets and numerals, as well as groups of initials such as “MMcL” and “EMcL” presumably members of the McLean family. The primary colors used are red…

A late Stuart petit point picture (circa 1650-1690) depicting the story of Samson and Delilah. Here Delilah has removed Samson’s hair which was supposedly the source of his great strength.  Curiously this rather violent scene is surrounded by a contented cow being milked by a milkmaid, a bull,  three sheep, and a shepherd playing his…

ELIZABETH BRACKNER 1864 Probably an English sampler, this has been stitched with wool on linen in unfaded and brilliant colors, with three alphabets and two verses. The scene depicts two children surrounded by oversized flowers, birds and butterflies. Apart from one horizontal split to the linen toward the bottom the sampler is in excellent condition,…

CHRISTIAN FISHER A Scottish sampler, circa 1800 This is a spectacular Scottish sampler with a four-sided floral border surrounding a vast reserve that encompasses two houses and an amazing array of human, animal, and botanical motifs.  Across the top is an arcaded band of stylized flowers, each one of the eight executed differently.  Below this…

CONTINENTAL SAMPLER, unsigned, circa 1850 Two rows of alphabets and one row of numerals are executed in cross stitch with wool on coarse linen in this primitive sampler. The symbolic depictions of a windmill, ladder, basket, celestial forms and a church suggest a continental origin. A woman in a blue dress stands in the lower…

SARAH FINCHETT, circa 1810 The sampler is probably American, made in Liverpool (possibly New York) by the daughter of John and Ellen Finchett. On homespun linen, stitched with silk threads, a four sided floral border encloses a verse and a scene with a large brick house flanked by flowers, trees, a black dog,and a black…

ENGLISH BAND SAMPLER circa 1680-90 The sampler consists of nine finely stitched pattern bands stitched with silk on linen, in a palette of three alternating colors, with an alphabet at the bottom. Stitches used are mostly double running stitch, with some cross, montenegrin cross and seeding. The sampler is in excellent condition with some fading…