George Washington's Wine Cooler
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George Washington’s Wine Cooler: A Reflection of Post-Revolutionary America The Harvard community has made this article openly available. Please share how this access benefits you. Your story matters Citation Bride, Marjorie. 2021. George Washington’s Wine Cooler: A Reflection of Post-Revolutionary America. Master's thesis, Harvard University Division of Continuing Education. Citable link https://nrs.harvard.edu/URN-3:HUL.INSTREPOS:37367624 Terms of Use This article was downloaded from Harvard University’s DASH repository, and is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Other Posted Material, as set forth at http:// nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of- use#LAA George Washington’s Wine Cooler: A Reflection of Post-Revolutionary America Marjorie McHenry Bride A Thesis in the Field of International Relations For the Degree of Master of Liberal Arts in Extension Studies Harvard University May 2021 © 2021 Marjorie McHenry Bride Abstract In 1789, George Washington was inaugurated as the first president of the new nation of the United States of America. Thereafter, he embarked on setting up a household that emphasized a “dignified and lasting American style, [as] the founding fathers were keenly aware of their legacy not only in politics and constitutional law but in their role as tastemakers in the realm of architecture and arts.”1 He ordered 12 Sheffield silver-plated wine coolers from Great Britain to be used for entertaining guests in a suitable fashion. During his presidency, he gave some of the coolers to acquaintances, and others were handed down to descendants; the one in my possession was given to my ancestor James McHenry. I use this wine cooler as a tangible object of study and also to provide insights into cultural, economic, and political issues of post-Revolutionary America as they related to Great Britain. During my research this question arose: Why, after a bitter conflict and successful separation from Great Britain, did many colonists go back to their pre-war practice of trading with and emulating their former enemy? Although Americans accomplished the feat of setting up a unique new form of government, did they ever truly separate culturally from their mother country? Did economic needs dictate their cultural mores? Ultimately, what do revolutions accomplish for the citizens of a new country? 1 Christie’s, “Lot Essay: Important Silver, Description of a Washington wine cooler,” 2012: 4. https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-5525820. Frontispiece Fig. 1. Sheffield silver double wine cooler, with inscription. Commissioned by George Washington and presented to James McHenry in 1797. Descended through McHenry family and currently in possession of the author. Inscription reads: Presented by Genl. Washington to James McHenry, August 14th, 1797. Source: Photos by thesis author. iv Dedication This thesis is dedicated to my mother and father, James McHenry and Marjorie Ober McHenry and to my sister, Joan McHenry Hoblitzell and to all who came before them, and to my sons John Hambleton Bride Christopher McHenry Bride who will carry on our family traditions. v Acknowledgments I would like to thank my Research Advisor, Don Ostrowski, for allowing me to pursue the particularly personal subject of this thesis. While it does not fall completely into the field of International Relations, which is my field of study, he suggested framing my family’s George Washington wine cooler in the context of post-Revolutionary trade with England. Mark Letzer, Executive Director of the Maryland Center for History and Culture, first piqued my interest in the wine cooler and in pursuing its history. He provided much early material and information for use in this thesis and continued to support me with ideas and access to needed resources. He has been an integral part of writing this work. Adam Erby, Curator of Decorative Arts at Mount Vernon, has been a constant source of information about the other eleven wine coolers and about George Washington and Mount Vernon in general. I appreciate enormously his suggestion that I apply to be a Mount Vernon Fellow in 2021–2022, a program I never would have known about and to which I have been accepted. My husband, Terry McEnany, a retired cardiac surgeon, has taken a sharp pencil to my drafts, frequently frustrating me but almost always turning out to be correct in his suggestions. He has also endured my absorption in this project with good grace, and continues to support me in my future endeavors to study George Washington and his life. Jeffrey Ryan, author, helped me put the thesis in shape over its many iterations, understanding that manipulating the computer was definitely not one of my strengths. And Bob Kinerk and Ann Warner, neighbors, helped enormously by using their editorial skills to improve some of my multiple drafts. vi Table of Contents Abstract ......................................................................................................................... iii Frontispiece .................................................................................................................... iv Dedication ....................................................................................................................... v Acknowledgments .......................................................................................................... vi List of Figures ................................................................................................................ ix List of Tables.................................................................................................................. xi I. Introduction ......................................................................................................... 1 Background .......................................................................................................... 2 II. Literature and Research Review ........................................................................... 5 Culture, Lifestyles, and Gentility .......................................................................... 6 Trade and Luxury Trade ....................................................................................... 9 Politics ............................................................................................................... 11 Research Methods .............................................................................................. 12 III. Tracing the George Washington Wine Coolers ................................................... 14 History of the James McHenry Wine Cooler ...................................................... 20 John McHenry, 1791–1822......................................................................... 21 James Howard McHenry 1820–1888 .......................................................... 23 John McHenry, 1863–1939......................................................................... 23 James McHenry, 1899–1976 ...................................................................... 24 As Examples of New Technology ...................................................................... 24 As Tangible Objects ........................................................................................... 29 IV. Cultural Lifestyles and the Consumer Revolution ............................................... 34 Civility and Refinement ..................................................................................... 34 The Consumer Revolution .................................................................................. 43 Examples of Material Objects in the Consumer Revolution ................................ 46 George Washington .................................................................................... 46 vii Social Practices and Circles ........................................................................ 51 V. Luxury Trade with Britain .................................................................................. 54 The Revolutionary War ...................................................................................... 58 After the Revolution........................................................................................... 59 Luxury Items and their Recipients ...................................................................... 60 Mid-Atlantic Gentry and Their Luxury Items ..................................................... 63 Mount Vernon .............................................................................................. 64 Doughoregn Manor ...................................................................................... 71 Eyre Hall ...................................................................................................... 75 Willowbrook ................................................................................................ 77 Hampton ...................................................................................................... 80 Fayetteville .................................................................................................. 83 Silk Imported to Virginia ................................................................................... 85 VI. Politics of a New Country .................................................................................. 88 Federalists and Republicans ............................................................................... 89 James McHenry and John Adams, Federalists ...................................................