Object Name: Sampler
Object ID: 1940.013.02
Creator: Webster, Emily (1809-1882)
Place of Origin: New Chester, NH/Hill, NH
Date: 1822
Description: Sampler. Made by Emily Webster (1809-1882), New Chester, NH; 1822. Embroidered with silk twist and floss on loosely woven linen ground. Top half of sampler has six alphabets: first, large block capitals worked in squares of cross stitches in cream; second, block capitals worked in pale tan Algerian eye stitches; third, block capitals worked in pale blue squares of satin stitches; fourth, script capitals worked in cream cross stitches followed by numbers one through nine; fifth, small-scale block capitals in cream cross stitch; sixth, lower-case letters in pale tan cross stitch. The lines of alphabets are separated by decorative line designs worked in a variety of cross, herringbone, and satin stitches in shades of cream and blue. Below the alphabets is the inscription, "Emily Webster's Sampler Wrought July 1822 New Chester." The lower half of the sampler features a verse: "Teach me to feel another's woe / To hide the fault I see; / That mercy I to others show, / That mercy show to me. / Save me alike from foolish Pride, / Or impious discontent / As ought thy wisdom has deny'd / Or aught thy goodness lent." Below the verse is a swag centered with a bowknot. On the left side is a vase of flowers; the lip of the vase is worked with a checkerboard pattern and the body has a floral design. On the right is a cornucopia filled with flowers over a hillock with a bird and flowers. The inked drawing below the embroidery is visible in some areas. Stitches used include long-and-short, chain, satin, French knots, and cross stitches in shades of pale blue, green, and cream. All four sides of the sampler are hemmed. Verse from Alexander Pope (1688-1744), The Universal Prayer, 1738.
Material: Textile
Silk
Linen
Dimensions: H-18 W-18 inches
Provenance: Made by Emily (Webster) Webster (1809-1882), grandmother of the donor, Edith Livingston (1868-1949).
Emily Webster was the niece of Daniel Webster, being the daughter of his sister Sarah, b. 1784. She married her cousin Ebenezer Webster in 1808.
Credit Line: Gift of Edith Livingston
People:
Webster, Emily (1809-1882),
Pope, Alexander (1688-1744),
Livingston, Edith (1868-1949)
Subjects:
Birds,
Flowers