United States of America -- Maryland -- Talbot County -- Easton
Date:
1940
General:
Only perimeter plantings of formal garden remain. Garden was beautiful in the 1920s - There's a good aerial photo of it and house in the book, Where the Land and Water Intertwine by Christopher Weeks. Gross' Coate is the ancestral home of the Tilghman family since 1759 to the present. Talbot County Historical Society.
Collection Restrictions:
Access to original archival materials by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Collection Rights:
Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, The Garden Club of America collection.
Sponsor:
A project to describe images in this finding aid received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care Initiative, administered by the National Collections Program.
United States of America -- Maryland -- Talbot County -- Easton
Date:
1940
General:
Only perimeter plantings of formal garden remain. Garden was beautiful in the 1920s - There's a good aerial photo of it and house in the book, Where the Land and Water Intertwine by Christopher Weeks. Gross' Coate is the ancestral home of the Tilghman family since 1759 to the present. Talbot County Historical Society.
Collection Restrictions:
Access to original archival materials by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Collection Rights:
Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, The Garden Club of America collection.
Sponsor:
A project to describe images in this finding aid received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care Initiative, administered by the National Collections Program.
United States of America -- Maryland -- Talbot County -- Easton
Date:
1940
General:
Only perimeter plantings of formal garden remain. Garden was beautiful in the 1920s - There's a good aerial photo of it and house in the book, Where the Land and Water Intertwine by Christopher Weeks. Gross' Coate is the ancestral home of the Tilghman family since 1759 to the present. Talbot County Historical Society.
Collection Restrictions:
Access to original archival materials by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Collection Rights:
Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, The Garden Club of America collection.
Sponsor:
A project to describe images in this finding aid received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care Initiative, administered by the National Collections Program.
United States of America -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia County -- Philadelphia
Date:
[1930?]
General:
Oil on canvas - 1816 - Germantown. This scene gives prominent view of unusual plants in foreground. Peale practiced both scientific agriculture and artistic landscape.
Collection Restrictions:
Access to original archival materials by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Collection Rights:
Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Gardens -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia Search this
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, The Garden Club of America collection.
Sponsor:
A project to describe images in this finding aid received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care Initiative, administered by the National Collections Program.
United States of America -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia County -- Philadelphia
Scope and Contents:
The folder includes a worksheet; Wister articles by La Salle University; copy of written presentation by Mary R. E. Wister (November 4, 1909); and copy of letter from Coleman Sellers (grandson of Charles Wilson Peale) to Thomas Stewardson (March 21, 1900).
General:
The property, home of Charles Wilson Peale, lies on the outskirts of Germantown. Peale developed the estate from a one hundred acre farm, laying out his garden with box-bordered walks, lilacs, summer houses, arches, and pools. William Logan Fisher bought the property, which adjoined the Fisher estate (Wakefield) and the Logan estate (Stenton), in ca. 1825. He bought it for his daughter, Sarah on her marriage to William Wister. Sarah Logan Wister Starr, granddaughter of the former couple and daughter of John Wister inherited the estate. She added telepone and electricity with underground cables so that the garden would not be disturbed with poles. Sarah's husband, James Starr, added water and rock gardens, while she added a garden of 100 hybrid tea roses. A Chinese style garden was added after a trip to China in 1933.
Persons associated with the garden include: Charles Wilson Peale (former owner, 1780); Sarah Logan Fisher Wister (former owner, 1823); John Wister (former owner); Sarah Logan Wister Starr (former owner, 1922-1956); and La Salle University (owners of portions of property and house, 1926, 1984).
PA006003 is 35 mm. copy of painting.
Related Materials:
Belfield related holdings consist of 1 folder (2 glass lantern slides and 2 35 mm. slides)
Collection Restrictions:
Access to original archival materials by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Collection Rights:
Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Topic:
Gardens -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia Search this
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, The Garden Club of America collection.
Sponsor:
A project to describe images in this finding aid received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care Initiative, administered by the National Collections Program.
Access to original archival materials by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Collection Rights:
Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Gardens -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia Search this
Genre/Form:
Lantern slides
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, The Garden Club of America collection.
Sponsor:
A project to describe images in this finding aid received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care Initiative, administered by the National Collections Program.
