Sampler
EmbroidererEmbroidered by
Prudence Maria Hollister
(American, born 1828)
SchoolTaught at
Miss Cornwall's School for Young Ladies
(American, mid 19th century)
DateJuly 1840
MediumEmbroidery; silk threads on a plain-woven, undyed linen ground
DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (height x width of ground): 14 x 14 1/4in. (35.6 x 36.2cm)
ClassificationsTextiles
Credit LineBequest of Martha R. Lambert
Object number1979.68.255
DescriptionSampler worked in medium greens, medium browns, red brown, light browns, rust, black, and cream silk threads on a plain-woven linen ground in cross stitches. The sampler is squarish, oriented horizontally. It is laid out with six rows of three alphabets and the numbers 1 through 16, over an inscription, over a horizontal band of pictorial motifs at the bottom. The inscription is "Prudence Maria Hollister was born March 31st 1828 and marked/ this at Miss Cornwalls School in Glastenbury July 1840.". The horizontal band of pictorial motifs includes, from left to right, a tree, a large two-story brick house with a center door, and two trees. A fence runs horizontally on both sides of the house. Certain lines of alphabets, numbers, and text are separated by various narrow, meandering borders. The sampler has a wide berry and vine border on all four sides.
The sampler has a 2/8-inch double-turned hem on the top, bottom, and right side edges, and a selvedge at the left edge. The sampler is not framed.
Letters and Numbers: There are three alphabets and the numbers 1-16. The letters are uppercase script in alphabet 1, uppercase block in alphabet 2, and lowercase block in alphabet 3. The letters J and U are present in all alphabets. Four letters are repeated twice in the first alphabet: H, R, S, and Z; five letters are repeated twice in the second alphabet: CMNQS.
Stitches: The principal stitch on the sampler is cross stitch over two threads; it is also worked in cross stitch over one thread.
Condition: The sampler has minimal to moderate fading, depending on the color. The sampler is not framed.
The sampler has a 2/8-inch double-turned hem on the top, bottom, and right side edges, and a selvedge at the left edge. The sampler is not framed.
Letters and Numbers: There are three alphabets and the numbers 1-16. The letters are uppercase script in alphabet 1, uppercase block in alphabet 2, and lowercase block in alphabet 3. The letters J and U are present in all alphabets. Four letters are repeated twice in the first alphabet: H, R, S, and Z; five letters are repeated twice in the second alphabet: CMNQS.
Stitches: The principal stitch on the sampler is cross stitch over two threads; it is also worked in cross stitch over one thread.
Condition: The sampler has minimal to moderate fading, depending on the color. The sampler is not framed.
Label TextPrudence Hollister attended Miss Anna Cornwall’s School for Young
Ladies in Glastonbury, a school that can be tied to at least a dozen other
works. Prudence’s neat, square design, with a bottom pictorial panel,
is typical of Connecticut samplers from about 1825 to 1840, although
atypically, there is no verse or pious saying.
Like many earlier sampler makers, Prudence depicted a Georgian-style
brick house, with double chimneys, corner quoins, a stone foundation,
and a picket fence, which is hard to see now because of fading. Three
trees (perhaps Lombardy poplars, the most popular ornamental tree in
late eighteenth–early nineteenth-century New England) complete the
landscape vignette, their asymmetrical arrangement creating a pleasing
rhythm.
Ladies in Glastonbury, a school that can be tied to at least a dozen other
works. Prudence’s neat, square design, with a bottom pictorial panel,
is typical of Connecticut samplers from about 1825 to 1840, although
atypically, there is no verse or pious saying.
Like many earlier sampler makers, Prudence depicted a Georgian-style
brick house, with double chimneys, corner quoins, a stone foundation,
and a picket fence, which is hard to see now because of fading. Three
trees (perhaps Lombardy poplars, the most popular ornamental tree in
late eighteenth–early nineteenth-century New England) complete the
landscape vignette, their asymmetrical arrangement creating a pleasing
rhythm.
Status
Not on view
