Description:

Jane’s relatively large sampler depicts Nicholson Street Chapel in Laurieston, a suburb of Glasgow. The building (and associated school) was a popular subject in samplers, with a depiction of the school's two entrances, one for boys and one for girls. She has also stitched two small cottages flanking the main building. A companion sampler by Janet Milne (page 71 in “Patterns of Childhood” by Rebecca Quinton) has the same cottages. While Janet’s piece was done three years before Jane’s and is stylistically different, the cottages are clearly integral to the teacher’s design.

In addition to her parents’ names in sawtooth bordered boxes, Jane stitched a copious amount of initials, representing herself, her three sisters, both parents and both sets of grandparents (MB, HB, JB, HB, MB, JB, MB, JB, [AB], CG, MG, CG, [JG], [JG], [WG, JI], JB, MM, [DB], RN, MN, MN, JN, WN, [RG], WG, JG, JG, DG, CW, HN, WN, JW, WW, MM, EM, MP, HP, P, EP, AP, JB, WA, JMc). The black thread indicate which of the initials represent dead relations. We presume the other initials are her friends, classmates or even cousins.

The top third of the sampler is hectic, with very little space between the alphabets, dividing bands, initials and other motifs. Jane’s spacing is better in the middle area and then quite adequate for the bottom section containing the buildings. There are a wonderful variety of floral and bird motifs in a mostly mirrored format, with variety added by changing thread colours. Jane’s best feature is the lustrous bowl of flowers. Stitched in a very shiny silk thread that combines with a free-form style to make it as prominent as the Chapel. Jane used bits of this shiny thread in some of the other flowers as well as on the roof of the school, but sadly the satin stitched roof is mostly gone. The entire sampler is surrounded by a carnation border, but here, too, the satin stitches are disappearing.

Despite the wool having aged into a lovely golden hue, this sampler is a good example of what can happen when the utmost care is not taken. Over time, moths enjoy eating random areas, the wool become stained from exposure to smoke or tannins of the backing board, moisture in the air causes the silk thread to “bleed” into the wool and often times satin stitched motifs suffer from permanent thread loss. We are fortunate to have conserved it in time to halt the damage.

Size (W x H): 16 3/4 x 20 3/4 inches

Stitches: Cross, satin, eyelet, four sided, running, back, French knot

Media: Silk on wool

Genealogy:

Despite all the family data on the sampler, we are having one heck of a time pinpointing our girl. Only one Jane Brown appears to fit genealogically - but we have some doubts. William Brown and his wife Elizabeth Gray gave birth to their sixth child, a daughter they named Jane 12 April 1829 in Gorbals, Lanark. If this is indeed our samplermaker, she would have been five when she made this piece, which we do find difficult to believe. We are not bothered by mother's name listed as "E" versus an "A" for the Alison listed on the sampler. We all know by now how fluid Scottish spelling was in the 19th century. 

However, there was a William Brown and an Alison Gray who registered the births of three daughters in three separate parishes: Margaret (1816, St. Cuthbert's), Helen (1818, West Calder) and Alison (1822, Kirknewton and East Calder). Despite extensive research we cannot determine if they had more children or daughter named Jane. 

Verse:

Jane Gray Brown Sewed This Sampler x June 18 x 1834

Nicholson Street Chapel Laurieston

William Brown
Alison Gray