Antique Victorian sampler by Elizabeth Findlay February 1867 
Antique Victorian 1867 sampler by Elizabeth Findlay this item is 157 years old incredible! Hand stitched by Elizabeth Findlay  (more information to follow) shows the alphabet and some leafs birds and trees  etc amazing colours still incredibly vibrant showing great skill needle points in candle light only nice frame and backing some age related wear and fading as you would expect rarer sampler's have the name and year 
33 cm wide 41 cm tall
Samplers date back to the 15th century and were used as a way of practising the needlework necessary to decorate items such as clothing, tapestries, fire-screens and bed linens in the home. 
A needlework sampler is essentially a piece of embroidery or cross-stitching that demonstrates a person’s needlework skill. They often include the alphabet, figures, motifs, decorative borders or sometimes text. The word ‘sampler’ derives from the Latin exemplum, which means ‘example’. Rarer examples have the name and year