It's the Little Things...

A few recent additions at the museum have made it possible to exhibit for the first time in many years some objects Alice Miner collected. We now have a dress that probably belonged to Mrs. Miner exhibited on a simple mannequin in the Miner Room on the third floor. 

Another display addition is a glass case for jewelry and small objects. This lighted case is on display in the Sheraton Room on the second floor of The Alice. In it you will see many pieces of jewelry, small objects from the children's room - including miniature books and tiny dolls, bakelite jewelry, lockets, eyeglasses and more.

These shoe buckles are said to have belonged to the third President of the United States and author of the Declaration of Independence Thomas Jefferson.

One of the few necklaces in The Alice collection this is an Egyptian scarab piece made of gold, turquoise and other carved stones. It has a matching scarab bracelet. Although Alice Miner and her sisters traveled in Egypt we do not know where she purchased these lovely adornments.

Two pair of 19th century eyeglasses. One was worn by Mrs. Betsey Persons of Rochester, Vermont. The other pair (forefront) belonged to Judge Chew of Richland County, Ohio. The leather glasses case in back also belonged to Mrs. Persons.

A 19th century amethyst and gold pin. There are two sets of earrings to match this bright pin. In back is a french carved ivory pen point holder from the mid-19th century.

Brown and black bakelite earring and pin set. Bakelite was one of the first synthetic plastics - this set likely dates to the early 20th century. Along with these wonderful objects are many more small things to catch your imagination. Come for a tour sometime and see them for yourself. The Alice is open Tuesday - Saturday with tours at 10am, noon and 2pm.

Portraits Abound

Now that the museum has closed for the season, we have turned to the job of preparing the lone remaining 3rd floor room in need of renovation - the Lincoln Library. The work will include having the 1950s era wallpaper removed, repairs done to the plaster walls and ceiling, and painting of the ceiling, walls and floor. This means carefully storing our Civil War exhibit objects. It has also required some major furniture relocation with the help of our docents and staff.

The Lincoln Library is one of my favorite rooms in the museum. It has a high domed ceiling and a huge Victorian converted gas light chandelier, circa 1864. The room was named by Alice and holds the collection of President Lincoln objects, letters, books and photographs that she gathered for the museum and for her husband, William. Other interesting pieces include a custom-built case holding World War I era commemorative medals, and a beautiful late Federal mahogany Ladies' secretaire bookcase. The bookcase, or desk, holds many interesting smaller objects and is always fun to look through during a tour.

Among the Lincoln associated objects in the collection are two I want to provide more detail about. One is a Hanley Staffordshire pottery plaque, "Portrait of Abraham Lincoln" modeled in 1909 from a portrait taken in 1864, and made by Sherwin and Cotton Eastwood Tile Works. The tile is an amazingly lifelike image of Lincoln that was probably transfer-printed onto the porcelain before glazing. The glaze is similar in tone to a sepia photograph, and the porcelain itself is subtly shaped, or raised, to represent Lincoln's facial features. This piece was produced and sold in honor of the 100th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birth - February 12, 1909.

Lincoln was the first United States president photographed while in office. There were over 100 photos taken of him during his lifetime. The inscription on the back of the tile claims the image was created using "the only untouched negative in the United States", later this photograph was reproduced in another wonderful object in our Lincoln collection. The Photographs of Abraham Lincoln, 1911, compiled by Frederick Hill Meserve, contains a chronological record of all of the photos taken of Lincoln in his lifetime. Incidentally, the earliest known photo of Lincoln was captured circa 1848 when he was a Representative in Congress from Illinois.

There were just 102 copies printed of the first edition of the Meserve book - with a listing of recipients in the front. Our copy, signed by Mr. Meserve, is number 96. According to "Supplement Number One" published in 1917 - our copy first belonged to Mr. William C. VanAntwerp, who worked for stock brokerage EF Hutton. Frederick Meserve (1865-1962) was likely inspired to collect Civil War era photographs (at a time when mot people did not significantly value them) partly due to the fact that his father, Willian Neal Merserve, was a soldier of the Civil War and was wounded in battle at Antietam.

When we open again for tours in the spring the Lincoln Library will be an even more wonderful room to visit. The Civil War exhibit will again be on display for all to enjoy. Until then, one can visit the museum to attend events and perhaps peek through the door at the renovation in progress.

