Object Description
Pair 1835 and 1843 Sister Samplers by Allice and Hannah Witt. Framed in old wood frames with gilt slip and glass. Both fixed to linen with card backing. The samplers are worked in silk on linen ground, in cross stitch and Algerian eye. Decorative borders. Colours greens, yellow, copper, black, gold and brown. Allice – Alphabets A-Z in upper case and numbers 1-22. Verse reads, ‘Jesus permit thy gracious name to stand>As the first effort of an infants hand>And while her fingers on the canvas move>Engage her tender thoughts to seek thy love>With thy dear children let her have a part>And write thy name thyself upon her heart’. Signed and dated ‘Allice Witt October 18 1835 Aged 8’. A wonderful flower basket motif. Hannah – Alphabets A-Z in upper case and lower case and numbers 1-10. Verse 1 reads ‘Teach me, O God thy law to know,>Thy precepts to obey,>Grant me thy grcae, thy light to show,>The truth, the life, the way.> Verse 2 reads ‘As years increase and with them bring>temptations which ensnare,>Possess my heart,>O guard the spring.>And make thy dwelling there.’ Signed and dated Hannah Witt Aged fourteen Years December 1843′. Motifs inlcude flowers, birds, a star and diamond.