Object Number 2011.0036.002

Object Name

Sampler (Verse sampler)

Category

Textiles (Needlework)

Credit Line/Donor

Gift of Philip W. Warner

Creator (Role)

Hannah Harlan Bringhurst (Maker)
1821-1904
Hannah Harlan Bringhurst, from the renowned Quaker Bringhurst family, was born in 1821, probably in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania or Wilminigton, Delaware. Hannah's father James Bringhurst (1792-1854) and mother Rebecca Ryan (1793-1845) were married in Delaware in 1818. She had two sisters and two brothers. Hannah worked this linen sampler using silk threads sometime between 1828 and 1840. She died in 1904, and was a descendent of the donor, Philip Warner.

Place of Origin

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

Date

1828-1840

Mark or Signature or Inscription or Label

1. Inscription; Bottom center; "Hannah H. Bringhurst" (embroidered silk threads)
2. Label; Pinned on tag; "2011.36.2 / L2011.1071.2 (crossed out)" (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)." (typed)

Materials

Linen; Silk; Wood; Cotton

Techniques

Embroidered, Woven (plain)

Construction Description

Hand-embroidered

Dimensions (inches)

18 (L) , 18 (W)

Dimensions (centimeters)

45.72 (L) , 45.72 (W)

Measurement Notes

Measurements of object on mount

Object Description

Web - 05/15/2014

This is a linen verse sampler with silk threads. It was worked by Hannah Harlan Bringhurst, probably from Philadelphia or Wilmington, Delaware, between 1828 and 1840. 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. Several of the motifs in Hannah's sampler appear to have been copied from engraving or print sources. The inscription reads: "Let gratitude in acts of goodness flow; / Our love to God, in love to man below. / Be this our joy _ to calm the troubled breast, / Support the weak, and succour the distrest." and her name, "Hannah H. Bringhurst"