Who Stitched the “Jane Austen Sampler”?

Photo of a print of the Jane Austen sampler. The print was bought at the Jane Austen Centre in Bath a few years ago.  White marks are damage to the print, not the sampler.

In the fall I posted about this fascinating sampler, which is now held in a private collection.  Jane Austen expert Deirdre Le Faye has since added more information. She believes that the sampler was not done by novelist Jane Austen but by a different Jane Austen, possibly “our” Jane’s second cousin.

This week I have posted an article, “Jane Austen’s Sampler: Who Stitched It?” examining the available evidence, at the wonderful website Jane Austen’s World. Come join me there to consider this historical treasure more closely.

Update, March 2020:

A genealogist and embroidery specialist has now found strong evidence that the sampler was not by the novelist Jane Austen, but by another Jane Austen of a lower social class. Read about it at Jane Austen’s World and in detail at “Is This Jane Austen’s Sampler?”

Previous posts on the sampler:

Jane Austen’s Sampler: Praising God (Part 1)

Reflections on Jane Austen’s Sampler: Praising God (Part 2)