FAMILY HISTORY DOCUMENTS (for sale)

(Latest update of this page - 6/9/2010)

I have a selection of Samplers for sale,  many of which I have conserved by hand-sewing the Sampler onto either natural unbleached Irish linen, or raw silk and mounting this onto museum quality board before having it framed and glazed (using the original frame where possible). If you are interested in making a purchase, I can email a photograph of a particular Sampler to you. Note: The prices quoted DO NOT include the cost of postage and packing. A number of my Samplers are for sale at Woburn Abbey Antiques Centre see www.woburn.co.uk/antiques

81/6 - A.......... - A simple but striking undated Victorian Sampler worked in thick wool on a coarse cloth by Naomi (probably the letters “NHA” following the alphabet are her initials). “By this you see what care my parents took of me”. Naomi’s Sampler is possibly typical of the thousands of now lost examples made at the “penny” schools. She was not given fine quality cloth, or silks to sew with, and probably not expert tuition, but she obviously felt her parents would be pleased with her achievement. The edges of the Sampler were turned under and hemmed, then a piece of different fabric was neatly over-sewn to the back - possibly by Naomi. It has now been conserved by being hand sewn onto  Irish linen before being framed and glazed. £165

148 - Andrews - An attractively presented Map Sampler of the late 18th, or early 19th century, embroidered (to a design in use from the 1780's) by E Andrews. Worked on a finely woven cloth, the names of the counties and principal rivers of England & Wales are embroidered in minute black cross-stitch. The map is surrounded by a colourful garland of carefully embroidered flowers ~ to include rosebuds, jasmine, cornflowers, carnations and fuchsia. Framed & glazed. £345

 154  - Ashton - Sampler dated 1790 incorporating an unusual design, meticulously embroidered by Mary Ashton at Louth. She used a fine almost transparent gauze fabric ~ and sewed her Sampler with silk threads in tiny cross stitch, satin stitch and stem stitch, including The Lords Prayer and three verses from St John, Ch 1, surrounded by a wide floral border. Framed & glazed. £495

128 -  Bailes - An extremely attractive Sampler sewn by Mary Ann Bailes and dated September 11th 1840. The silks chosen by Mary give her Sampler a glowing golden effect, and her design is reminiscent of the style being sewn about 70 years earlier (even to the omission of the letter "J" from the alphabet) Did Mary perhaps copy a family heirloom Sampler? Embroidered on a very fine cloth, mainly in tiny cross stitch, but with the first alphabet & numerals in Algerian Eye stitch, with the rosebuds highlighted by satin stitch, close inspection reveals that each flower, bird and jardinière were carefully sewn in a number of shades giving a subtle sophistication to her work. This Sampler has been conserved by being hand sewn onto raw silk, before being replaced in its original Birds eye maple frame. £795

24 - Julia Bird stitched her Sampler in 1890 "To my Mother". She used the popular sentiment "Home Sweet Home" as her theme, and included motifs of - Mother standing at the door of the home, kettles, and pet dogs as well as a number of birds - a reminder of her surname, perhaps. This Sampler has been conserved by being hand sewn onto natural unbleached Irish linen, before being framed and glazed.     £355

152a Brown - Helen Kinnear Brown didn't date her Sampler, but the style suggests it was sewn in the late 18th, or early 19th century, and it has a 'Scottish' or 'North of England' feel to it. The row of initials ~ probably of close family viz: 'RB', 'AB', 'MB', 'HB' ~ was a feature of these areas. The other initials could relate to those of her friends, classmates and, or teachers. Helen used fine, colourful wools for her cross stitch, and Algerian Eye stitch producing a neat and pleasing effect, which though slightly faded, remains in very good condition. Framed & glazed. £215

52 - Checketts - 1858 Sampler by Eliza Checketts age 9 worked in muted blues and beige giving the "soft" effect often associated with faded colours - but in this instance, they are the original shades. It exhibits not only exquisite needlecraft, but also an eye for detail unexpected in a girl so young. Eliza has inserted a differently designed "fancy" row between each row of letters or numbers. Intriguingly, it is unfinished. Eliza started to work with a red thread towards the end of the bottom line! Why this sudden alteration to her colour theme? Had the school run out of the colours of her choice? Did she intend to unpick the red thread?  This sampler has been conserved by being hand sewn onto raw silk, before being framed and glazed. £445

