Mary Preston 1791

Description

MARY PRESTON 1791
A Philadelphia sampler

This sampler made in Philadelphia, PA, is a wonderful example of the work taught by seamstress and teacher Ann Marsh (1717-1797) who taught needlework to the daughters of wealthy Philadelphians in the eighteenth century. Ann was taught by her mother, Elizabeth, and produced many extraordinary works throughout her life, passing her skills along to her pupils. Her style included samplers that featured nine (or sometimes twelve) compartmentalized rectangular vignettes enclosing verses, genealogical information, stylized pine trees and floral and bird motifs.

A nearly identical sampler to Mary’s (this), including the same format (alphabets above nine compartments) and verse, was made by Elizabeth Ann Whiteside in the same year, 1791, and was sold by Stephen and Carol Huber, a pair of very well known specialists in New England samplers. That one can be referenced online at the Huber’s website if you are interested in its history –
https://antiquesamplers.com/samplers/Whiteside,-Elizabeth-Ann.htm

Mary Preston’s parents were Thomas and Sarah Preston. She was born in 1779.

This verse reads:
Through all the gentle sliding hours
May Truth and Virtue be my Guide
Nor soft temptation find a Power
To draw my steady soul aside
May I with Innocence and Peace
Thy tranquil moments spend
And when the toils of life shall cease
With calmness meet my end

The sampler has suffered some deterioration but has been stabilized. Stitches used include cross, eyelet, petit point, French knots and counted satin. The needlework itself measures 16-1/4″ x 13-1/2″, with the frame (not original) it measures 18-3/4″ x 15-1/2″