Sampler

Period1828

MediumPlied silk thread on linen

Dimensions19.75 × 21 in. (50.2 × 53.3 cm)

InscribedA scrawled pencil inscription is written on the backing board of the sampler frame, reading "Mrs. Garrick / Mrs. R. W. Garrick / 6 Park Ave / Bloomfield." An additional inscription has been simply scratched into the wood, reading "Mrs. R. W. Garrick / 6 Park A. / Bloomfield."

SignedThe sampler is signed and dated "Mary Ann Disbrow / Trenton / 1828."

ClassificationsNeedlework

Credit LineGift of Mrs. Robert M. Carrick

Object number2017.544

DescriptionA square sampler of gauzy dark brown linen, tacked to its original narrow pine strainer assembly, embroidered in plied silk thread in black, medium green, sky blue, golden yellow, tan, and off white. Cross stitch is mainly used, with two small areas worked in Algerian eyelet stitch.Centered along the top portion of the panel is a verse reading "A blushing Rose, so sweet and fair, / In all its beauty, caught my view; / But straight it vanish'd into air, / And in its place a Berry grew." Below the verse, inside an ovoid floral wreath, is the signature "Mary Ann Disbrow / Trenton / 1828." On either side of the verse and signature are pairs of triangular bracket elements, single feathered star motifs, and a large floral spray. Below the signature wreath is centered a handled floral basket, flanked on either side by small sprays of blue and white flowers and larger pairs of sprawling floral sprays. On the bottom portion of the sampler is centered a sturdy one-story house, with tall, narrow windows and centered front door. The hipped roof includes two dormer windows and is topped by two chimneys. A small picket fence brackets the house on either side. The house rests atop a grassy hill, with pairs of leafy trees on either side. In the foreground, a variety of birds and animals are depicted, including two small dogs, a pair of black chickens, a mirrored pair of blue birds, and two woolly sheep. Pairs of feathered stars float in the sky above the house. A scalloped meandering floral vine borders all four edges of the sampler panel.
Curatorial RemarksMary Ann Disbrow was only seven years old when she completed her sampler in 1828. It is somewhat unusual, but not unknown, for samplers of this quality to have been embroidered by such young hands. As with any skill or talent, some young girls were simply more gifted at needlework. Mary Ann also certainly had a capable teacher, able to assist the little girl in finishing her embroidery. Mary Ann's pretty and poetic verse is an obscure one. It appeared in an 1823 issue of The Daily Visiter [sic]: Or, Companion for the Breakfast Table, a monthly magazine edited by J. Kirkwood of Dublin, Ireland. Many verses and poems were often copied and published without copyright concerns on both sides of the Atlantic. It is entirely possible that the verse appeared in an American publication which was used by Mary Ann's teacher.NotesMary Ann Disbrow was born on 21 April 1821. She married Jacob Beecroft (1817 - 1896), a miller from Trenton, Mercer County. They had also lived for some time in area of Long Branch, Monmouth County. Mary Disbrow Beecroft died at their home in Crosswicks, Burlington County, on 4 September 1872. She was interred in Riverview Cemetery in Trenton. The donor, Francis Beecroft Carrick, was her granddaughter.

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