Object Number 2011.0036.001

Object Name

Sampler (Alphabet or marking sampler)

Category

Textiles (Needlework)

Credit Line/Donor

Gift of Philip W. Warner

Creator (Role)

Elizabeth Ashburnham (Maker)
about 1772-possibly 1868
Elizabeth Ashburnham, born around 1772, was probably from Philadelphia or Wilminigton, Delaware. She worked this linen sampler using silk threads between 1780 and 1800. Elizabeth's sampler includes the initials on her sampler: "IA" and "RA" which are probably her parents. Elizabeth may have died in 1868 and was possibly buried in the Wilmington Friends Meeting Yard. See Multimedia tab.

Place of Origin

Pennsylvania or Delaware, Mid-Atlantic, United States, North America

Date

1780-1800

Mark or Signature or Inscription or Label

1. Inscription; Bottom four lines; "ELIZABETH ASHBURN / HAM HeR SaMPLER / Made IN THe SEVENTH / YeaR OF HeR AGe" (embroidered silk threads)
2. Label; Pinned on tag; "L2011.1071.1 (crossed out) / 2011.36.1" (graphite)
3. Label; Sticker on reverse; "This textile was mounted according to / conservation standards using archival / materials (acid-free boards, polyester / batting, 100% cotton covering). / March 2011" (typed)

Materials

Linen; Silk; Wood; Cotton

Techniques

Embroidered, Woven (plain), Cross stitched

Construction Description

Hand-embroidered

Dimensions (inches)

11.5 (L) , 10.75 (W)

Dimensions (centimeters)

29.21 (L) , 27.305 (W)

Measurement Notes

Measurements of object on mount

Object Description

Web - 05/14/2014

This is a linen alphabet or marking sampler with silk threads. It was worked by Elizabeth Ashburnham, probably from Philadelphia or Wilmington, Delaware, between 1780 and 1800. This sampler is one of a group of four at Winterthur worked by four different girls from the renowned Philadelphia/Wilmington, Delaware, Bringhurst and Ashburnham family line. Elizabeth Ashburnham’s granddaughter, Elizabeth Ashburnham Smith, married Henry Ryan Bringhurst in 1868, linking both of these Quaker families to Wilmington prominence. The Quaker influence is evident in this and the other samplers, especially those with motifs and decorative elements. At seven years old, Elizabeth had mastered the most difficult needlework stitch - the Queen's stitch. She uses it prominently for the strawberries in her border design, as well as for the bottom divider of her sampler. Her signature reads: "ELIZABETH ASHBURN / HAM HeR SaMPLER / Made IN THe SEVENTH / YeaR OF HeR AGe"