Diana Austin's Sampler
date: label: date made
content: 1827
name: label: maker
content: Austin, Diana
notes: label: Description
content: This sampler features two script alphabets to “X,” and there are also two block alphabets: one with 26 letters and one to “W” with “NOPQ” not worked but a space left for them. At the bottom of the sampler, is a two-story house (in perspective) with a tall pointed tree and a spreading tree behind an ornamental fence, which has reverse-curved sections between fence-posts topped by urns. The house on Diana Austin’s sampler could be her home or the home of her teacher. She showed advanced technique by using surface stitches for her trees and not cross stitch. Diana included the inscription:
label: Description
content: <br>“Diana Austins Sampler<br>Marked AD 1827 Aged 8<br>PENFIELD NY”<br>
label: Description
content: The sampler is stitched with silk embroidery thread on a linen ground with a thread count of warp 39, weft 46/ in. The stitches used are cross, detached chain, four-sided, Algerian eye, buttonhole, outline, and satin.
label: Description
content: Jotham Austin from Vermont, married Hannah Case. At some point they moved to Penfield, New York, where Jotham died in March 1830 and Hannah died on May 11, 1830. They had eight children. Two of them made samplers, Diana (b. May 9, 1819) and Sabrina P. (b. March 13, 1824). Libbeus Ross, who was married to Hannah’s daughter Honoria Austin, was appointed guardian of the family according to Hannah’s will, dated March 15, 1830.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
setName: label: See more items in
content: Home and Community Life: Textiles
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content: Samplers
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content: Textiles
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Mrs. Robert Reisner
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: TE.T14276
label: catalog number
content: T14276
label: accession number
content: 276184
objectType: label: Object Name
content: embroidery, sampler
label: Object Name
content: sampler
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: linen (ground material)
label: Physical Description
content: silk (embroidery thread material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 15 in x 15 1/8 in; 38.1 cm x 38.4175 cm