Madame Tougas 1904 Reproduction Sampler - Couleur Tourterelle

This is an exceptional French sampler in part for its unusual lengthwise format – over four feet wide - but above all because it was stitched by 18 different children: Louise, Eglantine, Joséphine, Léonie, Henriette, Rose, Marguerite, Jeanne, Adèle, Marie-Thérèse, Berthe, Germaine, Hortense, Fernande, Elise, Eugénie, Zoé and Julie!

As indicated in the text, these are all students of Madame Tougas's class, at the local school of Chavigny-Bailleul, in Normandy. Aurélie Tougas* was in fact the teacher's wife, and she had no doubt been put in charge - as was current at the time – of teaching needlework to her husband's girl pupils. This unique sampler shows that she had original ideas and a very good sense of organization to carry out this collective work.

The sampler is very interesting design-wise, with 8 alphabets of varied style, including two, all curves and arabesques, showing Art Nouveau influence - let's not forget that this is 1904.

The smaller generic letters, used for names and school, are derived from the 18th century Linenmaid’s Alphabet, designed for marking laundry and still in use at the time. Note that all complete alphabets include letter W, a modern feature, perhaps the influence of her husband as a teacher?

It was quite a feat organizing a work stitched by 18 pairs of little hands ...

I imagine Madame Tougas decided to start each alphabet on a single line, even if that meant it might be truncated. She then filled in her pupils’ names, managing to fit in all the information without the slightest gap and perfectly balancing the sampler. There is only one single error in the girls’ stitching, the repetition of letters P and Q in the 2nd row.

The original sampler (last image) measures 53” x 16” (135 x 41 cm), it is stitched in cotton on rustic canvas.

Reproduction sampler measures 33 x 12.4 inches (82,5 x 31 cm) and is stitched on 16ct linen.

Stitch Count: 659W x 247H
Linen: Newcastle 40 count - colour 222 Cream
Threads: Au ver a Soie or DMC
Colours: 2

For our full Shipping Information, refer here.

Shipping Costs

The shipping cost of your order depends on your location and the value/size of your order. Shipping costs are added to your order total before payment is processed, and include a small packaging fee to cover costs.

As a guide, within Australia a standard letter has a minimum postage of A$4.90. Orders over A$30.00 are sent by Parcel Post (A$12.65) due to the weight/thickness of the parcel, and to allow tracking. Orders over A$80.00 are sent by Express Post. This protects both you and us, as the order can be tracked.

Express Post within Australia: A$10.70 for an A5 letter, A$16.15 up to 500 grams, A$20.75 up to 1kg, A$25.30 up to 3kg, and A$33.30 up to 5kg.

Actual Configured Shipping Rates (from Shopify settings)

This section is generated from our live Shopify shipping configuration, so it always reflects what a customer is actually charged at checkout - useful to compare against the descriptions above.

Domestic (all Australian states and territories):
- Orders under A$30.00: A$5.50 (Envelope)
- Orders A$30.00 - A$79.99: A$12.65 (Standard)
- Orders A$80.00 and over: A$16.15 (Express)
- Express shipping is also available as an option on any order, for a flat A$16.15, regardless of order value.

International Shipping

We offer regular and Express Post within Australia and New Zealand, and ship internationally to select countries.

International orders are sent by the most economical airmail post. If the actual cost of postage is less than what was calculated, we will refund the difference. If you would like to insure your parcel (at your own expense), please let us know at the time of ordering.

Dispatch Times

If your order's items are in stock, they will generally be shipped within 2-3 business days. If we are waiting on a delivery from our suppliers, there may be a delay - we know when the item will arrive, and if the item is not in stock we will contact you.

Missing or Delayed Parcels

All efforts are made to ensure that our parcels are packaged securely, addressed correctly, and carry the appropriate postage. Once your parcel leaves The Crewel Gobelin, we are in the hands of the postal service - we take no responsibility for items once they have left our store, and do not accept liability if products go missing or are damaged in transit. We recommend Express Post delivery if you would like to be able to track your parcel.

If your order has not arrived within the time originally stated at checkout, or what you consider reasonable, please contact us and we will do our best to check and confirm the postage details. If an item is missing from your shipment, please get in touch the same way.

Questions About Shipping

If you would like to know the exact cost of shipping before placing your order, feel free to email us or call +61 2 9498 6831.

For our full Returns Policy, refer here.

When purchasing from The Crewel Gobelin please review your order carefully as we do not refund or exchange if you have a change of mind about your purchase. To protect the interests of our designers, exchange or refund is not available on books, charts and kits. This also applies to custom finished items, special orders and fabric cut to your specifications, these items cannot be returned unless there is a fault in the product.

Special orders once placed cannot be changed. You will be asked to provide a deposit if you wish us to order any items especially for you. If you change your mind and decide not to go ahead with the order the deposit is non-refundable.

If a product is faulty, please return it to us along with your docket within 14 days of purchase for a full refund or replacement. There are no returns or exchange on discounted and sale goods. If items have been marked down due to an imperfection it will be identified as such.