Sampler (Fancy sampler)

Description

This is a linen fancy sampler worked with silk threads in 1833 by Victorine Delacroix of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Victorine attended D. H. Mundall's Seminary School in Philadelphia. The founder, Deborah H. Mundall worked for a time in New Castle, Delaware before moving to Philadelphia to teach. The earliest known sampler from her school is dated 1829. Ms. Mundall continued to teach until 1842, and died in 1850. Victorine's sampler is similar to another sampler worked by Louiza M. Sewall in 1836, who also attended D. H. Mundall's Seminary School. Victorine probably included the initials of her parents, "CJD" and "MD" in the lozenges found at the top of her sampler. The other inscriptions read: Verse: "Spirit, Creator of mankind, / Come visit every pious mind, / And sweetly let thy grace invade / Such hearts, O Lord, as thou hast made. / The living fountain, fire and love / The ghostly unction from above / God,s sacred finger, which imparts / A seven-fold grace to faithful hearts" Personal inscription: "Victorine Delacroix / AD 1833" and "Wrought in D. H. Mundall's Seminary No 101 South Fifth Street, Philadelphia"