Rare Needlework Sampler, Mary A. Richards (1814-1873), Jaffrey, New Hampshire, Dated 1825

Worked in silk threads and crinkled silk floss on linen in satin, padded satin, outline and cross-stitches with hem-stitching. Inscribed: Family Record/Mr Luther A. Richards born/sept. 26 1785/Miss Mary Page born/June 8 1794/Luther Richards & Mary Page married July 5 1813/Mary Adeline born Jan 1 181[4]/Roderick Streat born June 22 18/15/Abijah born APril 10 Died APril 18/1817/Luther Abijah born APril 12 1818/Sarah Ann born June 15 1820/Amanda born August 7 1822/Harriet born Oct 1 1824/Huldah Hopkins born APril 13 ?/M When I this little record see/I think how haPPy it would be/If Pa and Ma should live to say/Our children walk in wisdoms way/And when the Parting stroke is come/And they and we are called home/May we all meet in heaven above/And sing Redeeming grace & love Mary A Richards AE 11 1825. 19 3/4  by 19 inches. (24 threads to the inch).

Just Us on Court, Tuscon, Arizona, March, 1980

Somewhat darkened.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Exhibited and Literature: LACMA, pp. 80-81, fig. 32

The family record sampler flourished in private schools for girls during the second quarter of the nineteenth century. A surprising number of such samplers have recently surfaced, attesting to the increased popularity of this form of embroidery, particularly in northeastern Massachusetts, southern New Hampshire, and around Portland, Maine. Prized for their genealogical information, these embroideries have provided collectors with a precious art form that is distinctly American in concept. Genealogical samplers worked earlier in the century, such as those made by Louisa Plympton (fig. 21) in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, and Mary Ann Goodrich (fig. 37) in Wethersfield, Connecticut, were skillfully conceived but more pictorial in style. With the exception of the exquisite Hanson sampler from Portland, Maine (fig. 35), family register embroideries worked during the last years of the 1820s consisted primarily of a list of finely cross-stitched inscriptions covering a central panel, which was framed by a wide border of distinctive floral patterns. Accordingly, it is within these characteristic border motifs that comparisons may be made and groups of related pieces assembled. Evidence of this kind will eventually lead us to the identification of the schoolmistresses and perhaps then to the location of the schoolrooms in which these remarkable samplers were made. Mary Richards's sampler border, for example, is embellished with specific flower shapes, such as the ivory and old-rose, full faced blossoms with carefully scalloped edges, small sprays of dotted strawberries, and padded, bell-shaped flowers in bright blue silk. Marianna Hornor, in The Story of Samplers, identifies an identical sampler stitched by Sarah Blanchard "in Jaffrey, 1829."¹ The flower-strewn borders on these two samplers are fundamentally the same, which indicates that both girls attended the same, as yet unidentified, school in Jaffrey, New Hampshire.² A similar border appears on the sampler worked by Dolly Yalding of Alstead (fig. 33) in 1824. While the samplers are dissimilar stylistically, such evidence indicates that these embroideries were born in separate, but probably nearby schools. To this date, the classrooms have not been located, although they were both, most likely, found in Cheshire County, New Hampshire, in the vicinity of Jaffrey. Although Mary's sampler is inscribed "1825," additional information has been added, including the birth date of her sister, Huldah, born 1827, and of her brother, Mark-an unfinished "M" on the sampler-born 1828. Empty space was customarily left on genealogical samplers so that the maker could update vital information, such as births and deaths, in the manner of the family Bible. Mary Adeline Richards, the daughter of Mary Page and Luther Abijah Richards of Waterbury, Connecticut, was born on January 1, 1814, in Westminster, Windham County, Vermont, the first of thirteen children. She married Hobart Victory Welton in 1834 and died in 1873.³

 

1. The Blanchard sampler is in the collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, PA; see Marianna Merritt Hornor, The Story of Samplers (Philadelphia, PA: Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1971), 41. The relationship of these very distinctive border flowers was brought to my attention by Betty Ring. Her astute observation may lead to the attribution of many New Hampshire samplers worked in the first half of the nineteenth century to schoolmistresses active in the town of Jaffrey. I am indebted to her for assistance. 

2. Ibid., 41. 

3. Family Record Archives, Family History Library of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, UT. Information regarding the birth date of Mary Page is incorrect, according to the sampler.