Summary

Sampler made by Alice Winter aged nine years old, around 1866.

One of a group of five early Australian samplers completed by sister Alice and Eliza Winter in Latrobe Street, Melbourne between 1846 and 1866. Alice Winter was christened in 1857 and lived to old age.

Physical Description

Embroidered sampler in brightly coloured threads on a woven white fabric ground. The design includes the alphabet in capital and lower case letters, followed by numerals, a biblical quote from Ecclesiastes 12.1, the maker's name, and a stylised floral border across the bottom.

Significance

The significance of the samplers lies in both their provenance to a single Melbourne family in the mid-19th century and the content of the samplers themselves. The sampler made by Alice Winter at the age of 10 includes her address '172 La Trobe Street Melbourne'. An incomplete sampler, said to have been made by Eliza, includes images of two gabled houses and a black kettle - conceivably depicting her environment in early Melbourne. It is possible that the sampler was never completed as she died in 1853. The samplers contribute to documentation of girls' education and preparation for domestic life in Melbourne in the mid-19th century.

More Information

  • Collecting Areas

    Childhood, Home & Community

  • Acquisition Information

    Purchase

  • Maker

    Alice Winter, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, circa 1866

  • Inscriptions

    Embroidered, coloured wool: Alphabet, numerals followed by 'Remember Thy Creator in the Days of Thy Youth / Ecclesiastes XII.I / Alice Winter/ aged 9 years'

  • Classification

    Art & craft, Needlework, Samplers

  • Category

    History & Technology

  • Discipline

    History

  • Type of item

    Object

  • References

    London Metropolitan Archives, Saint Luke, Old Street, Register of marriages, P76/LUK, Item 043, accessed via Ancestry 21 Nov 2014 1834 'Shipping Intelligence.', The Sydney Monitor (NSW : 1828 - 1838), 21 May, p. 2 Edition: MORNING, viewed 21 November, 2014, [Link 1] Ancestry.com. New South Wales, Australia, Unassisted Immigrant Passenger Lists, 1826-1922, accessed 21/11/2014 REO 2013 05 01: [Link 2] Australia Birth Index, 1788-1922 V1835507 19 Family Search web site [Link 3]:/61903/1:1:XTX9-MR3, Indexing Project (Batch) Number:C13544-6 ,System Origin: Australia-ODM ,GS Film number:993954 Accessed via Ancestry 21/11/2014 1885 'Family Notices.', The Australasian (Melbourne, Vic. : 1864 - 1946), 14 November, p. 6 Supplement: THE AUSTRALASIAN SUPPLEMENT, viewed 21 November, 2014, [Link 4]

  • Keywords

    Sewing, Needlework, Embroidery, Education