Antique Samplers

Charlotte Frye,
Andover, Massachusetts,
1811

Sampler size:
15¾" x 11½"

Price: $11,000

Worked in 1811 by Charlotte Frye of Andover, Massachusetts, this splendid sampler boasts strong composition and outstanding color and contrast. A hilly lawn forms the base for little trees and potted plants and flowers with splendid blossoms on vines growing out of a pair of baskets and forming the side borders. Alphabets, a cautionary verse and Charlotte's inscription are all worked in carefully formed black stitches; a stylish and well-proportioned black and white framework forms a handsome border on three sides. The strongly vertical nature of this sampler was carried over from the design of 18th century samplers.

The vital records of Andover, Massachusetts, an early town on the Merrimack River, 20 miles northwest of Boston, show the birth of this samplermaker, Charlotte Fyre, in 1797. She was the first born of Peter and Hannah (Noyse) Frye who had been married there in 1796; this branch of the Frye family had lived in Pembroke, New Hampshire for much of the 18th century, removing to Andover upon the 1762 marriage of Charlotte's grandparents. This sampler was made when Charlotte was 14 years old and exhibits the competence of a practiced needleworker.

Miss Frye lived her life in Andover and the adjoining town of North Andover. She did not marry, lived as an adult with two of her sisters, Susan and Miranda, and died in 1874.

The sampler was worked in silk on linen and is in excellent condition. It has been conservation mounted into an early 19th century gold leaf frame.

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