Catharine L. Channon

This exceptional sampler was worked in 1826 by Catharine Channon of Germantown, one of the oldest  neighborhoods in Philadelphia. The scene along the bottom features a fine, small cottage on a lustrous lawn made of long green silk stitches. Many wonderful motifs, large and small, fill the space above. Notable are the white swan, the fruit baskets, and the many Quaker sampler design elements. The border at the top and the horizontal band with queen's-stitch trefoil flowers at the midsection are patterns that were used by Philadelphia samplermakers for many generations. 

Catharine produced a beautifully balanced, rich visual picture while exhibiting her proficiency with a wide variety of stitches and techniques. 

Born in 1815, Catharine was the daughter of Joseph Channon, a manufacturer of lamp black in Germantown and his wife, Sarah. Catharine remained single and left a will when she died in 1867, unusual for a woman at that time. A copy of her will and inventory are included in the research file that accompanies the sampler. She is buried in Upper Burial Ground in Germantown, along with her parents and two sisters. 

We first owned this sampler 31 years ago and featured it in our Samplings Catalogue IV, 1993.  It’s our pleasure to offer it again, this time at about half of the price that it sold for in 1993.

The sampler was worked in silk  on linen and is in excellent condition and is conservation mounted. Notably, it's in its fine original mahogany frame.