Listed on eBay earlier this year was this George VI coronation sampler from 1937. In comparison to some other designs - for example the George V jubilee sampler with coaches from an earlier blog entry here - this looks distinctly chunky. It seems to be due to at least two elements: the design itself (not a lot of grace about that coach, it looks semi-motor-car-like) and the size in which it has been worked (it's on tapestry canvas rather than evenweave linen or cotton). Interesting to note the military figures: there were rumblings in Europe at the time. The 1953 coronation samplers were much more likely to have jolly Beefeaters than the soldier and sailor featured here.
The background is also interesting. The brown is cross-stitches - the entire background has been filled in. One of the advantages of cross-stitch or embroidery samplers is that generally you don't have to fill in the background (unlike pictorial cross-stitch such as some of the photo-style William and Catherine designs illustrated in an earlier entry on this blog; or unlikehand-stitched needlepoint/tapestry with continental or ten stitch where every square of the design on canvas is generally filled). Perhaps the stitcher stitched the design, saw how the canvas looked and chose to cover it up.
If you know where this design was published, please do leave a comment.
I don't have this sampler in my collection though it is an interesting design. Almost looks as if it has been made by Lego. I do have a GeorgeVI coronation sampler showing soldiers sailors warships and helicopters so war must have been on everyones mind at the time.
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