Object Number 1985.0112

Object Name

Sampler (Band or marking sampler)

Category

Textiles (Needlework)

Credit Line/Donor

Museum purchase with funds provided by the Special Fund for Collection Objects

Creator (Role)

Anna Green (Maker)-1816
Anna Green lived in a coastal region of New Hampshire known as Piscataqua, established in 1631. This region included a seaport at the mouth of the Piscataqua River and other English settlements along its banks. The area was renamed Portsmouth in 1653. Anna names Piscataqua on her 1741 sampler. Anna was the daughter of Joseph Green (1703-1765) and Anna Pierce. Anna Green married her cousin Joshua Winslow (1727-1801) in 1759. Anna and Joshua had a daughter, Anna Green Winslow (1760-1779), who is best known for the diary she wrote during her school days in Boston. This diary, "Diary of Anna Green Winslow, a Boston Schoolgirl of 1771," was later edited by Alice Morse Earle and published. Ring, Betty. "Girlhood Embroidery: American Samplers & Pictorial Needlework 1650-1850. I," 1993, p. 231, footnote #3. Swan, Susan Burrows. "Plain & Fancy: American Women and Their Needlework, 1650-1850," 1995, p. 51, fig. 20. Winslow, Anna Green. "Diary of Anna Green Winslow, a Boston Schoolgirl of 1771," ed. by Alice Morse Earle. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1894.)

Place of Origin

Portsmouth, Rockingham, New Hampshire, New England, United States, North America

Mark or Signature or Inscription or Label

1. Inscription; Central band; "Anna Green her Sampler 1741 Piscataqua"

Materials

Linen; Silk

Techniques

Embroidered, Woven (plain)

Construction Description

Hand-embroidered

Dimensions (inches)

20.25 (L) , 7.75 (W)

Dimensions (centimeters)

51.435 (L) , 19.685 (W)

Measurement Notes

Dimensions refer to area of needlework visible within frame. Linen count: 34-36 threads per inch.

Object Description

Web - 02/17/2014

This band or marking sampler was worked by Anna Green in 1741 with silk threads on a linen ground. Anna lived in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Portsmouth, settled by the English in 1630, was first called Piscataqua for its location along the banks of the river. It was renamed to Portsmouth in 1653. Anna identifies Piscataqua on her sampler, but it is not clear if she was referring to the original name of her town or to the Piscataqua River. This sampler, worked in a variety of stitches, shows a strong English influence with crown and heraldic lion motifs. The verse in the central band is taken from an old English poem advocating the proper use of one's time. There are eight stanzas in the poem whereby the first line of each stanza is borrowed to create the following phrase as it appears on Anna's sampler: "Behold alas Ovr days we Spend / How Vain They be how Soon they end." Anna then signs her work: "Anna Green her Samplar 1741 Piscataqua.

Bibliography and Bibliographic Notes

[Book] Swan, Susan Burrows. 1995 Plain and Fancy: American Women and their Needlework, 1650-1850.
• Published: p. 51, fig. 20
[Book] Ring, Betty. 1993 Girlhood Embroidery: American Samplers & Pictorial Needlework 1650-1850. I.
• Published: p. 231, footnote #3. Information on Piscataqua and Portsmouth.
[Book] Hunt, Elmer Munson. New Hampshire Town Names & Whence They Came.
• Information on Piscataqua/Portsmouth, p. 184