Object Number 1961.1247 A, B

Object Name

Notebook and case

Category

Books

Credit Line/Donor

Bequest of Henry Francis du Pont

Creator (Role)

Eleanor P. Lewis (Maker)
1779
"Eleanor P. Lewis was the granddaughter of Martha Dandridge Washington, a grandchild resulting from Martha's first marriage to Daniel Parke Custis. The Washingtons adopted Eleanor, or Nelly as she was often called, and her brother after the death of their father and serious illness of their widowed mother. Nelly grew up at Mount Vernon and in Philadelphia under the care of her grandparents. In 1799 she married George's nephew, Lawrence Lewis. She gave birth to eight children, one of who was named Lorenzo. Nelly was born in 1779 and would have turned forty-nine in 1827, as the inscription claims. February 22, 1797, the day the silk dress is said to have been worn, was George's sixty-fifth birthday. Thus the names and dates of the inscription are clearly linked to the Washingtons, lending a degree of credibility to its claims." (from Becky Garcia's Textile Research Project)

Place of Origin

Virginia, United States, North America

Date

1827

Mark or Signature or Inscription or Label

1. Inscription; interior, first page; "For / Lorenzo Lewis. / The Work of his / devoted mother / Eleanor P. Lewis / in the 49th year of / her age, & presented / on the 5th June / 1827 - / The silk lining was / a part of M /Washington's dress on the 22nd Feby 1797-" (ink, handwritten)
2. Mark; watermark; "SMITH & ALLNUTT / 1822"

Subjects

Presidential provenance; Government; Washington, George

Materials

Paper; Cloth; Silk; Cloth; Gilt; Leather; Mica; Paint

Techniques

Painted, Gilded, Theorem, Stenciled

Dimensions (inches)

6.62 (L) , 4.75 (W) , 0.62 (D)

Dimensions (centimeters)

16.815 (L) , 12.065 (W) , 1.575 (D)

Measurement Notes

Measurement is of notebook. Case measurement is: OL: 9 1/2"; OW: 7 5/8"; OD: 1".

Object Description

Text available soon.