A perfect example of the sort of sampler I love--one filled with personality, completely radiating the hand and humanity of the girl who made it, in this case surely quite a young one. Just look at those completely wonky wavering free-hand lines separating each row of letters, and then the back to back repetition of certain letters- SSS, UU, WWW, YY--as if the second or third try would be the charm. And brown thread for just a few, disrupting the blue of the rest. It seems quite possible the last two rows were samples done by a mother or teacher as examples, or to finish it off--or else out girl improved significantly as she went along. This one makes me very happy.
Framed as found, behind glass in a grain painted frame where it has lived a long time: 12 3/4" x 13 1/2" framed. Stains and toning as evident; if this were a different sort of sampler they might feel detracting, but to me at least in this case they feel quite right. Mid 19th c. or so, I believe.
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