BOWNE HOUSE SAMPLER DONOR REGISTRY

This registry was prepared based on a July 22nd, 2024 on-site assessment by Textile Conservation Workshop, Inc. in South Salem, considered the premiere textile conservation organization in this geographical area, as well as recent cost estimates prepared by it for certain samplers upon further examination. General estimates have also been given for those not yet further examined. A specific cost estimate can always be obtained if requested by a donor. All estimates may increase over time. Special recognition can be given to donors who adopt a sampler. Please note that we can also entertain partial and challenge donations to be included with grant applications made to the Greater Hudson Heritage Network, our primary funding source to date, to share the costs with any grant which may be awarded.

GROUP 1: SAMPLERS TO BE CONSERVED, MOUNTED, AND FRAMED IN POSSIBLE 2026 GRANT APPLICATION OR OTHERWISE IN THE FUTURE

1. Eliza Bowne, 1801

Accession No. 2007.741

 
 

  • Textile Dimensions: 13” H x 11 ¼” W. Linen with silk embroidery floss, with a lesson on Christian duty. Label on inside face says MB Parsons. 

  • Provenance: Historically significant as Eliza Bowne (1787-1852), great-great  granddaughter of John Bowne, was a Bowne House resident. Sampler sewn in  1801 while she attended Nine Partners upstate, the first Quaker co-educational  boarding school in New York.

  • Condition: Sampler is in delicate condition. Structurally the embroidery is relatively sound, but not the ground cloth. Hem is missing on proper right side and breakage is occurring. Current framing is insufficient to properly support.

  • Cost estimate to conserve, mount, and  frame is $4,325.00. Estimate can be provided upon request.

2. Eliza B Willets, Age 8

Accession No. 2007.787

 
 

  • Textile Dimensions: 9 ¼” H x 7 ½” W. Unattached sampler.

  • Provenance: May be historically significant. Provenance needs to be researched.  Several Willets families resided in  North Hempstead area of Long  Island at time of Revolution.  

  • Condition: Fair to poor. Textile is in delicate condition. The ground fabric is darkened with age and soiling, particularly around the edges. The embroidery is mostly stable, with some small losses and fading in certain areas. There is a fair amount of creasing. As it is not mounted or framed, it is not protected and needs to be conserved, mounted, and framed. 

  • Cost estimate to conserve, prepare for framed display with expected visual lightning and removal of first layer of soiling, mount, and frame is $3,145.00. Cost estimate to conserve, prepare for framed display with expected visual lightning and removal of first layer of soiling, mount, and frame. Estimate can be provided upon request.

3. Ann Wakalee, Age 13

Accession No. 1985.81

 
 

  • Textile Dimensions: 8” H x 25 ½” W. Mounted on its original wooden strainer with metal brads.

  • Provenance: Provenance being researched. One of at least two samplers sewn by a girl from a possible Connecticut family.

  • Condition: Textile is in delicate condition. Unsupported on wooden mount- taut, but no backing materials. Series of damages in ground along PR, discoloration around perimeter, staining/tidelines throughout. Embroidery is in good condition; some fading is noted. Metal brads  have oxidized and are causing damage to the fabric. 

  • Storage Condition: Textile and mount wrapped in acid-free tissue. The wrapped piece is too large to fit in the dedicated storage box with the other samplers

  • Cost estimate to conserve, mount, and frame is approximately $4,000-4,500. Cost estimate prior to further examination.

4. “Beige on Beige,” Unidentified

Accession No. 1985.87

 
 

  • Textile Dimensions: 8” H x 7 ¼” W. Unattached—this sampler was part of a group of seven samplers that were framed together prior to 1985. 

  • Condition: Previously examined at TCW— removed from the frame and mount in 1987. Textile is in delicate condition. The ground fabric and embroidery are brittle. There is a fair amount of creasing and staining throughout, as well as unfinished edges. As it is not mounted or framed, it is not protected and needs  to be conserved, mounted, and framed. 

