SOLD The Joan Stephens Collection : Important Samplers and Pictorial Needlework * £22 €33 $55 Shipping Included

Joan Stephens was an important figure not only in the world of samplers but also quilts, which was where her interest in textiles started.

She helped Betty Ring research samplers for Girlhood Embroidery and in the introduction to this Sothebys catalogue of 1997 is a very moving tribute from Betty Ring.

Joan Stephens died unexpectedly in 1995 and was followed soon after by her husband, and this is how this very significant needlework collection came to be in the public domain again.

Here you can see some of the fabulous samplers in the collection such as the wonderful New York sampler above with its characteristic cartoon-like biblical story-telling.

There are some lovely early British samplers in addition to the wealth of US examples.

This softback catalogue is in excellent condition and lists the 143 lots of the Joan Stephens Collection which were auctioned after her and her husband's deaths. It is a very sought after item and rightly so.