Happy New Year!

A Civil War Medal of Honor

On May 24, 1861 Charles Moore wrote a brief note to his father, Colonel A.C. Moore (retired), in it he stated, "I received my appointment of Quartermaster Sergeant of the 16th last evening and was sworn in this morning and am now on duty. I got my appointment through General Wool and Major Palmer. I have not time to write more, but when you write to me direct to CFM Quartermaster Sergeant of the 16th Regiment NY State, Albany, New York. Your son, C.F. Moore" Charles must have been very proud and relieved to have finally secured himself a role in the Union Army after trying all means of procuring a position - first with the Navy, then the Army - until his appointment as Quartermaster Sergeant.

The Medal of Honor

To commemorate the sesquicentennial of the American Civil War there is a new exhibit in the Lincoln Library at The Alice. Included in the exhibit are a few of Charles Moore's letters home to his parents, along with those written by three of William Miner's uncles, all of whom served for the Union during the war. The Lincoln Library usually holds many objects associated with our President, such as photographs and engravings of Lincoln and artifacts that once belonged to him. Also found in the Lincoln Library is a framed document signed by Abraham Lincoln conferring upon Captain George E. Gouraud of the United States Volunteers the rank of Major, "by brevet... for Gallant conduct on the field of battle in the engagement at Honey Hill, South Carolina, 31st December, 1864." Despite what the certificate reads, the date of the battle was actually November 30, 1864.

Through research of this document I have found an exciting bit of information we were not previously aware of here at The Alice - that we hold the military rank certificate for a man who was later awarded the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government, the Medal of Honor! Captain Gouraud eventually became Colonel Gouraud, and his rise can be traced back to the Battle at Honey Hill, South Carolina. Gouraud's Medal of Honor citation reads, "While under severe fire of the enemy, which drove back command, rendered valuable assistance in rallying the men." And the men on the Union side needed all the assistance they could get that day as they were severely defeated by the Confederate troops. When the chaos finally subsided, the Union has lost 89 men, 629 were wounded, and 28 went missing. George Gouraud was born in New York, New York in 1840. Following his military service he worked as an agent for Thomas Edison in London, where he introduced the new Edison Phonograph cylinder recording technology to England in 1888.

George E. Gouraud

We often point out Col. Gouraud's certificate to our tour participants primarily, until our research shed new light on its significance, because it was an original document signed by Abraham Lincoln. Now, however, we can include a little more information about the interesting man who earned it! Should you visit The Alice in the next few months you will have a chance to see the Civil War exhibit in the Lincoln Library - including Charles Moore's letters, the certificate of rank for our Medal of Honor recipient George Gouraud, carte-de-visite photographs of soldiers, Abraham Lincoln's inkwell and foot bath, and even a few objects related to the Confederate United States!

Lincoln Presidential China at The Alice T. Miner Museum

Written by Tricia Davies

When being introduced to the collection of American decorative arts at the Alice T. Miner Museum it is hard not to be impressed by the imposing piece of porcelain that looms large on one of the top shelves of the Ballroom. The stately punch bowl-like object, embellished with a purple and gilt border and the United States Coat of Arms, is striking on a purely aesthetic basis and yet it is the story of its provenance that suggests it could be a true American treasure.

Object XXXX.0907 in The Alice T. Miner Museum Collection

The porcelain piece in question was included in a 1917 inventory of Alice T. Miner's ceramics and glass. Conducting the inventory was noted scholar and collector Emma Hodge who called the piece a "Paris porcelain Wine Cistern" or "wine cooler" interchangeably, and described it as being part of President Abraham Lincoln's State dinner service. The wine cooler had been donated by Emma to her friend Alice for the Alice T. Miner Colonial Collection Museum which opened to the public in 1924.

It was with difficulty that subsequent staff at the museum sought out more information on the wine cooler. Emma Hodge may have inadvertently confused the situation by connecting the authenticity of the wine cooler to pieces from the Lincoln service reportedly in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago and the Historical Society Rooms in Chicago. Evidence of the other pieces, which Emma suggested "have the proper documents attesting these facts" and could authenticate a link to the Lincoln White House, has not been found.

