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We are pleased to present to you two monochrome samplers. Márta’s sampler was stitched in Budapest, Hungary in 1905 and Maggie’s in Pretoria, South Africa in 1900. Whilst the girls lived some 7,447 miles apart, they both stitched a primer sampler as part of their education.
We have made contact with Márta’s family, and they tell us that Márta Sarolta Lujza Mária Kauser was born in Budapest on May 6, 1895. Her parents were Nepomuk János Kauser and Sarolta Kölber. The Kausers and the Kölbers were wealthy families. They often married each other, sometimes for financial reasons. The Kölber family was given a noble title by Franz Joseph I. The Kausers were architects. The most well-known was Jozsef Kauser, who designed numerous public buildings, among them the interior of St. Stephen’s Basilica, a landmark of Budapest.
Márta died five months after her wedding in 1923 as a result of contracting the Spanish Flu.
Maggie Burridge has remained elusive. In a search of family history records, the family name of Burridge appears several times in the Transvaal. However, we cannot find a Maggie/Margaret. Maggie recorded that she stitched her sampler at Abingdon National Girls’ School, Pretoria in the June of 1900. This was during the Boer War.
The origins of the Boer War lay in Britain’s desire to unite the British South African territories of Cape Colony and Natal with the Boer republics of the Orange Free State and the South African Republic (also known as the Transvaal). The discovery of gold in the South African Republic (SAR) in 1886 raised the stakes. A large number of English-speaking people, called Uitlanders (literally ‘Outlanders’) by the Afrikaners, were attracted by the gold fields. This worried the Boers, who saw them as a threat to their way of life.
Maggie’s formative years were dangerous times for people of all races in South Africa. At the same time Maggie finished her sampler, the British launched an offensive to relieve the siege of Pretoria.
We hope that both samplers will bring you and your needle much joy and will soon adorn your red sampler wall.
Both Márta and Maggie’s monochrome samplers were reproduced using Soie 100.3 from Au Ver à Soie, and we have included conversions for Soie d’Alger (SDA) and DMC. Both samplers were executed with cross stitches laid over two threads of linen. They are suitable for needleworkers of all levels of ability and can be worked on Aida or linen.
The suggested linens for both samplers are Maple Bar by Cedar River Linen for a “clean” look or Dirty Tea Cup by Needle and Flax Linen for an “aged” look.
At the very core of Hands Across the Sea Samplers there is a team of needleworkers who are passionate about antique samplers and being able to share those samplers with you.
