Sampler Sale

Folwell silk picture click to enlarge "I Have Lost My Way" is the gilt inscription on this fine Philadelphia Folwell School silk picture. This subject may be unique as we have not seen it before. The piece is worked in silk, paint, and ink on silk and is in exceptional condition. The back of the frame retains pieces of the wallpaper backing seen on many examples from this school. The stretcher, frame and glass are all original with minor repair to gilt decoration and touch up to the black paint on the glass. 1790 - 1820. PRICE: $3,500.00

Judith Gehman antique needlework sampler click image to enlarge A Pennsylvania German sampler worked by Judith Gehman and dated 1846. This skillfully executed centered type Lancaster County needlework is probably Mennonite and shares many motifs with examples shown in Hersh, Samplers Of The Pennsylvania Germans, figure 6-39 and 6-40. Excellent condition and fully conservation mounted. 13" wide X 14" high overall. PRICE: $2800.00

1747 antique darning sampler click image to enlarge A very early Dutch darning sampler dated 1747 and worked in red, green, gold, white and blue silk on a linen background. Excellent condition, fully conserved and mounted in a reproduction frame with UV glass. 14" wide X 13" high sampler size. PRICE: $2,000.00

New England Memorial, antique needlework click image to enlarge A lovely antique New England memorial picture, circa 1810-30. This colorful embroidery is worked in silk, paint and ink on silk. It is in excellent condition and has been conservation mounted in a period frame. 14 1/4" x 11 1/4", needlework size.  PRICE: $2400.00

Tidball antique needlework sampler click image to enlarge A very important Allegheny County, Pennsylvania sampler worked by Sarah Tidball, niece of the well known needlework teacher Mary Tidball. This sampler is illustrated on page 43 of the Westmoreland Museum 2007 catalog "Made In Pennsylvania: A Folk Art Tradition" and is also pictured on the catalog cover. There are scattered repairs, minor stitch loss but good overall condition. Fully conserved with UV glass and later frame.  PRICE: $13,000.00

Peggy McClure antique needlework sampler click to enlarge A pristine and colorful Quaker band sampler worked by Peggy McClure in 1809, probably Pennsylvania. Many popular Quaker motifs were stitched on this needlework in a variety of bright colors. This piece must have been tucked away in a drawer protected from the elements. The condition is perfect and the sampler has been fully conserved and mounted in a reproduction period frame. 7 1/2" wide X 21 1/2" high sampler size.                              PRICE: $1800.00

Gulielma Thomas chester County sampler click image to enlarge A sophisticated and historically interesting Chester County, Pennsylvania extract sampler worked by Gulielma Thomas, great granddaughter of Isaac Thomas, the well known eighteenth century cabinetmaker. The sampler was stitched with great skill at the school of the celebrated instructress  Elizabeth Passmore who is discussed in Betty Ring, Girlhood Embroidery, pages 398 -99 with pictures on page 401 showing similar motifs and embroidery style to this needlework. The entire ground surrounding the verse is covered with colorful flowers, birds and butterflies. The sampler is in excellent condition with one small patch at the upper left border. It has been fully conserved and mounted in a reproduction mahogany frame with conservation glass. 20" wide X 14" high sampler size. PRICE: $2,500.00

Philadelphia antique needlework sampler click to enlarge A good Philadelphia sampler worked by Elisabeth Nicholas and dated 1800, a smaller version of the tree lined stepped terrace group attributed to the schools of Mary Zeller, Hannah Keegan and others. This needlework has the same strawberry border, the wide floral band across the top and some of the motifs as pictured in Betty Ring, page 362, fig. 384 and attributed by her to Zeller. Excellent condition and fully conserved in a reproduction walnut frame. Records show an Elisa Nicholas born in 1787 and living in the Northern Liberties of Philadelphia. PRICE: $ 2,800.00

Sarah Sellers antique needlework sampler click to enlarge A colorful nineteenth century Bucks County, Pennsylvania house sampler worked in wool on linen by Sarah Sellers in 1845. Also named is H. Walker and Maria S. Fisher who may have been instructors. This needlework is in excellent condition with a small darned area at the upper right border. It has been fully conserved and mounted in its original frame. 14 1/2" wide X 18 1/2" high sampler size. PRICE: $2500.00

kyrk antique needlework sampler click to enlarge A well executed and colorful sampler, possibly Scottish  worked by Harriet Kyrk, age 12 years in 1822. Harriet also stitched the name of her instructress Rebecca Brown. This sampler is in excellent condition and is fully conserved. 16 1/2" wide X 17" high sampler size. PRICE: $2400.00