The microfilmed American Philosophical Society selected records contain art related letters; committee reports; registrar's and curators' records; pamphlets; and exhibition catalogs from the archives of the American Philosophical Society. Many of the letters are to the Society's secretary and librarian John Vaughan; a few are to the Society's presidents Thomas Jefferson and Peter S. Du Ponceau, and officials John K. Kane and J. Peter Lesley. Among the correspondents are Benjamin Franklin, Benjamin West, Charles Willson Peale, Jacob Perkins, Philip Tidyman, Charles B. Lawrence, John Trumbull, Thomas Sully, Joseph Delaplaine, Robert Patterson, John Quincy Adams, Titian Ramsay Peale, Rembrandt Peale, Joel Roberts Poinsett, Victor G. Audubon, and Robert Fulton.
Also included are copies of the registrar's cards for portraits and busts owned by the Society, arranged alphabetically by sitter; "Preliminary Notes, Biographical Sketches, and Memoranda chronologically arranged, for insertion in the Curator's Catalog of Portraits, Busts, and Bas-Reliefs in the Collection of the American Philosophical Society. Illustrated by photographs taken from the originals by Mrs. Julius A. Sachese, member APS"; circa 25 exhibition catalogs and pamphlets (1811-1840) for exhibitions of the Society of Artists of the United States, Columbian Society of Artists, Artists' Fund Society, Artists' and Amateurs' Association, and for works by Thomas Sully, Gilbert Stuart, Benjamin Robert Haydon, Joseph Delaplaine, and others; and newspaper clippings (1917) about the controversy surrounding portraits by Albert Rosenthal hung in Independence Hall (reel P36, frames 372-401).
Biographical / Historical:
The American Philosophical Society (founded 1743) is a scholarly organization in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded by Benjamin Franklin, the American Philosophical Society "promotes useful knowledge" through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and community outreach.
Related Materials:
The American Philosophical Society holds the American Philosophical Society archives, 1743-1984.
Provenance:
Microfilmed for the Archives of American Art, 1955. The letters are mainly American Philosophical Society records, but many were pulled from ASP's Misc. Mss. and various other collections, and microfilmed in no apparent order. Descriptive cards microfilmed with each letter indicate location of originals.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
Topic:
Portraits -- Private collections -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia Search this
Peale, Charles Willson, 1741-1827 -- Christ at Bethesda Search this
Extent:
3 Microfilm reels (1 linear foot on 3 partial microfilm reel)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Microfilm reels
Date:
1765-1826
Scope and Contents:
The Charles Willson Peale diaries and exhibition announcement include 26 volumes, microfilmed on Reel 3899, containing diary entries relating to family, business, travels, sittings, Peale's museum, and other topics. Microfilmed on Reel D9 is a handwritten announcement for the exhibition of Peale's Christ at Bethesda, March 20, 1821. This exhibition announcement is also available in miscellaneous manuscripts folder 048. Also included in the collection on microfilm reel N86/20 is a diary kept in Philadelphia and Annapolis from May 30, 1788 until May 5, 1789. Peale writes about working on his drawing machine "for taking perspective views"; about people sitting for portraits; techniques in painting; repairing pictures; travel conditions between Philadelphia and Annapolis; the operation of his Philadelphia museum; recipes for preserving birds and animals; business and travel expenses; experiment in making bifocals; and social activities and acquaintances.
Biographical / Historical:
Charles Willson Peale (1741-1827) was a portrait painter and engraver in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is known for his portraits of the founding fathers including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and John Adams. In 1786 he founded the Peale Museum, and was one of the founding members of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 1805.
Related Materials:
The Archives of American Art holds the Rembrandt and Harriet Peale collection, circa 1820-1932 and the Rubens Peale diaries, 1855-1865. Also found at the Archives of American Art are the microfilmed printed material relating to Rembrandt Peale, 1830-1862; microfilmed Mary Jane Peale and Peale family selected papers, circa 1815-1897; microfilmed Titian Ramsay Peale Collection, 1771-1876; microfilmed selected Peale family papers, 1803-1854; microfilmed selected papers from the Peale-Sellers collection, circa 1767-1904; and microfilmed Augusta Barker papers, 1875-1887.
The American Philosophical Society holds the Peale-Sellers Family Collection, 1686-1963 and the Peale family papers, 1705-1898.