69 - Curnow - An impressive Sampler dated 1887, meticulously cross-stitched by Nellie Curnow in wool, which gives it a rather sumptuous effect - especially the large bowl of flowers. It was made during Queen Victoria’s Jubilee Year, but as well as featuring crowns and stars, Nellie chose to include Paul Pry, a character invented by John Poole for his comedy of the same name, introduced on stage in 1825 by the leading comic actor, John Liston. Paul Pry caught the public’s imagination, remaining popular, and being revived as late as the 1890’s. Several porcelain factories produced figures of him. Nellie was the sixth child of James W Curnow and his wife, Elizabeth. The family lived at Mawgan in Menage, in Cornwall, where James worked as a cordwainer. Nellie was already attending school when the 1881 census was prepared - she was four years old. This sampler has been conserved by being hand sewn onto raw silk, before being framed and glazed. £385

114a - Curtis -This unusual Sampler, within its period birds eye maple frame, was sewn by Mary Ann Curtis in 1841. She used a single weave canvas as the ground for her wool-work embroidery in a variation of Oblique Gobelin stitch to create attractive floral borders in the 'Berlin' style, with the inclusion at the top, of an exotic bird (its beak defined in Petit Point), and at the centre bottom, a Chapel on a hillside, surrounded by trees, and a girl in a red skirt walking towards the Cross in the foreground. The rhyme, sewn in extremely fine Cross stitch is entitled 'The Sampler '. £ 360

138 - Faulknor / Faulkner - An attractive and finely embroidered Sampler inscribed "Francis Faulknor born December 16 1811", worked in coloured silks on a pale ground. A number of motifs including animals, birds, flowering plants & a small ornate building surround a verse, all sewn in minute cross stitch and enclosed within a birds eye maple frame.  £465

163 Hannah Fielden sewed her Sampler when she was 12 years old in 1837 using some unusual features - such as her 'wider than normal' border which consists of a continuous trailing branch of realistic rosebuds. A morality rhyme is positioned between floral motifs, also worked to a more realistic design than the usual 'geometric' flowers found on Samplers. A house, with its brickwork cleverly delineated, is embroidered at the bottom - perhaps representing Hannah's home or school. A very attractive piece, worked in cross stitch, with a little tent stitch - in excellent condition, framed & glazed. £375

119b - Mary Frances Hatton was only 10 years old when she completed her Sampler in 1823. Mainly embroidered in exquisitely tiny cross-stitch, she enhanced some areas with satin stitch. Mary must have enjoyed sewing, because she filled her fabric with as many motifs (which include 21 birds - of various breeds such as owls, peacock, pigeon and 3 buildings - possibly garden features on a Family Estate) as she could. She chose a verse seen on a number of other samplers. This Sampler has been conserved by being hand sewn onto natural unbleached Irish linen, before being framed and glazed. £ 645

89 - Jane Holton was very accomplished with her needle. She worked this beautiful Sampler on finely woven cloth using coloured silks, mainly for exquisitely tiny cross stitch, but with the addition of a saw tooth border & a zigzag row of crosses, in satin stitch, and a second, more fancy alphabet & row of numerals in Algerian eye stitch. It is an archetypal example embodying all the features one would hope to find in a Sampler dated 1796. This Sampler is in the frame made for it when it was first sewn - borne out by a piece of paper (between the Sampler & backboard) watermarked “G R 794” - George Regina 1794. The Sampler has been conserved by being hand sewn onto natural unbleached Irish linen, & the piece of fragile watermarked paper was replaced with it in the original frame. £ 765

