Colonial Williamsburg Purchases an Important Sampler

Thanks to the efforts of many caring individuals Colonial Williamsburg was able to recently purchase a sampler from the school of Juda Hayle. Between 1691 and 1710, English schoolmistress, Juda Hayle, was active in girlhood education in the Ipswich area of East Anglia.  A group of twelve samplers has survived to atest to Mistress Hayle's activities and her skill as a needlewoman. What is especially important about these embroideries is that they represent the work of one of only two teachers (of this era) that are positively associated with specific samplers. Three samplers stitched under the direction of Mistress Hayle can be found in the recent Fitzwilliam Museum catalog, Samplers (page 35).

A fourth, a beautiful example of Juda Hayle's instruction,  become available in 1998 for the purchase price of $65,000.  It is signed and dated "Ann Holewil November the 14 1699" with the following verse:

The sampler will be displayed in one of the study drawers of the DeWitt Wallace Gallery, where it will be available for viewing by sampler enthusiasts and scholars.  Joanne Harvey of The Examplarery will be reproducing this sampler.

Details from Mary-Dick Digges on the Purchase of Ann's Sampler
Date: 11/19/98 5:44:48 PM Eastern Standard Time
From: MDDigges
Kim Ivey just left carrying with her a check for $5000 from our yard sale for "the" sampler. We made our goal (or at least the secret goal I had in mind) for the yard sale. That's not the most exciting thing, however. The really exciting thing is that with the addition of what Jeannine has raised on the raffle to pay for the taxes THE SAMPLER IS PAID FOR. Kim brought the tears to my eyes as she told of how donations had come in, $5 here, $15 there, some larger, one a good bit larger, and one significantly larger. It seems that a lot of people got the word and got involved --- and I think that's how it ought to be.
I ask Kim when the deadline actually was, and she said "now." Because she knew that this was coming both the text in the book and the sign in the exhibition could read that the sampler was a gift of the Friends of the Colonial Williamsburg Textile Collection rather than saying that it was on loan. Another day would have been too late. Now that's what I call a squeaker.
So thanks and well done to all who helped to make this happen. Thanks especially to those who helped with the Yard Sale, as this helped me to recover storage space that I thought I'd never see again. I feel like dancing around saying "We did it; we did it." For me it came on an especially significant day --- the anniversary of the date on which I completed my first finished, signed and dated piece of embroidery, November 19, 1940, at the age of six.
Mary-Dick

Adapted in part from original text by Kathleen Epstein.  Also excerpts of an email message from Mary-Dick Digges.  Used by permission of both.

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