Sampler

Date1800-1820

MediumSilk and crinkled silk embroidery threads on a linen ground of 28 x 34 threads per inch (fiber identification by eye) Wooden frame and glass

DimensionsFramed: OW 19 2/8” x OH 16 1/2” Actual (by sight): OW 17 3/4” x OH 15”

Credit LineGift of Beatrix T. Rumford

Object number2020-81

DescriptionThis is a framed, rectangular needlework sampler worked in shades of yellow, green, blue, brown, black, and white silk embroidery threads on a linen ground. The top third of the sampler contains the verse: “Fragnant [sic] the Rose is but it fades in time/ The violet sweet but quickly Pess [sic] their Prime/ White lilies hang their heads and soon decay/ And whiter snow in minutes melts away/ Such and so withering are our earthly joys/ Which time or sickness speedily destroys”. The “S” in “Such” is stitched backwards. The verse is flanked by two identical flowers. An arch of flowering vines encapsulates the bottom two thirds of the sampler, which consists of a green lawn that supports three blue and white containers with flowers. The two small containers to the left and the right sit on small brown tables; a black dog stands below the left-hand basket. Two birds stand to the right of the green lawn and a flowering vine grows upward to encapsulate the sampler on three sides. A Greek key border surrounds the entire sampler.
Stitches: couched, cross over one and two, half cross, satin

The sampler is in a modern, black frame.
Label TextThe unknown maker of this sampler likely completed it as a school exercise. In addition to learning sewing stitches, young girls also practiced their literacy skills while working a sampler.
Inscribed“Fragnant [sic] the Rose is but it fades in time/ The violet sweet but quickly Pess [sic] their Prime/ White lilies hang their heads and soon decay/ And whiter snow in minutes melts away/Such and so withering are our earthly joys/ Which time or sickness speedily destroys”
MarkingsAn inscription on the back reads: "For Mummiz/ With much lovz from/ Trixie/ Christmas, 1976/ Probably Pa./ but/ Found in Va."

A sticker on the back reads: "CUSTOM PICTURE FRAMING/ The Regina Shop/ Williamsburg, Virginia"
ProvenanceThe first recorded owner of this sampler was Mrs. H. V. Keebler of Montclair, New Jersey. The next recorded owner was Beatrix T. Rumford (b. 1939) who gave the sampler to her mother, Rose Clymer Rumford (1912-1998), on December 25, 1976. In 2020, Ms. Rumford donated the sampler to Colonial Williamsburg.