Rare Needlework Sampler, Phebe Brown Sayre (b. 1812), Newark, New Jersey, 1823

Worked with silk and metal threads on linen in eyelet, chain, queen and cross-stitches. Inscribed: Phebe B Sayre's work aged 11 years September/20th/Newark 1823. Some minor stains and losses. 19 by 13 1/4  inches. (26 threads to the inch).

See catalogue note at sothebys.com

Stain to center and lower edge, frayed and lacking edge.
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, p. 130, fig. 62

Phebe Sayre's sampler was designed by a rather uninspired schoolmistress. The prosaic style, drawing heavily on traditionally popular needlework alphabet forms, is conspicuously similar to examples worked in hundreds of private boarding schools for girls along the eastern seaboard, from Maine to Virginia, during the first quarter of the nineteenth century. The most common sampler pattern, the strawberry border, edges three sides of the sampler. Although the remaining strip of border design along the bottom consists of a more interesting double serpentine vine, the building, picket fencing, birds, and tree patterns are all reminiscent of samplers worked in the vicinity of the Delaware Valley. The hot-air balloon, however, is an unusual element. A sampler worked in 1835 by Caroline Eliza Sayre of Newark has recently surfaced.¹ Although there is no evidence to substantiate the theory, the girls may have been related. While the format of the two samplers varies, the similar placement and design of the trees, fencing, and the two dogs within the pictorial scene may suggest a common bond. The same schoolmistress may have been responsible for tutoring both girls. The youngest of five children, Phebe Brown Sayre was born in 1812, the daughter of Samuel Sayre and Rebecca Southwell of Newark, New Jersey. Her father, a mason, was a man of considerable wealth.² After the death of her parents, Phebe lived with her sister, Joanna M. Murray, and Joanna's daughter, Mary Jane, until she married Charles Mattoon, March 26, 1857, when she was forty-five years of age.³ 

 

1. The Sayre sampler was in the Kapnek collection and is now in a private collection; see Krueger, Gallery of American Samplers, 79. 

2. Thomas M. Banta, The Sayre Family: Lineage of Thomas Sayre, a Founder of South hampton (New York, NY, 1901),374. See also Estate Records, Newark, New Jersey, January 27,1840. 

3. Federal Census, Newark, New Jersey, 1850. See also Marriage Records, Newark, New Jersey, handwritten by Rev. J. B. Condit, Family History Library of the Church of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Salt Lake City, UT. See also Banta, Sayre Family, 374.