81/1 & 2 - H....... - This small alphabet Sampler has been carefully worked by “S H” at the age of 14 in 1812 sewn in cross stitch, using a selection of colourful fine woollen yarns on a coarsely woven cloth. She included a single motif, in the form of a basket of flowers. This Sampler has been conserved by being hand sewn onto natural unbleached Irish linen, before being framed and glazed.
H....... - This Sampler with the initials “J M” to the left of the basket of flowers is something of a mystery ! It is extremely similar to (and was purchased with) the 1812 Sampler by “S H”, and careful examination of the two damaged letters before “Aged 18” look as if they were originally “M H”. Could two sisters have sat side by side sewing their Samplers to the same basic design? The date is shown as “18”. Did it remain unfinished? - or was it unpicked? Was the row of numerals worked by a different hand? - that of “J M” ? - note the different style of letters. It has been conserved by being hand sewn onto natural unbleached Irish linen, before being framed and glazed.  £340 (both together).

99 - Elizabeth Lawton finished this large complicated Sampler at the unbelievably early age of 10 years, showing the high standards which were achieved by young children, and not only her skill with the needle, but sense of design, ability to count the minute threads (necessary to fit all the features symmetrically within the carnation border) and above all, patience! Worked with a mixture of geometric and realistic designs (note the small birds flying above the temple) in fine, coloured threads, almost entirely in cross stitch - but with an eye-catching central band of satin stitch depicting the garden in front of The Temple of Solomon. Elizabeth did not date her work, but depictions of the Temple of Solomon on Samplers seems to have been a popular subject between 1815 & 1840, and the two styles of script she has used were also prevalent during this period. Similar roses & diamonds were worked on Samplers of the late 1830’s. The faux rosewood and gilt frame has been dated to the 1840’s, and is possibly the frame made for this Sampler at the time Elizabeth finished it. It must have made a very impressive feature for her proud parents to display. £465

169 - Laing - Sewn in 1886 in an unmistakeably Scottish style, Annie Laing of Skene used brightly coloured wools of varying thickness to make her large Sampler on an open  double weave pale canvas. She included family initials, likely to have been those of her parents, siblings & (probably) grandparent [they are "JEAL . JACL . AL . JL . JL . WL . EL . BD" and a depiction of Castle Forbes set in a garden, in addition to various motifs, alphabets & numerals. The whole is surrounded by an unusual border of scrolling waves. The Sampler itself is in excellent condition, but there is some damage to its (probably original) frame. [Kirkton of Skene & Lyne of Skene lie a little to the west of Aberdeen.]   £125

112a Millner - The skill that 10 year old Sarah Millner demonstrated with her needle has to be seen to be believed. This Sampler, sewn on a fine pale woollen cloth was finished in 1794, and time has not looked after it too well. There are a number of moth holes, and other damage to the edges, and the once bright silks have faded - but for all that, it has a beauty of its own. The border is different from any I've previously seen - being  a straight row of perfect satin stitch in green, forming a 'stem', with attached small pink buds, and leaves. Her finely embroidered alphabets and numerals are in both Algerian Eye and cross stitch, underlined with a band of closely worked Algerian Eyes (another unusual feature). The Lords Prayer is underlined by another satin stitch row and followed by motifs sewn in minute cross stitch. Below are three separate homilies, edged with painstakingly worked flowering plants and birds. This sampler has been hand-sewn onto raw silk and mounted on Museum quality board, ready to be framed and glazed. £295

88 - Part - This sampler by Elizabeth Part was once amongst Anne Sebba’s collection. (Anne was the author of ‘Samplers, Five Centuries of a Gentle Art’). Elizabeth sewed it when she was just 9 years old, in 1803, using cross stitch on a fairly closely tabby woven cloth, which would have made the counting of the threads quite a challenge - but she took extreme care, especially as it is composed almost entirely of writing, with a small selection from the standard sampler motifs embroidered down each side. Framed & glazed. £415

113 - Price - A bright, attractive Sampler sewn in 1880 by Ellen L Price aged 12 years. Legislation in 1876 made education compulsory, and it was probably at one of the new ‘Board’ Schools that Ellen embroidered her Sampler on Penelope canvas using a medium thick wool . Her work was very neat, and she chose the verse ‘Remember now thy creator in the days of thy youth’ followed by a Dove carrying an olive branch. Framed in faux walnut.   £125

