Mary Fitz Randolph-1726
In the early 20th century, Henry Francis du Pont created a grand country place at Winterthur that today encompasses a 175-room house, a 60-acre naturalistic garden, and 1,000 acres of woodland and meadows. With an emphasis on both beauty and comfort, H. F. du Pont furnished the rooms of his home with American antiques and other decorative and fine arts objects, representing the best in craftsmanship and style available to Americans between 1640 and 1860.
Mr. du Pont had a special love for textiles and needlework; as a result, he acquired more than 700 pieces of American needlework for what is now the Winterthur Museum collection. Since du Pont's death, the museum has added to the collection through gifts from generous donors and purchases such as the sampler wrought by Catherine Rihl. During the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, girls were instructed in needlework skills so they would be more proficient as adults. Some were taught at home, but others were sent to schools for instruction by skilled needlewomen. One of the first works a girl created was a sampler to learn her stitches.
Mary’s sampler is the earliest known New Jersey sampler. She was born on May 24, 1710 to Edward Fitz Randolph and Catherine Harthshorne. Her great grand father Edward Fitz Randolph immigrated to Scituate, part of Plymouth Colony, from the UK in 1636. He and his family moved to Piscataway, NJ in 1669. It appears that Mary married twice, first to William Thorne and later to James Jackson with whom she had five children. Accession no. 2009.0035A
Stitches used are Satin, marking cross, algerian eye and double running stitch.
Size: 7" x 25" (17.5cm x 64cm)
Thread Count: 40 ct (16 thr/cm) linen
Colour:
Recommended Level: Intermediate to Advanced
Cost: cht. $35
Categories: , North American / Mexico, Winterthur
ID: 361
All prices are in US Dollars.