  • Cost estimate to conserve, mount, and frame is approximately $4000-4500. Cost estimate prior to further examination.

GROUP 2: SAMPLERS WHICH STILL NEED TO BE FRAMED OR REFRAMED

5. Eliza Bowne, 1800

Accession No. 2007.799

 
 

  •  Textile Dimensions: 14 7/8” H x 14 3/8” W.

  • Provenance: Historically significant as Eliza Bowne (1787-1852) was a Bowne House resident. This sampler was sewn in 1800 while she attended Nine Partners boarding school upstate, the first Quaker co-educational border school.

  • Condition: Sampler remains in delicate condition. The mount is in stable condition, though the double stick tape of the back encapsulation is beginning to fail, and the frame is beginning to powder. No treatment required at this time but re-framing may be necessary. The current frame is extremely shallow. 

  • Cost estimate to reframe is $1,975.00. Prefer to frame in wood. Estimate can be provided upon request. Possible subject of 2026 grant application.

6. Mary B. Parsons, 1821

Accession No. 2007.794

 
 

  • Textile Dimensions: 10 3/8”H x 7 3/8” W

  • Provenance: Historically significant as Mary B. Parsons was Bowne House resident.

  • Condition: Previously treated at TCW—removed from original mounting board and mounted on a fabric covered ragboard and re-framed in its original frame with UV Plexiglas. Sampler and mount are in stable condition. There is no new damage in the sampler, though the bottom is slightly puckered. No treatment is required at this time. Original framing label was encapsulated in Mylar and attached to the back of the frame.

  • Cost Estimate to reframe is $3,000-3,500. Prefer to frame in wood.

7. Eliza Lawrence, 1826

Accession No. 1985.84

 
 

  • Textile Dimensions: 10 5/16” W x 11 1⁄4” H

  • Provenance: Historically significant as sewn by girl from known local Quaker Lawrence family, New Towne, in 1826 at Young Ladies Academy in Philadelphia, first post-Revolutionary War Ladies’ Academy.

  • Condition: Previously treated at TCW—this sampler was part of a group of seven samplers that were framed together prior to 1985. Sampler was removed from an acidic mounting board and mounted on a fabric covered strainer and framed with a UV filtering plexiglass box. There are scuffs and small scratches noted in the plexiglass and some warping of the backing board. Sampler and mount are in stable condition. No treatment is at this time.

  • Cost estimate to remount and reframe is $3,000-3,500. Prefer to frame in wood.

8. Ann Wakalee or E.S, 1775

Accession No. 2007.8

 
 

  • Textile Dimensions: 14 3⁄4” H x 12” W

  • Provenance: Historically significant as likely eighteenth-century sampler. Described as Ann Wakalee sampler but last line has E.S., 1775, age 9.

  • Condition: Previously treated at TCW— this sampler was part of a group of seven samplers that were framed together prior to 1985. Sampler was removed from its original mounting board and mounted on a fabric covered strainer and framed with a UV filtering Plexiglas box. Sampler and mount are in stable condition. There is no new damage in the sampler, though the embedded needle in the artwork has continued to oxidize. There are scuffs and small scratches noted in the plexi and some warping of the backing board. No treatment is required at this time.

  • Cost estimate to remount and reframe is $3,000-3,500. Prefer to frame in wood.

9. Caroline Peck Sampler, 1811

2007.795

 
 

  • Textile Dimensions: 20 5/8” H x 10 5/8” W (framed)

  • Provenance: Provenance being researched.

  • Condition: Previously treated at TCW— this sampler was part of a group of seven samplers that were framed together prior to 1985. Sampler was removed from original mounting board and mounted on a fabric covered strainer and framed with a UV filtering Plexiglas box. Sampler and mount are in stable condition. There is no new damage in the sampler. There are scuffs and small scratches noted in the plexi. No treatment is required at this time.

  • Cost estimate to remount and reframe is $3,000-3,500. Prefer to frame in wood.

