Why do sampler titles use girls' names?

Because the girl signed her work. Samplers were a school exercise, and the stitcher put her name and usually a year into the cloth, so the dealer's title has nothing else to use. The same handful of forenames keeps coming round. Mary appears in 22 titles, Ann in 17, Sarah in 9 and Elizabeth in 8.

Are any samplers by known makers?

No. The only names on these pieces are the schoolgirls who stitched them, and they aren't makers in the workshop sense. Where an attribution goes beyond a forename it's usually a school. Nine titles name one, among them Ackworth Quaker School, Cobham School and Oswestry National School.

How old are most samplers on Sellingantiques?

The nineteenth century dominates. Eighty-nine listings carry a dealer period of 19th Century, with 52 Georgian, 27 Victorian and 19 given as 18th Century. The range is wider than that at both ends. A band sampler catalogued as late 17th or early 18th century sits at one extreme, and a George V Jubilee sampler of 1930 at the other.

What subjects turn up besides alphabets?

Maps are the biggest alternative, sixteen titles, mostly England and Wales with two of Europe. Dated examples run from 1780 and 1783 through to around 1840. Pictorial work covers houses, animals, Adam and Eve, the Tree of Life and royal motifs. One-offs include a leopard, a pocket watch, Solomon's temple, a darning sampler and a French lace sampler.

Do samplers come in pairs or sets?

More often than you'd expect. Eleven titles are plural, covering pairs stitched by sisters, two family groups of three, and a pair of friendship samplers. Groups sit in the upper half of the range. Scale works the same way, with "large" appearing in eleven titles.

Is everything framed?

Almost. Framed samplers are the norm, and "framed" or "frame" appears in 34 titles between them, with maple, oak, rosewood, mahogany, walnut and burr walnut all named. A minority are unframed or mounted in something else. One Regency mahogany pole screen has a sampler set into it.

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Antique Samplers

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A framed panel of schoolgirl needlework, worked in silk or wool on linen, stitched to show that a child had learned her letters, her numbers and her needle.