Antique Sampler, 1837, by Marianne Butland Gill

Victorian Sampler, 1837, by Marianne Butland Gill. The sampler is worked in silk threads on a linen ground, mainly in cross stitch. A wonderfully worked meandering floral border. Colours red, green, light brown, black, pink, yellow and blue. Verse entitled, 'THE DAY OF LIFE' reads, 'And life is like a summer's day, It seem so quickly past, Youth is the morning bright and gay, And if tis spent in wisdom way, We meet old age without dismay. And death is sweet at last.' And another verse entitled, 'UPON LIFE' reads, 'LORD, what is life - Tis like a flower, That blossoms, and is gone! We see it flourish for an hour, With all its beauty on; But Death comes like a wintry day, And cuts the pretty flower away. '. Signed and dated, 'Marianne Butland Gill, July 20 1837. Worked at Walkhampton School. Aged 15 years'. Walkhampton is a village in Devon, England. A good set of motifs, including a house with a picket fence and fir trees, parrots, stars, birds, fruit baskets, squirrels in trees and a potted flowering plant. Framed in a modern wood frame with a clear acrylic covering. Mounting: The sampler is loose mounted. Frame backed with chipboard and sealed with tape.. Dimensions exclude the frame and slip.