Provenance:
Microfilm of 26 diaries (reel 3899) purchased in 1987 from the American Philosophical Society as part of AAA's Philadelphia Arts Documentation Project. Material on reel D9 donated 1955-1962 by Charles E. Feinberg, an active donor and friend of AAA. Material on reel N68/20 lent for microfilming 1968 by Fordham University Library.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Microfilmed materials must be consulted on microfilm. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Occupation:
Painters -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia Search this
Wylie, Samuel B. (Samuel Brown), 1773-1852 Search this
Extent:
2 Reels (ca. 150 items (on 2 partial microfilm reels))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Reels
Date:
1760-1935
Scope and Contents:
Letters, mainly from artists, and documents selected from the Historical Society of Pennsylvania's miscellaneous manuscript collection (Society Collection). Letters are to various people; 46 of them are to Townsend Ward and a few are to John A. McAllister, photographer. Many of the letters refer to paintings, portraits, commissions, and awards.
Writers of letters include: Edwin Austin Abbey, Mary Gertrude Abbey, F.W. Bayley, Albert Bierstadt, George Catlin, Joseph Ceracchi, John Gadsby Chapman, John Cheney, James Claypool, James Cox, F.O.C. Darley, Joseph Delaplaine, Humphrey Donnehue, William Dunlap, Pierre Eugene Du Simitiere, S. Eliot, Charles Fevret De Saint-Memin, Charles Dana Gibson, Harold Edgar Gillingham, Horatio Greenough, George Harding, Levi Hollingsworth, William Morris Hunt, Daniel Huntington, Henry Inman, Horatio Gates Jones, James Reid Lambdin, Will Hicok Low, Edward Dalton Marchant, William Henry Moody, John Neagle, Albert Newsam, Bass Otis, Thomas Paine, Charles Willson Peale, Franklin Peale, James Peale, Jr., Mary Jane Peale, Rembrandt Peale, Titian Ramsay Peale, Joseph Pennell, Clement Penrose, Robert Piggot, Thomas Buchanan Read, William Trost Richards, Thomas Prichard Rossiter, Peter Frederick Rothermel, William Rush, John Sartain, Stephen Alonzo Schooff (to Townsend Ward), Russell Smith, Charles H. Stephens, Thomas Sully, Philip Syng, John Vanderlyn, N.P. Willis, Alexander Wilson and Patience Wright.
Among the recipients of letters are Archibald Alexander, David S. Brown, William Belcher, Col. Brodhead, B. Burrell, Carey & Hart, Edward L. Carey, Henry C. Carey, Miss Clarke, Mr. Curren, Joseph Delaplaine, John Dickinson, Dr. Dickson, William Dillwyn, William Duane, James B. Elliott, Mrs. Langdon Elwyn, Mantle(?) Fielding, John W. Francis, Charles P. Hayes, David Hosack, Mr. Howell, Major William Jackson, Horatio Gates Jones, John W. Jordan, H.H. Kjmball, C.G. Leland, Joseph Leidy, J.B. Lippincott, George Livermore, James Madison, J. Hill Martin, John McAllister, James McMurtrie, James Monaghan, J. Murray, Albert Cook Myers, Rebecca and Isabella Nathans, John Neagle, C.S. Ogden, John Paca, Charles Willson Peale, Rembrandt Peale, David Rittenhouse, Albert Rosenthal, John Sartain, Jacob Schreiner, James Shrigley, James Ross Snowden, W.D. Snyder, Dr. Sommerville, J.C. Stanbridge, F.D. Stone, Henry Troth, Mr. Vaux, Townsend Ward, William Hill Wells, G.M. Wharton, Thomas Wharton, Henry J. Williams, and Samuel B. Wylie.
Other items include a sonnet of S.T. Coleridge by Washington Allston; business card of Pennel Beale; catalog of medals and coins of silver in the possession of Hon. John Smith compiled by Du Simitière, 1772; printed address by Mrs. John C. Montgomery soliciting donations for the repair of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, destroyed by fire, 1845; William Morris Hunt's admission ticket to Peale's Museum, 1836, stating his height and weight; description of objects on display at the Peale Museum, 1820; a photograph and business card of Benjamin Randolph; invitations and notes to Gilbert Stuart; typescript by Frank H. Taylor on lithography, 1923; subscription book for engravings of paintings by John Trumbull; and a page from John Archibald Woodside's daybook, 1802-1803.