10. Hannah Coe, 1798

1986.76 (2007.793)

 
 

  • Textile Dimensions: 13/8” H x 9 3/8” W

  • Provenance: Historically significant as one of few eighteenth-century samplers in collection.

  • Condition: Previously treated at TCW- removed from original mounting board and mounted on a fabric covered strainer and framed with a UV filtering Plexiglas box. Sampler and mount are in stable condition. There is no new damage in the sampler. There are scuffs and small scratches noted in the plexi and some warping of the backing board. No conservation treatment is required at this time.

  • Cost estimate to remount and reframe is $3,000-3,500. Prefer to frame in wood.

11. Martha Green

2007.797

 
 

  • Textile Dimensions: 17 5/8” H x 13” W (framed)

  • Provenance: Possible connection to Mary Mitchell Parsons’ family. Previously treated at TCW.

  • Condition: Previously treated at TCW- removed from original mounting board and mounted on a fabric covered strainer and framed with a UV filtering Plexiglas box. Sampler and mount are in stable condition. There is no new damage in the sampler. There are scuffs and small scratches noted in the plexi and some warping of the backing board. No treatment is required at this time.

  • Cost estimate to remount and reframe is $3,000-3,500. Prefer to frame in wood.

12. Joseph Martin Green Family Record

2007.796

 
 

  • Textile Dimensions: 19 1⁄4” H x 13 11/16” W (framed)

  • Provenance: Connected to Mary Mitchell Parsons.

  • Condition: Previously treated at TCW- removed from original mounting board and mounted on a fabric covered strainer and framed with a UV filtering Plexiglas box. The delicate sampler required a sheer transfer mount and net overlay during mounting. The mount and plexi are in stable condition. There are scuffs and small scratches noted in the plexi. The sampler is in delicate condition. It is very brittle, and loose fiber fragments that are now caught in the stabilization fabrics are noted along the perimeter. While no treatment is required at this time, careful handling is paramount to the preservation of this piece. The mounted piece should never be inverted—it should remain flat and only be vertical when on display.

  • Cost estimate: No cost estimate yet for wood frame without new mounting.

13. Kattarn Smith

2007.798

 
 

  • Textile Dimensions: 18” H x 15 15/16” W

  • Condition: Previously treated at TCW—removed from original wooden stretcher and mounted on a fabric covered strainer and framed with a UV filtering Plexiglas box. The delicate sampler required a sheer transfer mount and net overlay during mounting. This may need to be reframed in wood if advisable. The mount and plexi are in stable condition. There are scuffs and small scratches noted in the plexi. The sampler is in delicate condition. It is very brittle, and loose fiber fragments that are now caught in the stabilization fabrics are noted along the perimeter. While no treatment is required at this time, careful handling is paramount to the preservation of this piece. The mounted piece should never be inverted—it should remain flat and only be vertical when on display.

  • Cost estimate: No cost estimate yet for wood frame without new mounting.

14. Needlework on Paper

2007.801

 
 

  • Textile Dimensions: 12” H x 13 3⁄4” W

  • Provenance: Described as executed in eighteenth century crewel style.

  • Condition: Previously treated at TCW—removed from original acidic wooden mount and pressure mounted using a fabric covered ragboard and UV filtering Plexiglas in its original frame. Sampler and mount are in stable condition. There is no new damage in the sampler. No treatment is required at this time.

  • Cost estimate to remount and reframe is $3,000-3,500. Prefer to frame in wood.

15. Whitman Sampler, 1811

1985.75

 
 

  • Textile Dimensions: 16 1⁄4” H x 16 1⁄2” W (mounted and framed)

  • Condition: Previously treated at TCW—removed from original wooden board and mounted on a fabric covered strainer and framed with a UV filtering Plexiglas box. Sampler and mount are in stable condition. There is some rippling in the sampler, and there are scratches noted in the plexi. No treatment is required at this time.

  • Cost estimate to remount and reframe is $3,000-3,500. Prefer to frame in wood.