Scarce Nashville, Tennessee schoolgirl needlework sampler stitched by Eliza Folwell and dated October 16, 1836. Silk and wool on linen, checkered outer border surrounding a wide floral border, with upper and lowercase alphabet and numbers over a large basket of flowers and a cartouche containing signature, "Nashville Tennessee," and date. Old (but not original) framing label en verso for the Memphis Photo Supply Co., Peabody Hotel. Sight – 16" H x 16 1/2" W. Framed – 18 1/2" square. Note: According to the Tennessee Sampler Survey, which has documented this sampler, Eliza Folwell was born in 1822 to John and Catherine Marsh Folwell of Davidson County, Tennessee. She married Captain Robert Graham in 1838 and they moved to Louisiana. By 1860 they had returned to Tennessee and were living in Memphis, where her husband was a partner in Graham & Laughlin, a company that sold stoves, furnishings, and hardware. By 1867, Eliza had become a widow. She died in 1909 at the home of her daughter Berta and is buried in Elmwood Cemetery in Memphis. The sampler was purchased in the early 1970s at a Memphis estate sale by a friend of the consignor's mother and then sold to the consignor's mother. CONDITION: Overall very good condition with relatively even toning to ground and fading to threads. 1" light stain lower left corner, 1" light stain at left center edge; some scattered minor losses to threads comprising pink roses. Not examined out of frame.