Provenance:
Microfilmed by the Historical Society of Pennsylvania for the Archives of American Art, 1955.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
The Charles Henry Hart autograph collection dates from 1731-1917 and measures 1.71 linear feet comprised of 232 letters, portrait prints, and other documents signed by American artists. There is a .01 linear foot (6 items) unprocessed addition to this collection donated in 2021 that includes a letter from Winslow Homer to Mr. Clarke, November 28, 1892; typed and annotated lists of autographs of artists in the collections of Charles Henry Hart; handwritten note about English painter and engraver, John Keyse Sherwin, undated; handwritten note regarding Gennearino Persico, miniature artist, July 18, 1826.
Scope and Contents:
The Charles Henry Hart autograph collection dates from 1731-1917 and measures 1.71 linear feet comprised of 232 letters, portrait prints, and other documents signed by American artists. There is a .01 linear foot (6 items) unprocessed addition to this collection donated in 2021 that includes a letter from Winslow Homer to Mr. Clarke, November 28, 1892; typed and annotated lists of autographs of artists in the collections of Charles Henry Hart; handwritten note about English painter and engraver, John Keyse Sherwin, undated; handwritten note regarding Gennearino Persico, miniature artist, July 18, 1826.
Originally titled by Hart as "The History of Art in America as Told in a Remarkable Collection of Autograph Letters and Documents of Celebrated American Artists of the Eighteenth, Nineteenth, and Twentieth Century," the collection includes letters and other items signed by Thomas Anshutz, John J. Audubon, William Merritt Chase, Frederic Edwin Church, John Singleton Copley, Kenyon Cox, Thomas Eakins, Jervis McEntee, Samuel F.B. Morse, Charles Willson Peale, Raphaelle Peale, Rembrandt Peale, Rubens Peale, Titian Peale, James Daivd Smillie, Gilbert Stuart, Thomas Sully, Abbott Handerson Thayer, John Vanderlyn, Elihu Vedder, John Quincy Adams Ward, Benjamin West, James Abbott McNeill Whistler, and many others.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged in 2 series.
Missing Title
Series 1: Charles Henry Hart autograph collection, 1731-1917 (226 items; Box 1-5)
Series 2: Unprocessed Addition, 1826-1892 and undated (6 items; MMS folder 6)
Biographical / Historical:
Charles Henry Hart (1847-1918) was a historian, lawyer, writer, and director, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 1882-1904. Widely, he published on the subject of 18th and 19th century portraiture in the United States.
Related Materials:
The Archives of American Art also holds the personal papers of Charles Henry Hart, dating from 1774-1930, bulk 1888-1918.
Papers of Charles Henry Hart, 1888-1894, are also located at The New York Public Library Archives & Manuscripts.
Provenance:
The Charles Henry Hart autograph collection was donated to the Archives of American Art in 1954 as an anonymous gift. It is assumed that Hart assembled the letters. Original collation was two letterbooks entitled "The History of Art in America as Told in a Remarkable Collection of Autograph Letters and Documents of Celebrated American Artists of the Eighteenth, Nineteenth, and Twentieth Century." Additional six items donated in 2021 by Ty West, who found the compiled material among his grandfather-in-law's belongings.
Restrictions:
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
The microfilmed Charles Allen Munn collection relating to Charles Willson Peale, John Trumbull and Benjamin West contain a diary of Charles Willson Peale (1788-1789); letters, an account book (1816), and a letter book (1809-1810) of John Trumbull; and a brief manuscript autobiography of Benjamin West.
The Charles Willson Peale papers include a diary kept in Philadelphia and Annapolis (May 30, 1788-May 5, 1789). Peale writes about working on his drawing machine "for taking perspective views;" people sitting for portraits; techniques in painting; repairing pictures; travel conditions between Philadelphia and Annapolis; the operation of his Philadelphia Museum; recipes for preserving birds and animals; business and travel expenses; experiments in making bifocals; social activities; and acquaintances.
John Trumbull papers include correspondence, accounts, and a corrected proof of an original manuscript of a description of Trumbull's pictures. The Benjamin West papers consist of an undated autobiography.
Biographical / Historical:
Charles Allen Munn (1859-1924) was an editor, publisher, and art patron in New York, New York.
Charles Willson Peale (1741-1827) was a painter, inventor, and naturalist known for his portraits of leading figures in the American Revolution, and for founding the Peale Museum (later the Philadelphia Museum), one of the first major museums in the United States.
John Trumbull (1756-1843) was a painter known for his paintings depicting the leaders and events of the American Revolution.
