"John and Ellin" Ship sampler, England, circa 1825
Price: $5800, Sampler size: 11¼" x 15¼"

Samplers that portray specific ships are considered quite rare and it should be assumed that the needleworker was a family member of the ship owner or ship captain. This is a beautifully designed and executed depiction of the "John and Ellin" with sails billowing and banners fluttering in the wind; she has delicate rigging and sits on green waves. The three-sided border of flowers on leafy vines joined by a bowknot is a classic sampler framework and would suggest that this was done by a schoolgirl rather than a married lady.

The Register of Shipping, published yearly in London by the Society for the Registry of Shipping indicates that the "John and Ellin" (or Ellen) was built in Sunderland and sailed from 1822 until 1829. It was a classified as a single deck sloop, first class and built of first quality materials and it plied the Yarmouth coast. It seems that the samplermaker may have taken some artistic license with her portrayal, as she shows more of a frigate than a sloop; a very similar ship is known on another sampler and these may have come from a generic pattern.

Much of the work was accomplished in a long satin stitch, some of it in a surface satin stitch to conserve materials. Worked in silk on fine linen, it is in excellent condition with some very minor loss to the silk in the waves. It has been conservation mounted and is in its fine original carved black and gold frame.