A square sampler featuring a large three-bay two storied brick house with green shutters, hip roof, and two chimneys. The house is situated in the middle of the sampler behind a brick and iron(?) fence ornamental gate flanked by lions (perhaps intended to be lawn sculptures just beyond the fence and gate). A large tree is found on either side of the house along with smaller trees, while the area above the house is filled with baskets or bowls, bird motifs, and star-shaped patterns. The whole is surrounded by a meandering rose vine border approximately 3' wide featuring both full blooms (one in each of the four corners and at center top) and buds. A blue bow is placed at the center bottom. The sampler is signed and dated in the area between the fence and the border. The signature is neatly worked in dark brown, but the date is less precisely worked in darker thread, and runs into the border design. The sampler is worked almost entirely in cross-stitch with only a few instances of stem stitch used in the buds around the border. Silk (see above) threads in shades of green, (including a dark blue-green, medium green, lt. green and very pale green), rosey beige, cream, brown, black?, and blue silk are employed on a plain-woven linen ground which has been hemmed on two sides. The sampler was framed when accessioned in a damaged, non-period frame. This frame was replaced with a new burl frame following conservation of the textile in 1992. ADDITIONAL REMARKS, Cont'd.: By the 1820s building samplers became the fashion at Baltimore schools. Several building samplers worked at 'Mrs. Lyman's school' feature blue bows such as this one. However, this school appears to predate the Fite sampler. 'Eleanor' Lyman was listed as aschoolmistress in the 1814-1815 Baltimore directories. 'Mary' Liman was listed as a teacher in 1822-1823. The only schoolmistress known to have taught in Baltimore from 1822 to 1840 was Mrs. Susanna Travers, whose school was listed in the Baltimore directories of 1812, 1837-1838, and 1841. Most other samplers of this late period include Baltimore Hospital or other public buildings rather than homes. (See Ring, p. 508, fig. 564 and p. 510, fig. 567). A sampler by Ann M. O. Rau, c. 1825 (offered for sale by the Finkels in 'Samplings,' Vol. II, 1992), features the same bow/vine border motifs and a similar house. Though the Finkels state that this sampler is probably from Pennsylvania, the trees in it are identical to those in a sampler by Julian Stevenson inscribed as being from Baltimore found in the Spring 1992 issue of 'Samplings'. The trees on the Fite sampler, however, are different from those on the other Baltimore building samplers. They resemble trees found on Pennsylvania and New York samplers. (See Ring, 1987, p. 30 and p. 47). A sampler worked in Ohio by Mary Ann Wright in 1823 lacks both the bow and border of the Fite and Rau samplers, but has a similar house, fence, lions in the front yard and an oak tree which is very similar to the tree in the Fite sampler. (Studebaker, cover). The sampler was framed when accessioned in a damaged, non-period frame. This frame was replaced with a new burl frame following conservation of the textile in 1992. ADDITIONAL REMARKS, Cont'd.: By the 1820s building samplers became the fashion at Baltimore schools. Several building samplers worked at 'Mrs. Lyman's school' feature blue bows such as this one. However, this school appears to predate the Fite sampler. 'Eleanor' Lyman was listed as a schoolmistress in the 1814-1815 Baltimore directories. 'Mary' Liman was listed as a teacher in 1822-1823. The only schoolmistress known to have taught in Baltimore from 1822 to 1840 was Mrs. Susanna Travers, whose school was listed in the Baltimore directories of 1812, 1837-1838, and 1841. Most other samplers of this late period include Baltimore Hospital or other public buildings rather than homes. (See Ring, p. 508, fig. 564 and p. 510, fig. 567). A sampler by Ann M. O. Rau, c. 1825 (offered for sale by the Finkels in 'Samplings,' Vol. II, 1992), features the same bow/vine border motifs and a similar house. Though the Finkels state that this sampler is probably from Pennsylvania, the trees in it are identical to those in a sampler by Julian Stevenson inscribed as being from Baltimore found in the Spring 1992 issue of 'Samplings'. The trees on the Fite sampler, however, are different from those on the other Baltimore building samplers. They resemble trees found on Pennsylvania and New York samplers. (See Ring, 1987, p. 30 and p. 47). A sampler worked in Ohio by Mary Ann Wright in 1823 lacks both the bow and border of the Fite and Rau samplers, but has a similar house, fence, lions in the front yard and an oak tree which is very similar to the tree in the Fite sampler. (Studebaker, cover).