Object number1960.9.119
Sampler
Date1831
Artist
Mary Peterson
(American, 1818 - 1840)
CultureAmerican
MediumSilk threads on linen ground
DimensionsImage: 29 3/8 x 18 in. (74.6 x 45.7 cm)
Overall: 30 7/8 x 22 3/4 in. (78.4 x 57.8 cm)
Matted: 32 1/8 x 24 in. (81.6 x 61 cm)
Overall: 30 7/8 x 22 3/4 in. (78.4 x 57.8 cm)
Matted: 32 1/8 x 24 in. (81.6 x 61 cm)
Credit LineGift of Mrs. James W. Packard (Elizabeth Gillmer, class of 1894)
On View
Not on viewPeriod19th c
Classification(s)
SignedAt bottom: Mary Peterson
InscribedTop half: As on the verge of time we falle / Our lives fly swift away / Therefore our minds and heart and soul / Must prepare for a future day / Hollingshead Peterson was born / The 24th of September in the year / Of our lord 1789 Elcey Peterson wife of Hollingshead / Was born the 29th of January in / The year of our lord 1795 Elizabeth Peterson the daughter of / Hollingshead and Elcey his wife was / Born the 14th of december in the / Year of our lord 1813 Aaron Peterson the daughter of Hollingshead / And Elcey his wife was born the 31th / Of January in the year of our lord 1816 While in my youth of ten years old / I this sampler did begin / I took instruction as I was told / And worked this work within Mary Peterson the daughter of / Hollingshead and Elcey his wife / Was born the 31th of may in the / Year of our lord 1818 William Peterson the Son of / Hollingshead and Elcey his wife was born the 28 / Of november in the year of our lord 1820 Hollingshead Peterson the Son of / Hollingshead and Elcey his wife was / Born the 6th of July in Year of / Our lord 1824 Elcey Peterson the daughter of / Hollingshead and Elcey his wife / Was born the 13th of Sept in / The year of our lord 1827 / Mary Peterson 1831
DescriptionA decorative, scenic, family record sampler consisting of verses and individual birth records, divided by elegant floral bands, placed between an ornate alphabet at the top of the sampler and an embroidered lawn in front of a three-story stone house in the bottom third of the sampler. Three sheep graze on the lawn followed by a black dog. An urn with a flowering bush, a fruit tree, matching pine trees, and yellow, blue, and white birds flank the house. Overhead are two ducks in flight. Above the house and resting on a sawtooth band is the inscription: Mary Peterson 1831. The entire composition is framed by a strawberry border. Thread colors are green, white, yellow, blue, tan, and black.
Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge.
To help improve this record, please email
loebcollections@vassar.edu
