An English sampler from the collection of The Shelburne Museum, England.

This sampler is an excellent example of the transition that occurred in sampler making between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

Retaining the long, narrow band format, the emphasis is more on lettering and verses than a pattern record or compendium of elaborate and varied stitches and techniques. A limited number of stitches are used to execute the sampler: cross, eyelet, and counted thread satin. The vivid colour was reproduced from the virtually unfaded back side of the sampler. The verses are:

Christs Arms do still stand open to receive
All weary prodigals that sin do leave
For them he left his Father's blest Abode
Made son of Man to make Man son of God
To cure their wounds he life's elixir bled
And dy'd a death to raise them from the
Dead
Fragrant the rose is but it fades in time
The violet sweet but quickly past the prime
While lilies hang their Heads and soon decay
And whiter snow in minutes melts away
Such and so with'ring are our early joys
Which Time or sickness speedily destroy

Kit contains 40 count linen, silk or cotton thread, needle and instructions.

FINISHED SIZE: 9-1/2"x16-1/2"

Scroll down to see a picture of the original 1748 sampler.