Antique Samplers

AGNES WILSON 1819 Scottish sampler made in St. Andrew’s, stitched with silk threads of fine linen beginning with a verse: Let not soft slumber close mine eyes * Before I’ve recollected thrice * the train of actions thro the day * where have my feet chose out thair way * What have I learn’d where’er…

ISABELLA JAMIESON 1843 This Scottish sampler has been stitched with wool threads on a linen ground in a variety of stitches including cross, satin, eyelet, and buttonhole. Two doves perch atop a simple house in the lower half. Stylized alphabets, numerals and family initials cover the top half. The deep shadow box frame, in fair…

BARBRA SCOTT circa 1820 Scottish sampler stitched with wool and silk on linen, featuring a large illuminated alphabet, family initials, as well as spot motifs of peacocks, a rooster and a hen, and potted shrubs. Stitches used include cross and double running, in a palette primarily red and green. The color and condition are very…

ANN THOMAS 1823 An American sampler stitched with silk thread on homespun linen with cross, eyelet, petit point and counted satin stitches, with a four sided Greek key border and various horizontal geometric pattern bands and alphabets. The color and condition are very good to excellent (no holes) and it is framed in what is…

WILLEMIENA AALPOEL 1810 Wonderful Dutch sampler with a four sided border enclosing many traditional symbols and motifs including a crowned swan, peacocks, rampant lions, parrots, Adam and Eve beneath the tree of life, as well as a little hunting scene at the top center and elaborate flowering pots at the bottom. The newer gilded frame…

ISABELLA ARMSTRONG AGED 8 YEARS DATED 1850 English sampler featuring a very large rendition of Solomon’s Temple, fronted by gates topped with lions and geometric patterns. It has been stitched with wool on linen with a four sided border. The sampler is not framed. The color and condition are both very good. It is executed…

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…