Object Number 2008.0050.001 A

Object Name

Sampler (Spot motif sampler)

Category

Textiles (Needlework)

Credit Line/Donor

Gift of Dorcas Taylor

Creator (Role)

Anna Bilem (Maker)
Anna Bilem (Bliem), possibly of Lancaster or Chester County, worked this silk on linen spot motif sampler in 1838. A group of textiles (2008.0050.001-.008) from the Gehman family collection was donated to Winterthur. The sampler in this group descended in Dorcas Taylor’s (the donor) family. Anna Bilem, or Bliem as it is spelled on the sampler, was Dorcas’ father Elwyn Bechtel Gehman’s great grandmother. Anna married John Oberholtzer, and the important and rare decorated linen and wool sheets belonged to their daughter Mary B. Oberholtzer.

Place of Origin

Lancaster or Chester, Pennsylvania, Mid-Atlantic, United States, North America

Mark or Signature or Inscription or Label

1. Label; Tied on tag; "2008.50.1 / a, b" (graphite)
2. Inscription; On the sampler; "anna / bleiM / 1838 / J O" (silk thread)

Materials

Silk; Linen

Techniques

Embroidered, Woven (plain)

Construction Description

Hand-embroidered

Dimensions (inches)

16.5 (L) , 18.25 (W)

Dimensions (centimeters)

41.91 (L) , 46.355 (W)

Measurement Notes

The measurements refer to the area visible within the frame.

Object Description

Web - 09/10/2014

This is a silk on linen spot motif sampler. It was worked in 1838 by Anna Bilem (or Bliem) who was possibly from Lancaster or Chester County, Pennsylvania. The mirrored layout on Anna's sampler implies English influence. Typically, motif samplers were arranged asymmetrically unless intended for show. However, during the late nineteenth century, Pennsylvania German samplers become more decorative and began to have mirrored and balanced designs. One of the first Pennsylvania German spot samplers found to employ a mirrored arrangement was in 1798. The use of centered and mirror image motifs increases between 1810 and 1859, suggesting an increased interest in presentation. The inscription on Anna's sampler reads: "anna / blieM / 1838 / JO"

Bibliography and Bibliographic Notes

[Other] Hornsby Heindl, Brenda. Passed Down: The Gehman Family Collection.
• Textile Connoisseurship Block, May 2009: Discussion of the sampler and influences