Item HT 38902 Sampler - Eliza Winter, Alphabet & Numerals, Melbourne, circa 1846-1853

Summary

Sampler made by Eliza Jane Winter circa 1846-1853. One of a group of five early Australian samplers completed by Alice and Eliza Winter in Latrobe Street, Melbourne between 1846 and 1866.

Eliza was christened on 12 June 1842 and died in 1853, aged 11, of a 'fever', likely colonial fever (typhoid).

Her sister Alice Winter was christened in 1857 and lived to old age.

Physical Description

Embroidered sampler in coloured (now faded) threads on an off white backing fabric. The design features text purple, green, faded red and pale blue, on a woven white fabric ground. The design includes the alphabet in capital and lower case letters and numerals, the makers name. There is a wave patterned border across the top in purple.

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.