Kentucky Schoolgirl Needlework Sampler by Elmira  Adams of Lincoln, KY, circa 1840. Rendered in eyelet, satin and cross stitch with silk thread on linen ground. Leaf and blossom and sawtooth border surrounding 3 alphabets, two pictorial floral sprays, and a signed verse: "Let my first years be past / that I may give for every day / Some good account at last / Wrought by Elmira A. Adams age 9 years." Housed in a plain stained wood frame. Sight: 16" H x 16 1/2" W. Frame: 19" H x 19 1/2" W.

Note: Elmira Amanda Adams was born to Wilson and Nancie Kelley Davis in Lincoln, KY on June 5, 1827. She married James F. Davis in Lincoln in 1844, and they had fifteen children over thirty years. She died in Xenia, Illinois in 1897 at the age of 70. A packet of genealogical information is available to the winning bidder. 

PROVENANCE: Private Middle Tennessee collection. 

Two 1/2" holes at lower left and upper right edge of ground (affecting border), fraying losses to ground at lower center and upper right corner. Some scattered dark stains up to 1" diameter, water stain to upper center and some general uneven discoloration and fading. Not examined out of frame.