Rare needlework sampler, Lydia Melvill Ingraham, Newport, Rhode Island, Dated 1764

Worked in silk stitches on a linen ground; with bands of alphabets in the upper register, the lower register with a tall brick house, three young women visible in the windows, at center inscribed, Lydia Melvill Ingraham Her sampler Work/td the Leventh year of her age.  The Pinks will fade and The Time Weather But a Virtuous min/d Will Bloom forever.  LMI 1764; the whole with an angular border.

Descended in the family of Lydia Melvill Ingraham to the present owner.

Some minor loose threads on the extreme edges, a series of small losses on the extreme edge where the sampler was attached to the tambour frame, some minor discoloration, but the colors of the silk threads still strong.
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.

Lydia Melvill Ingraham was born circa 1751 in Newport, Rhode Island, she died in East Pierrepont, New York, August 29, 1824.  She was the daughter of Timothy Ingraham and Mary West Ingraham and was baptized at Trinity Church in Newport in 1753.  Her father was one of the founders of the Newport Association of Mechanics and Manufacturers.  She married Job Winslow, a Mayflower descendant, in Dartmouth Massachusetts in 1771 and later moved to Pierrepont, New York. 

It is possible that Lydia's sampler was worked at Sarah Osborn's School in Newport.  She advertised in the Newport Mercury, December 19 and 26 in 1758 and 1759.

For further discussion of Newport samplers and Sarah Osborn, see Betty Ring, Let Virtue Be a Guide to Thee, Needlework in the Education of Rhode Island Women, 1730 – 1830, The Rhode Island Historical Society, Providence, Rhode Island, 1983.

For comparison a discussion of Newport samplers, see Betty Ring, Girlhood Embroidery, Vol. I, p. 176, fig. 200 for Sarah E. Pope's sampler.