What has been found, following the publication of a catalogue of American Presidential China in The Robert L. McNeil, Jr. Collection at the Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA), are similarities between the so-called wine cooler at The Alice and a chamberstick pictured in the new book and a slop bowl pictured on the PMA website. All three pieces feature decorations which not only echo the design of the Lincoln state dinner service, but feature extra flourishes. According to the catalogue, bedroom pieces ordered by Mary Lincoln as a "toilet set" were "differentiated by quatrefoil and tassel motifs." These are the same four-lobed flower-like forms painted on the wine cooler's purple border, and the same tassels which hang delicately down from the border decoration into the whiteness of the wine cooler's porcelain body.

Chamberstick from the Lincoln White House Toilet Set

Slop Bowl from the Lincoln White House Toilet Set

In an attempt to understand if and how a wine cooler might fit into a toilet set and in hopes of authenticating the collection object as a Lincoln White House piece, Tricia Davies contacted David Barquist who is the H. Richard Dietrich, Jr. Curator of American Decorative Arts at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and who wrote the introduction for the American Presidential China catalogue. Mr. Barquist responded immediately after receiving images and a description of the wine cooler. He related that the July 1861 invoice for Mary Lincoln's toilet set included a ewer, basin, chamber pot, soap dish, brush tray, jug, foot bath, slop jar, pair of chambersticks, powder box, and sponge bowl. He also asserted his belief that "the object in your museum's collection is in fact the foot bath from this set."

We still don't know exactly how Emma Hodge came to own Mary Lincoln's foot bath. A letter at The Alice indicates that a White House usher acquired the Lincoln piece while serving the Hayes through McKinley administrations. Further research needs to be done on this White House connection and efforts are being made to secure a copy of the invoice that lists the foot bath as part of the Lincoln set. David Barquist mentioned the possibility that the other porcelain Hodge references as being in Chicago may have been some of the numerous reproductions of Lincoln China made in the nineteenth century "and thus not retained by those institutions." Indeed, our research supports this theory.

The assertion that the object in the Alice T. Miner Museum is a foot bath has the power to change the way we look at the piece and how we share it with visitors. Previously imagined on a sideboard bearing wine, now the porcelain piece can be envisioned filled with water and, well, feet. The foot bath can be taken out of the formal context of the public state rooms and placed more privately in the family quarters of the Lincoln White House. The foot bath can also be reinterpreted as one of a set of twelve bedroom pieces, rather than one of a set of 658 pieces ordered by Mary Lincoln to complete the initial dinner and dessert service. No wonder one can't help but be impressed.

To commemorate the sesquicentennial of the Civil War this object is currently on exhibit in the Lincoln Library along with other images and objects representing or formerly belonging to Abraham Lincoln. Included in this exhibit are letters home written by local men during the Civil War. The Alice collection includes letters written by Charles Moore, and three of Will Miner's uncles who served during the war.

Jefferson & the Gloucester Hickory

Ah, the treasures hidden right beneath our noses! It was announced on President's Day that 74 books once belonging to our third President, Thomas Jefferson, were discovered in the rare books collection at Washington University Library in St. Louis, MO. These books have been held by the library for over 130 years and were originally donated by Jefferson's granddaughter, Ellen Coolidge, who actually bought them at auction. Jefferson apparently marked his books in a unique way, and the provenance from his estate to Ms. Coolidge, then eventually to the library, is quite clear. The library merely searched the pages of the books from the Coolidge donation and found that 74 of them had Jefferson's mark. Some of the books even had his handwritten notes in the margins!

Not planning a trip to Missouri any time soon? Might you nevertheless wish to see Thomas Jefferson's handwriting in person? Well it just so happens that right under your noses, here at The Alice T. Miner Museum, are housed a few letters written by Jefferson that are possible for you to read!

I'll be happy to tell you about two of the letters, one written by Jefferson, and the other the reply from a Mr. Philip Tabb, Esq. The Alice holds two other letters written by Mr. Jefferson, one of which was penned in 1816, and the other in November 1801 while serving in his first year as President. The latter I have previously written about in the blog, and you can read it here, http://minermuseum.blogspot.com/2009/06/thomas-jefferson-barbary-pirates.html.

The Jefferson letter is dated January 8, 1809, from Washington,

"Sir

Being desirous of planting some of the famous large Gloucester hiccory nut, now I believe nearly extinct, I take the liberty of solliciting your friendly aid in procuring them. a dozen or two, or even a smaller number, if quilted in a wrapper of linen, or covered between two bits of paste board, will come handily in the mail, and in time to be planted this season. retiring shortly to these occupations, you may judge of my enthusiasm in them, when at the age of 65 I am proposing to plant hiccory nuts. I pray you excuse the trouble I propose to you, and to accept my salutations & assurances of esteem & respect.

