Miniature Sampler
Periodca. 1820 - 1840
MediumPlied and single strand silk thread on cotton
Dimensions4.63 × 4.13 in. (11.7 × 10.5 cm)
SignedThe sampler contains the inscription "Forget Me Not. Annie."
ClassificationsNeedlework
Credit LineGift of Mrs. Julia Hartshorne Trask, 1946
Object number2084.49
DescriptionA small square sampler of tightly woven plain white cotton worked in plied and single silk threads in what were originally shades of bright deep royal blue, rich dark purple, grape, lavender, bright grass green, soft rose, and ivory white, many now faded. All embroidery appears to be done in cross stitch. Along the top of the sampler runs a 1/4 inch upper case alphabet, from A to S on the first line and T to Z on the second, immediately followed by a 1/4 inch lower case alphabet from a to o and p to z on the third line, followed by a numeral set 1 through 9 and 0, with four tiny circles as spacers. Centered in the lower two-thirds of the cotton panel is a large floral wreath above a floral basket. Situated just above the wreath is a tiny basket on the left and a small crown on the right. Below the two central motifs is the inscription "Forget / me not. / Annie." To the left of the central elements, roughly from top to bottom, are a sprig of blue flowers, a crouching cat, a swan, a cross and vine, a dog, a blue basket with flowers, and an urn with a single white flower. To the right of the central elements are a spray of white flowers, a parrot on a post, a cross and vine, a cat, flowerpot and flower, and a stepped diamond panel. The sampler has no border, and the cotton edges have been hemmed on all four sides.Curatorial RemarksThis miniature sampler was most likely created as a token for a friend or loved one. Small needlework gifts such as bookmarks, needle books, and embroidered panels were created and given as presents, sometimes in commemoration of a parting. "Forget me not" was a popular motto on such items, but other phrases such as "Farewell Dear" and "A Token of Remembrance" were also used frequently in both Great Britain and in America. It is not clear whether the "Annie" embroidered along the bottom of the sampler was the maker of the gift or its recipient as there is a period after "not." The creator of this extraordinary and diminutive memento used traditional cross stitch, but on closely woven cotton, and in many areas used a single strand of silk thread. Some of the ornaments are so small as to be almost microscopic. The tiny cat to the right of the inscription, for example, is just three-sixteenths of an inch wide. What appears to be silver or gray embroidery silk on the obverse is actually a vivid rich purple on the reverse. Although the token's maker included two crosses within her design, it does not necessarily imply that she was Catholic. By the late 1830s, the Church of England had reinstated some of the Roman church rites and emblems, creating strife between high church and low church Anglicans.
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