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Philadelphia Sampler dated 1820

$9,500List Price

About the Item

A particularly pretty sampler, this is signed, “Elizabeth Clemson. Philadelphia. 1820.” Alphabets and a religious verse indicated that Elizabeth could proficiently stitch her letters and the pictorial motifs and outstanding horizontal band near the bottom of the sampler are indicators of the great skill that she had learned. A fine satin-stitched lawn worked in three shades of lustrous green silk floss grounds the composition well. The sampler is surrounded with an inner border worked in the eyelet stitch and a fine outer border with varied-colored flowers features corner elements - these are also worked in the eyelet stitch. The initials CM appear lower left and are likely those of the teacher who so ably instructed Elizabeth. She was born to Thomas and Elizabeth (Baker) Clemson on June 29, 1809. Both the Clemson and Baker families had long histories in Pennsylvania. Their immigrant ancestors were James Clemson who migrated from England in the 1680s and settled first in Chester County and then in nearby Delaware County, and Frederick Baker who was born in Germany in 1732, migrated to Maryland and then to Pennsylvania. Thomas Clemson (1772-1813) was born in Lancaster County and removed to Philadelphia to join his brother, James, in the flour business. He married Elizabeth Baker (1773-1857) in 1800 and they lived at Ninth and Filbert Streets, next door to his business at Ninth and Market. They became the parents of six children, three sons and three daughters. Elizabeth worked this fine sampler in 1820 when she would have been about 11 years old. She later attended the prestigious Troy Female Seminary in Troy, New York, from 1824 to 1828. Shortly after she attended Troy Seminary she married George Washington Barton (1807-1851) and they resided in Philadelphia with their daughter, Catherine Clemson Barton, who was born in 1839. Elizabeth’s immediate older brother, Thomas Green Clemson (1807-1888), was a renowned politician and statesman, serving in various prominent national and international positions. Importantly, he founded Clemson University in South Carolina, at the end of his life. A triptych of miniature portraits on ivory, painted of Elizabeth and her sisters, Louisa and Catharine, all beautiful young ladies, is in the Fort Hill Collection of Clemson University. The sampler descended in the family for many generations. Worked in silk on linen, it is in excellent condition and has been conservation mounted into a figured maple and cherry corner block frame. Samplers and needlework are our specialty. If you are interested in more of this type of work please visit our website.

Dimensions:
Height: 20.5 in (52.07 cm)Width: 19.75 in (50.17 cm)Depth: 1 in (2.54 cm)
Style:
Folk Art (Of the Period)
Place of Origin:
United States
Period:
1820-1829
Date of Manufacture:
dated 1820
Condition:
Worked in silk on linen, it is in excellent condition and has been conservation mounted into a figured maple and cherry corner block frame.
Seller Location:
Philadelphia, PA
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU85833054562

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