Thomas Jefferson"

The reply from Philip Tabb was written January 21 from Toddsbury, his family estate. Here is an excerpt,

"I am sorry it is not in my power to send you as many of the large hickory nuts of this country as you wished to plant ~ a few trees of the best kind are now left, the small quantity obtained from those were soon consumed in the family, four only were left by accident which I now forward by post...

I beg you Sir to accept my best wishes for your health & happiness & believe me to be respectfully yours

Philip Tabb"

It appears from my research that Philip Tabb suspected his letter, as well as the hickory nuts, had been stolen while en route to Jefferson. He writes another letter to the President qouting his previous note. This letter has been digitally archived by The Papers of Thomas Jefferson - Digital Edition, The University of Virginia Press. They have the reply from Jefferson to the Tabb letter and both can be read at the bottom of this blog posting.

To read more about Philip Tabb and the Gloucester Hickory trees Thomas Jefferson coveted, check out this article, http://www.southerngardenhistory.org/PDF/Magnolia-Spring%2003.pdf. Scroll down to page 12 for the article "The Elusive and Enigmatic Gloucester Hickory" written by Wesley Greene, Garden Historian, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. Our Tabb letter to Jefferson is qouted in that article. Apparently the nuts Tabb sent to Jefferson were then forwarded on to Philadelphia, and just a few years later Thomas Jefferson planted a few more Shellbark Hickory (also commonly referred to as Gloucester Hickory) trees at Monticello.

If you would like to see the Jefferson and Tabb letters in person, come visit The Alice starting in May!

Below are the texts of two related letters found on The Papers of Thomas Jefferson - Digital Edition, The University of Virginia Press:

"Sir Toddsbury 7th April 1809

Having just learnt from Captn Decatur who delivered a moleboard I did myself the pleasure to send you at Washington, that you had not received my letter post which left Gloster Ct House about the 2oth of Jany last - & which I expect was destroyed by a villainous rider who we now know was in the habit of robing the mail about that time, I trouble you with the copy, not willing that the appearance of neglect sould pertain to one who will always feel himself honored by an oppy (opportunity) of rendering you any services in his power -

I am Sir mo. Respecfy Yours

Philip Tabb"

The Papers of Thomas Jefferson - Digital Edition, ed. Barbara B. Oberg and J. Jefferson Looney, Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, Rotunda, 2008. Original source: Retirement Series, Volume 1 (4 March 1809 to 15 November 1809)

Dear Sir Monticello June 1. 09

Your favor of Apr. 7. has been duly recieved, with the copy of that of January. on reading the first paragraph of it respecting the nuts, I was confident I had recieved it, as I had forwarded the nuts on to a friend in Philadelphia. on searching my letter bundles, I accordingly found that of January recieved on the 27th of that month. yet when Capt Decatur sent me the Mould board, the part of your letter respecting that had as entirely escaped me as if I had never seen it. indeed I had found on other occasions that for1 the immense mass of matter which I was in the way of recieving, the memory was quite an insufficient storehouse. I thank you for the mould board. it’s form promises well, & I have no doubt of it’s good performance. it resembles extremely one which I made about 20. years ago, which has been much approved by the agricultural societies of England and France, the latter of which sent me a gold medal as a premium. the form as I observed is very much that of yours, with the advantage of being made by so easy a rule, that the coarsest negro workman can do it, & cannot possibly make it a hair’s breadth different from the true form. if I can find a conveyance, I will send you a small model, with it’s block which will shew you at once how to make it. a description of it may be found in Mease’s2 edition of Reese’s domestic encyclopedia. in agriculture I am only an amateur, having only that knolege which may be got from books. in the field I am entirely ignorant, & am now too old to learn. still it amuses my hours of exercise, & tempts to the taking due exercise. I salute you with great esteem & respect.

Th: Jefferson

The Papers of Thomas Jefferson - Digital Edition, ed. Barbara B. Oberg and J. Jefferson Looney, Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, Rotunda, 2008. Original source: Retirement Series, Volume 1 (4 March 1809 to 15 November 1809)