Lititz Moravian school click to enlarge A fine silk on silk memorial embroidery worked at the Lititz Moravian girls school by Francis Roberts, Sacred to the memory of her father William Roberts. This needlework was remounted on a new backing  in the late nineteenth or early twentieth century and is installed in its outstanding original Philadelphia water gilded frame and glass. The school, now called Linden Hall has been in continuous operation since the eighteenth century. 19" square sampler size. PRICE: $9,000.00

miller antique needlework sampler click to enlarge A colorful Pennsylvania sampler worked by Martha Miller and dated 1806. This rural needlework combines an early Philadelphia central floral motif with designs from Lancaster and Cumberland Counties. Fully conserved and mounted in a reproduction frame. 15 1/2" wide X 21" high sampler size. PRICE: $1500.00

Massachusets silk memorial click to enlarge An anonymous Boston Massachusetts silk on silk mourning scene in memory of Deacon Jo. Friend, died February 25, 1785, aged 67. The painted angel and the embroidery style is identical to examples in Betty Ring, Girlhood Embroidery, pages 82 and 83. This needlework is in excellent condition and remains on its original mount. The frame and glass are reproductions. PRICE: $ 3,800.00

Philadelphia Union School sampler click to enlarge A very rare, possibly unique Delaware Valley sampler signed "Lydia Noble's work, Philadelphia Union School, 1818".This carefully worked piece is in excellent condition with no losses. It contains many motifs and designs found in other examples from around the city. Our initial research has not as yet produced any information about the school. We have found Lydia's genealogy and Philadelphia birth records. Fully conserved. PRICE: $ 5,500.00

Chester County antique needlework sampler click to enlarge A very good Chester County sampler worked by Jane Beale in 1816. The needlework quality and the exceptional condition combine to make this piece an outstanding example. Along with the many local motifs seen on this needlework it is surprising to see a narrow split band running across the top above the text. Designs of this general type are mainly found on samplers from the Boston area. This sampler was never exposed to the elements. The silk thread and the background linen are bright and colorful. The sampler is fully conserved and mounted in a reproduction frame. PRICE: $4,500.00

SOLD

Fenton antique needlework sampler click image to enlarge A very good eighteenth century Pennsylvania house sampler worked by Mary Fentun (Fenton) at the age of nine in 1789. This work has numerous motifs found in Delaware Valley samplers of the period including pine trees, the stylized floral urn, the Georgian mansion and colorful peacocks. The misspelled words and backwards letters add charm to this piece and may indicate that Mary copied the text and did not know how to read or write. Mary was baptized in Bucks County at the Low Dutch Church Of Southampton. She was the daughter of Cornelius and Mary Shaw Fenton both of whom died when she was still a child. Her grandfather, Dr. Joseph Fenton,Jr., a surgeon during the Revolutionary war, became her guardian. Excellent condition, fully conserved and mounted in a reproduction frame. Fenton family background accompanies this needlework. PRICE: $ SOLD This needlework was exhibited at the "Stitches In Time" Mercer Museum Needlework Collection exhibit, Fall, 2012, Doylestown, Pa.

Ashbridge Chester County Sampler click to enlarge A very early and important Chester County band sampler worked by Hannah Ashbridge and dated 1731. This small treasure is the earliest known signed and dated sampler from this county and is also among Pennsylvania's first needleworks. Hannah was born in Goshen on Feb. 26, 1715 to George and Mary (Malin) Ashbridge and was one of ten children. Hannah embroidered the initials of her grandparents, her parents and all of her siblings on this wonderful piece. Very good condition, fully conserved and mounted in a custom reproduction frame. A full genealogy accompanies this sampler. Price: SOLD

Philadelphia Antique Needlework Sampler click to enlarge A large scenic Philadelphia needlework worked by Elizabeth Jolley in 1824 and recorded in the landmark text American samplers by Bolton and Coe, page 181. This exceptionally well executed work is similar to examples in Betty Ring, Girlhood Embroidery, pages 366-368. Conservation mounted in its original gilt frame and glass. PRICE: SOLD

Westtown sampler click to enlarge A very early Quaker sampler worked by Sarah Saltar in 1802 when she was attending the three year old Westtown Boarding School. Sarah entered school in the fifth month of 1801 and the school first opened in the fifth month of 1799. Her home was Shewsbury, New Jersey. The needlework is in excellent condition and fully conserved mounted in a period reproduction frame. 12 1/2" wide X 12" high sampler size. PRICE: SOLD

Chester County Purse Cover click to enlarge  A very colorful Chester County, Pennsylvania wool on linen panel, circa 1770. This piece is the colorful cover of an unfinished pocketbook and is almost identical to a finished example in the collection of the Chester County Historical Society. PRICE: SOLD

Hubbel antique needlework sampler click to enlarge A large and impressive Delaware Valley sampler worled by Mary Hubbell in 1826. This sampler is part of a group worked by both Bucks and Montgomery County makers from 1790 to 1830. The location of a school and teacher is unknown at this time and it is possible that several locations are involved. The stylized floral border, the vase of flowers and the terraced lawn are all seen in other Delaware valley examples. Excellent condition and fully conserved. PRICE: $SOLD

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