Mary Jastram, attributed to the Balch school,
Providence, Rhode Island,
1818

Sampler size:
10¼" x 8¼"

Price: $sold

Enlarged and Printer Version

Many samplers tell a story as to their origins and the lives and education of their makers, but frequently this information has not remained with the sampler. We search for clues on the sampler itself so that we can make an attribution as to its geographic origin and perhaps, the actual school that the samplermaker attended and then we conduct genealogical research. Because of the outstanding published scholarship in this field, the results can be fascinating and such is the case with Mary Jastram's sampler. We are pleased to have pieced together the following information and to be able to "reunite" Mary's sampler with the facts of her life and schooling.

Providence, Rhode Island in the late 18th and early 19th centuries was home to some of the most accomplished and important of all of the American schools for girls. By far the most highly regarded of these schools was run by Mary Balch who taught from about 1785 through at least 1826. According to Betty Ring in Girlhood Embroidery, Vol. I, "In 1821, hers was unquestionably the best attended private school in Providence with an enrollment of one hundred and thirteen students – eighteen small boys and ninety-five girls between the ages of six and twenty." The quality of the body of needlework produced throughout the years of Miss Balch's school is positively staggering, and sophisticticated, pictorial samplers from the school are now in the collections of major museums.

Balch students also produced simple pieces as their early projects and these tend to feature alphabets and specific verse that were assigned by Miss Balch. Indeed the four-line verse that appears on this Jastram sampler was worked by Mary Balch herself on her own 1794 family record, likely made as an example for her students. Another "signature" Balch phrase that has been documented by Betty Ring is the two-line quotation, "With Sheba's Queen ye American Fair / T'adorn your mind bend all your care." Balch school samplers, actually many samplers that were produced under the instruction of renowned teachers, will frequently announce their origins thusly.

Mary Jastram was born in 1808 in Providence, the first of five children of Mawney Jastram, of French descent, and his wife Mary (Bacon) Jastram, who were married there in 1807. The roots of the Jastram family in Rhode Island began with Mary's grandparents, John and Abigail (Whipple) Jastram, and the family was a prominent one for generations; indeed there is a Jastram Street in Providence to this day. For a period of time Mary's father was a silversmith and jeweler in Providence.

Mary would have been ten years old when she worked this sampler; she did not marry, and died in Providence in 1861 at 53 years of age. She is buried along with many family members in the North Burial Ground Cemetery in Providence, one of the city's earliest cemeteries.

Worked in silk on linen with fine drawn work at the edges, the sampler is in excellent condition and has been conservation mounted into a beveled birds-eye maple frame.

Considering buying this sampler?
We suggest you let us know that you are interested. We will be happy to:

You may contact us by phone, fax or email (see below) or complete our quick Contact Me form and we will respond promptly.

How to Buy
Includes information regarding payment, return privilege, and shipping to any location.