Benjamin West (1738-1820) was an American painter known for his historical and religious paintings. He was historical painter to the court for George III and Surveyor of the King's Pictures, as well as the second President of the Royal Academy. Many American artists traveled to London to study under him, including Charles Willson Peale and John Trumbull.
Related Materials:
The Archives of American Art holds the Charles Willson Peale diaries and exhibition announcement, 1765-1826; the John Trumbull collection, 1790-[ca. 1800]; Papers from John Trumbull's paint box, 1794-[ca. 1830]; Theodore Sizer research material on John Trumbull, 1790-1952; and the Benjamin West collection, 1771-circa 1879. Also found at the Archives of American Art are the microfilmed Mary Jane Peale and Peale family selected papers, circa 1815-1897; microfilmed selected Peale family papers, 1803-1854; microfilmed selected papers from the Peale-Sellers collection, circa 1767-1904; microfilmed Augusta Barker papers, 1875-1887; microfilmed John Trumbull papers, 1787-1843; the microfilmed Canning collection of papers relating to John Trumbull, 1799; the microfilmed John Trumbull collection at the Gilcrease Institute, 1820-1831; microfilmed Benjamin West selected papers from the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 1755-1819.
The American Philosophical Society holds the Peale-Sellers Family Collection, 1686-1963 and the Peale family papers, 1705-1898. The Library of Congress holds the John Trumbull papers, 1786-1841; Princeton University Manuscripts Division holds the John Trumbull Collection, 1768-1842; Winterthur Museum, Garden, and Library holds the John Trumbull papers, 1800-1842; Yale University Manuscripts and Archives Repository holds the John Trumbull papers, 1750-1961. The Historical Society of Pennsylvania holds assorted Benjamin West collections; Winterthur Museum, Garden, and Library holds the Benjamin West papers, 1762-1829.
Provenance:
Lent for microfilming 1968 by Fordham University Library.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
The collection consists of thirteen (13) silhouettes produced by the Peale Museum.
Included are images of Shegagahega (Chaticks Si Chaticks/Pawnee); Pagesgatse (Chaticks Si Chaticks/Pawnee); Tahawarra (probably Missouria/Missouri); Macapaba (probably Missouria/Missouri); Waconsca (probably Kaw/Kansa); Sagessage ("The Wind"; 0sage); Joseph Barron (spelled "Joseph Baume" on image), interpreter; and Paul Chouteau (Osage), interpreter. There are two items labelled number 10, one of which is possibly Mechenecka (Sac and Fox/Sauk & Fox).
The other silhouettes are undated. They include two labelled "Titian R. Peale" (Charles Willson Peale's son), and one labelled "Black Hawk's son."
Please note that the contents of the collection and the language and terminology used reflect the context and culture of the time of its creation. As an historical document, its contents may be at odds with contemporary views and terminology and considered offensive today. The information within this collection does not reflect the views of the Smithsonian Institution or National Anthropological Archives, but is available in its original form to facilitate research.
Historical Note:
In December 1805, Thomas Jefferson hosted a delegation of representatives of Native American tribes from Louisiana Territory in Washington D.C. In January 1806, several members of the delegation traveled to Philadelphia. There they visited Charles Wilson Peale's Museum and had their silhouettes made.
Charles Willson Peale (1741–1827) was an American painter, soldier, scientist, inventor, politician and naturalist who established one of the first museums in the United States, known as Peale's Philadelphia Museum. The silhouettes were made using a physiognotrace, a device developed by British inventor John Hawkins (1772-1855) which allowed the artist to produce multiple silhouettes simultaneously by impressing a traced image onto a folded piece of paper. The artist then cut away the center of the paper, leaving a "hollow cut" image. African American artist Moses Williams (1776-1883), an indentured servant of Peale, cut thousands of silhouettes for visitors to the museum and may be the artist responsible for the silhouettes in this collection.
Local Numbers:
NAA MS 7129
OPPS NEG MHT 55,527-536
OPPS NEG 84-14405-407
Publication Note:
The silhouettes are described in Ewers, J. C. (1966). "Chiefs from the Missouri and the Mississippi" and Peale's Silhouettes of 1860. Smithsonian Journal of History, 1, 1-26.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research.
Access to the collection requires an appointment.
Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Genre/Form:
Silhouettes
Works of art
Citation:
MS 7129 Silhouettes of members of a 1805-06 delegation to Washington, and others, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
