$4,700
Canvaswork Giles Family Register, "Wrought by P. Giles Groton Sem'y Mass." early 19th century, silk threads on a linen ground depicting two columns joined by an arch entwined with a leafy vine, the center stitched with leafy oval reserves stitched with the vital statistics of Mr. John Giles, his first wife Miss Susan Baldwin, his second wife Miss Mary Adams and their nine children, the lower border featuring a house, three stags, and a pond with swans, the column plinths stitched with the maker's signature, 21 1/2 x 17 in., in a later bird's-eye maple frame with gilt liner. Provenance: Ex Collection Theodore H. Kapneck. Literature:This sampler is illustrated and discussed in A Gallery of American Samplers: The Theodore H. Kapnek Collection, by Glee Krueger, E.P. Dutton, New York, 1978, pp. 64-5. Note: This family register was done by Polly Giles (b. December 18, 1801), one of the daughters of John Giles and his second wife, Mary. She likely started stitching the register while she attended the Groton Female Seminary in Groton, Massachusetts. Interestingly, four of the children in the family died within twenty days of each other in late August and early September of 1800. The last entry date stitched is May 31, 1827.
Auctioneer:
Skinner
Date:
2006-06-04
