Sampler

Maker Catherine Knott Hall

Period1836

MediumPlied silk thread on brown linen ground

Dimensions16.5 × 17.63 in. (41.9 × 44.8 cm)

SignedThe sampler is signed "Catharine K. Hall Work Aged / 8 yrs 1836."

ClassificationsNeedlework

Credit LineGift of Mrs. John W. Mount, 1987

Object number1987.10

DescriptionA square sampler on a gauzy brown linen ground, worked with plied silk thread in medium green, light green, dark blue, light blue, red, light brown, and off white. The linen panel is hemmed along the top and bottom edges, with selvedge edges along the left and right sides. The upper portion of the sampler feature three sets of alphabets including a small half-inch upper case alphabet from A to W on the top line, finishing with X, Y, and Z on the second line, immediately followed by a lower case alphabet from a to z and numerals 1 and 2. On the third and fourth lines is a large one-inch Algerian eyelet stitch upper case alphabet from A through W. Below the alphabets is the signature line "Catharine K. Hall Work Aged / 8 ys 1836." On the lower half of the sampler is worked a charming pictorial scene. A large two-story house includes a center door with an arched fanlight, two small dormer windows in the roof, and two stubby chimneys along the ridge. The house sits on a small grassy hillock populated by two small animals (possibly a sheep and a dog) and tiny flower sprigs. The house is flanked by leafy octagonal trees and formal floral sprays in urns. A strawberry vine runs along the left, top, and right sides of the sampler. A small singular rectangle is worked near the bottom right corner between the grass and the strawberry vine, with remnants of a similar motif on the left, possibly indicating an unfinished portion of embroidery.
Curatorial RemarksCatharine K. Hall was eight years old when she completed her alphabet and pictorial sampler in 1836. She showed an aptitude for embroidery, judging from the even stitching and good thread tension throughout her work. Younger girls like Catharine were able to tackle and complete relatively complex embroidery pictures, particularly if their teachers recognized and encouraged their abilities. Not every girl had a talent for or even enjoyed embroidery, however, and some surviving samplers made by girls in their mid and later teens reveal uneven stitching, awkward design placement, and crude finishing. Catherine's extensive use of light silk embroidery threads creates an eye-catching contrast to the dark brown linen background.NotesCatherine Knott Hall was born on 5 March 1827 near Freehold, Monmouth County, to John Hall (1788 - 1881) and Rebecca Mount (1800 - 1879). Her father was a local farmer. Catherine married on 5 September 1843 to William V. Ward (1816 - 1866) of Hightstown. They had seven children. In 1852 the Wards moved to Freehold, where he first ran a clothing store and then became a general merchant. Mrs. Ward joined the Presbyterian church, and took an active role in all church work. The 1880 census indicates that by then her father had retired from farming and lived with his daughter's family on East Main Street in Freehold. Catherine Hall Ward died on 25 April 1892 at the age of sixty-five. She was interred in the family plot at Maplewood Cemetery in Freehold. The donor, Louise B. Mount (1898 - 1998), was the widow of her great-grandson John Ward Mount (1909 - 1980) of Long Branch.

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