Robertina Aitken,
Glasgow, Scotland, 1837
Scottish samplers can be wonderfully pictorial, especially when they include depictions of houses. Another characteristic of Scottish samplers that we find delightful is the curlicue lettering and this sampler, made by Robertina Aitken of Glasgow includes both a house and this particular font. Many rows of alphabets and decorative bands are included and the final row begins with the initials of Robertina’s parents, Robert and Jean Aitkin and proceeds to her siblings, Alexander, Elizabeth, Jean and John. The final initials are those of her maternal grandparents, Jean and Jane Shanks.
In 1849, Robertina married Robert Cuthbert and they had at least one child, a daughter, Jane Alice Robertina Cuthbert, born in 1850. Robertina died in 1910.
The sampler was worked in silk on linen and is in excellent condition. It is conservation mounted in the original frame that retained a Glasgow framer’s label.