- Vermont Needlework Sampler, “MARGARET ALLEN BORN JUNE
THE 20 1721,” reported to be the earliest known Vermont sampler,
executed with silk threads on a linen ground, stitched with three
alphabets interspersed with geometric, scroll, and floral borders, the
lower register ornamented with a flowering vine, (toning, light stains), 12
x 9 in., in a later bird’s-eye maple frame.
Provenance: According to research provided by the consignor, the
sampler first changed hands publicly at a Brunswick, Maine, auction c.
- It was owned by Mr. and Mrs. James Marsh (now deceased) of
Prout’s Neck, Maine. James Marsh was the nephew of Mrs. James
Bailey who owned the sampler at the time (c. 1921) the sampler was
listed in the American Samplers publication.
Literature: This sampler is listed under samplers made between 1700-
1799, and from Vermont, in American Samplers, by Ethel S. Bolton and
Eva J. Cole, originally published by the Society of the Colonial Dames of
America, Boston, 1921, reprinted by Dover Publications Inc., New York,
1973, p. 29. On page 28, which lists the date of the earliest known
sampler from each state, Vermont’s is listed at 1728, the date of the
present lot.
$3,000-5,
7.
Needlework Family Record Sampler, “Wrought by Clarissa Hastings
Aged 13 1833,” Waitsfield, Vermont, silk threads on a linen ground
depicting a temple with columns and checkerboard floor enclosing the
vital statistics of Garingter Hastings (b. 1779), Hannah Olcott (b. 1784),
who were married March 7, 1801, and their thirteen children, flanked
by pious verses, with “Miss Susan McAuley Instructres” stitched above
the temple, large flower blossoms stitched in the upper corners, and
weeping willow trees in the bottom corners, all enclosed in a sawtooth
border, 17 1/4 x 17 3/4 in., in a later bird’s-eye maple veneer frame.Exhibitions: The First Effort of My Infant Hand: Early Vermont Samplers,
The Bennington Museum, June 1997–November 1997.Note: According to previous research and genealogy listed on the back
of the sampler, this Waitsfield, Vermont, sampler exhibits two distinctive
elements of the Waitsfield style samplers: the flowing vines which twine
around the columns, and the weeping willows flanking the temple; the
use of green and black threads was preferred by this school. Clarissa’s
instructress, Susan McAuley, is listed in the History of Waitsfield as a
teacher in Waitsfield.Clarissa Webb Hastings was born July 20, 1820, in Swanzey, New
Hampshire. She moved with her family to Waitsfield in 1822, where she
stitched the sampler. Her father bought a portion of a mill, and also
kept a tavern there for many years. On January 8, 1848 she married
Seymour L. Graves of Johnson, Vermont; she died in October of 1860.
$1,200-1,online bidding at http://www.skinnerinc.com 11