Images(2)

Sampler

Periodca. 1812 - 1818

MediumFine plied silk thread on linen

Dimensions16.88 × 9.63 in. (42.9 × 24.4 cm)

SignedThe sampler is signed "ELIZABETH TAYLOR DAUGHTER OF WI / LLIAM AND MARY TAYLOR WAS BORN D / DECEMBER THE 12 1804 E.T. HER SAMPLER."

ClassificationsNeedlework

Credit LineGift of Mrs. J. Amory Haskell, 1937

Object number1975.538

DescriptionAn elongated rectangular sampler of gauzy natural linen embroidered in fine plied silk thread in black, pale blue, pale caramel brown, and off-white. Several stitches are used, including cross, Algerian eyelet, box, and queenstitch. All four edges of the linen are hemmed. Along the top of the sampler runs a flowing floral and foliate border reminiscent of paisley. Below the top border, the entire sampler contains twenty rows of alphabets, verse, and signature lines. The first three rows contain a half-inch upper case alphabet, with A through M on the first line, N through X on the second line, and Y and Z on the third line, immediately followed by numerals 1 through 9 and 0, with the intials "E T" at the end. The next four lines contain a large 3/4 inch upper case alphabet, with A through H, I through P, Q through W, a second W through Z, immediately followed by letters A and B. Below these alphabets is the verse "MI [sic] HEART WITH WEEP / ING IS DISTREST [sic] MY EY /ES WITH TEARS RUN DO / WN NO SYMPATHISEING / HART [sic] CAN TELL THE F / EELING OF A MIND YE S / HRUBS AND PLANTS YE / CANNOT WEEP NOR HE / AR A SOAL [sic] COMPLAIN / ELIZABETH TAYLOR DAUGHTER OF WI / LLIAM AND MARY TAYLOR WAS BORN D [sic] / DECEMBER THE 12 1804 E . T. HER . SAMPLER." Along the bottom is worked a final half-inch upper case alphabet in a single row, from A through H.
Curatorial RemarksElizabeth Taylor stitched her alphabet sampler when she was probably between eight and eleven or twelve years of age. Several types of stitches appear on her linen panel, including the difficult to master queenstitch. It is the lively and lovely border across the top of the sampler, however, that sets Elizabeth's otherwise simple embroidery apart. Worked in beautifully contrasting colors of pale blue, light caramel brown, and off white, the pattern appears to represent a paisley-like design. The pattern, a stylized depiction of flowers and cypress leaves, originally appeared in Persian textiles. Finely woven shawls featuring the motif were imported from the Middle East and India. They were popular during the 18th and early 19th centuries in both Europe and America. By the early 19th century, Scottish weavers in the town of Paisley, Scotland, produced luxurious five-color shawls using the distinctive pattern, giving it the name by which it is best known. Sampler inscriptions were taken from numerous sources, including Biblical verses, poems, and popular hymns. Some verses were quite popular and appear again and again on both English and American samplers, while other verses appear only sporadically or rarely. The source for Elizabeth Taylor's own sampler verse, with its picturesque reference to shrubs and plants, has not yet been identified.NotesElizabeth Taylor was born on 12 December 1804, the second of twelve children of William Taylor (1777 - 1845) and Mary Metlar (1780 - 1867). The Taylors were residents of the Clinton area of Hunterdon County. They were interred in the old yard of the Bethlehem Presbyterian Church in nearby Grandin. Their daughter Elizabeth died on 8 August 1862, at the age of fifty-seven. If she ever married or where she was buried are not known at this time.

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