Sampler by Mary Pitcher

Date1823 (dated)

Maker Mary Pitcher (1814-1866)

MediumSilk embroidery threads on a linen ground of 25 weft by 26 warp threads per inch (identification of fibers by eye)

DimensionsFramed: OH 23" x OW 19 7/8" Actual (by sight): OH 19 1/2" x OW 16 1/8"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number2004-119,1

DescriptionThis is a needlework sampler worked in shades of blue, dark blue, green, black, ivory and rust (originally may have been redder) silk embroidery threads on a natural color linen ground. The sampler is hemmed at top, bottom and left side and has selvage at right side.
The top half of the sampler consists of:
"A-J" upper case block worked in eyelet stitch
Band of eyelet stitch
"K-R" upper case block worked in eyelet stitch
Decorative band of double-stacked eyelet stitch
"S-Z" upper case block worked in eyelet stitch
Band of herringbone stitch
"A-L" case script worked in cross stitch
Band of herringbone stitch
"M-U" upper case script worked in cross stitch
Decorative band of triple-stacked cross stitch
A large band consisting of a stylized undulating vine of buds and flowers.
Decorative band of triple-stacked cross stitch
The bottom half of the sampler consists of a verse encircled by a realistically worked scrolling vine of leaves and flowers. The original inked outline for the scrolling vine can be seen in some areas. A bird on a hillock flanks the vine on each side. The verse reads:
Teach me to feel annothers [sic] woe/
To hide the faults I see/
That mercy I to others show/
That mercy show to me"
(Note that the "w" is worked oddly.)
Below this is a sawtooth band worked in cross stitch and the signature line: "Mary Pitcher sampler done in the 9th year of her age 1823." Below the signature line is a sawtooth band worked in cross stitch.
The sampler is enclosed on all four sides with an inner Greek key border, middle border of stylized undulating strawberries, leaves, and vine, and outer borders of cross stitch and hem stitch at top, bottom, and left side.

Stitches: chain, cross (over one and two threads), eyelet, hemstitch, and herringbone
Label TextIn comparison to her 1822 practice sampler, Mary Pitcher's 1823 piece is decorative, more complex, and includes a larger variety of stitches. It demonstrates the progression of a schoolgirl's needlework skills. Born on December 14, 1814, Mary Pitcher was the second of six children of Henry and Elizabeth Lufberry Pitcher. Her father, a shipwright, lived in Kensington, a small town northeast of Philadelphia on the Delaware River. The family had moved to Portsmouth, Virginia by 1840.

The verse, "Teach me to feel another's woe" is excerpted from Alexander Pope's The Universal Prayer, which was originally published in 1738.

Inscribed"Teach me to feel annothers [sic] woe/
To hide the faults I see/
That mercy I to others show/
That mercy show to me"
ProvenanceThis sampler was sold by M. Finkel & Daughter to Nancy Newhard Melton Ray in 1998. Recently the sampler was resold by Mrs. Ray to M. Finkel & Daughter, who offered it to CWF.

History of Maker:
"On December 14, 1814, Mary Pitcher was born, the second of six children of Henry and Elizabeth (Lufberry) Pitcher of Kensington, which at the time was a small town just northeast of Philadelphia on the Delaware River. Henry Pitcher was a shipwright, listed in the city directory compiled in 1821 at an address at Queen and Bishop Streets, near the waterfront. That was the last year that this family was recorded as living in the Philadelphia area; they subsequently moved to Portsmouth, Virginia, where Henry Pitcher continued to work as a shipwright." "The Pitcher family bible, dated 1840 from Portsmouth, Virginia, records the births and further indicates that Mary married a man named Gale and died on May 11, 1866." (Samplings: A selected offering of antique sampler and needlework. Vol. XIV, M. Finkel & Daughter, p.2.)

At the age of seven, Mary Pitcher worked a simple alphabet sampler (G1999-22) with the inscription, "Mary Pitchers Sampler/done in her 8th Year 1822."
Mary's younger sister, Elizabeth Pitcher (b. January 6, 1820, d. January 20, 1856) worked an alphabet sampler (G1999-23) in 1828 with
the inscription, "Elizabeth Pitcher/Work done in the 9 Year/ of age 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9."