124 - Seaton - It is not just the shape of Sarah Seaton's attractive Sampler dated 1815 which is unusual - but also the method of her embroidery. Her floral and ribbon border and the boughs beneath the verse appear to be mainly of tambour work (a chain stitch made by using a special hook, which was introduced to Europe from the Orient late in the 17th century and became very popular for use on fine muslins.) Sarah positioned the usual type of cross-stitched sampler motifs symmetrically, but also included a large central pineapple (representing hospitality) , flanked by a very realistic stag, and spaniel embroidered in minute petit point. In period birds eye maple frame.  £495

114b - Steelfox - A large George IV Sampler in excellent condition, meticulously worked by Mary Steelfox in 1826 in cross stitch, using silk threads on a linen ground. The verse surrounded by a floral border and a number of motifs, including Adam & Eve with the Serpent coiled around the Tree of Knowledge, Solomon's Temple, a house and other buildings - one possibly representing Mary's school. Flowers, birds and bowls of fruit are also featured. This Sampler has been conserved by being hand sewn onto pure unbleached linen,  before being framed and glazed. £825

82 - Summers - An attractive William IV Sampler worked in Algerian eye and cross stitch in fine silks by Sarah Summers, with the date 1832 in both Roman and Arabic Numerals. In addition to the alphabet, she embroidered the first three verses of Psalm I above a pretty floral band probably representing honeysuckle. Framed & glazed.  £375

83 - Tyson - A George III Sampler by Mary Tyson, finished 29^th August 1809. Worked in colourful fine wools on a medium linen ground, with alphabets and numerals and trailing floral bands above the motto “Learn to live as you would wish to die” all embroidered in tiny cross stitch. Framed & glazed.  £225

102 - Naomi Wilkin sewed her very fine Sampler in 1837, at the age of 14, filling almost every available space with motifs - so many that you seem to see another each time you look at it - and so it is likely that she enjoyed her embroidery rather than doing at as a chore. It is symmetrically planned and beautifully sewn in miniscule cross stitch using brightly coloured threads. Her short verse is probably a reference to the ever present threat of the death of young children in England at that time. Framed & glazed.  £325

87 - Ruth Wrigley embroidered her sampler on a single open-weave canvas in 1838. She planned it very carefully, making it almost, but not quite, symmetrical, and leaving no spaces. Using muted coloured silks and just cross stitch, she nevertheless created different textures by the alteration in the spacing of the stitches, and the mingling of shades. The quality of her embroidery was superior to that of her spelling. This sampler, which has remained in excellent condition, has been edged with lace before being framed and glazed.    £695

79 - Unknown - A beautiful example of one of the much sought after “Adam and Eve” samplers worked with silk in delicate cross stitch on fine linen. One is forced to wonder what stopped the girl who embroidered this Sampler so exquisitely, from finishing it. It was obviously treasured, and has remained in good condition, retaining the original bright colours in which it was sewn. Unfortunately, we will never know her name. From the fabric, and style of fine sewing, it would appear to date from the late Georgian period. The figures of Adam and Eve, the ‘Tree of Life’ emblem, the flower urns and the surrounding strawberry border being worked to an almost identical design as another Sampler bearing the date ‘1819’. Remaining in its original frame. £525

86 - A charming silkwork picture dating to the Georgian period, in a birds eye maple frame. Exquisitely embroidered with stranded silks and chenille threads - the latter being ‘couched’ onto the surface to create a very realistic impression - especially of the weeping willow (a tree introduced into Britain in the early part of the C18^th ). Some of the flowers and leaves have been worked on separate fabric and applied to the surface of the silk to give a raised effect. £225

111 - A C19^th embroidery of black and sepia tinted silks upon a silk ground with watercolour painted sky details, worked by an extremely accomplished needlewoman to a very artistic design featuring a rural landscape with excellent 3D effect. Framed & glazed.  £465

70 - Early C19^th oval Needlework Picture of a woman kneeling beneath a tree & holding a sheaf of corn, set in an open landscape. Hand embroidered in wool on a silk ground, with painted facial, skin, hair & sky details. Framed & glazed.   £215