After a record price of £8,500 was achieved at Tennants for a Quaker Sampler in 2006, the North Yorkshire Auctioneers sold a collection of seven Quaker Samplers and Ephemera from a collector in the South of England on 8th March and again saw some high prices being realised.
These framed samplers all related to the Pumphrey and Westcombe families of the late 18th and early 19th Centuries. Dated from 1783 and approximately 1831, they featured Quaker motifs and sampler formats. The Samplers were worked by girls aged between 7 and 11 from these families who attended Quaker schools including Ackworth School, Pontefract, West Yorkshire and Milverton School in Somerset. They all exceeded their pre-sale estimates.
Lot 194
A group of ephemera relating to the Pumphrey and Westcombe families from the 19th century including; daguerreotype of the Pumphrey family in a leather case; hand written letter from Charles Westcombe dated 1826 to S. Westcombe of Alcester, Warwickshire; small leather bound and gilt tooled scrap book initialled CW 1860, filled with watercolours, verse and scraps; one volume of Charlbury of our Childhood by Caroline Pumphrey and photocopied notes and a photograph of Isabel Eddington relating to the Pumphreys. Sold for £550 (estimate £100-£150).
* Mentioned in the postscript ‘Quaker School Girl Samplers from Ackworth’ by Carol Humphrey.
Lot 195
Framed Sampler worked in coloured threads by Anna Louise Westcombe and dated 1831, within a blue cross stitched border (possibly a relation of Hannah Westcombe), 28cms by 31cms. Sold for £320 (estimate £150-£250).
* Mentioned in the postscript ‘Quaker School Girl Samplers from Ackworth’ by Carol Humphrey.
Lot 196
Quaker pinball of flattened form knitted in cream and brown silks dated 1829 surrounded with a wreath and the opposing side has a geometric design, 4.5cms in diameter. Together with a paper embroidery pattern in a gilt frame, 10cms by 10cms (2). Sold for £320 (estimate £200-£300).
* Pinball mentioned in the postscript ‘Quaker School Girl Samplers from Ackworth’ by Carol Humphrey.
Lot 197
Framed Quaker ‘Pattern Sampler’ dated 1810, worked in brown thread, with the Quaker motifs of a carnation spray, and cornucopia and leaf either side of the numerals, 53cms by 51cms. Sold for £600 (estimate £300-£500).
* Mentioned in the postscript ‘Quaker School Girl Samplers from Ackworth’ by Carol Humphrey.
Lot 198
Framed Quaker Sampler initialled CW 1821 (possibly Caroline Westcombe, sister of Hannah). Worked in black thread depicting the alphabet and numbers and one verse ‘follow that which is good’, 26cms by 27cms. Sold for £800 (estimate £300-£500).
* Mentioned in the postscript ‘Quaker School Girl Samplers from Ackworth’ by Carol Humphrey.
Lot 199
Framed Quaker Marking Sampler with alphabet and numbers worked in black thread by Ann Trusted, Milverton, possibly early 19th century. The letters ***sted Milverton are worked in blue threads, 45cms by 22.5cms. Sold for £2,600 (estimate £800-£1,200).
* Illustrated and mentioned in the postscript ‘Quaker School Girl Samplers from Ackworth’ by Carol Humphrey.
Milverton – a Quaker school based in Somerset.
Lot 200
Hannah Westcombe framed Ackworth School Sampler, dated 1783. Worked in black thread within a decorative border with canted corners depicting the alphabet and numbers and two lines of verse ‘Learn, such things whilst thou art a Child, as may be profitable to thee, when thou art a Woman’, 32cms by 35cms. Sold for £3,000 (estimate £300-£1,200).
* Illustrated and mentioned in the postscript ‘Quaker School Girl Samplers from Ackworth’ by Carol Humphrey.
A Quaker Sampler dated 1791 sold at Tennants in March 2006 for £8,500. The name of ‘Ackworth School’, the girl who stitched it, ‘S Moon’, and date were worked in polychrome silk cross-stitch amongst densely placed traditional Quaker medallions, bird, plant and geometric motifs. Various initials and numerals studded available spaces in the design. Research into its history found that the sampler was worked by Sarah Moone who attended the Friends’ (sometimes called Quaker) School at Ackworth from 1789 – 1793. Unframed, it measured 32.5cm by 31.5cm and despite having some small moth holes, the sampler was an example of very fine work.
In the same sale was another Quaker Sampler from the same vendor, which sold for £4,000 (part lot). This sampler, dated 1799, was worked in brown silk cross stitch with initials ‘MP’, ‘MC to AM’ and also featured characteristic Quaker medallions and plant motifs. It measured 25cm by 24cm.
Sarah White, Textiles Specialist at Tennants, says “The Quaker Samplers created a great deal of interest from collectors and the trade with five bidders on the telephones as well as a packed sale room making this a lively and competitive sale.”
All these samplers, including those sold in 2006 are mentioned or illustrated in a book entitled ‘Quaker School Girl Samplers from Ackworth’ written by Carol Humphrey of the Fitzwilliam Museum Cambridge and published in December 2006.
Tennants are inviting entries for their Summer 2008 Textiles Sale. For more information please contact Sarah White.
www.tennants.co.uk/