• THE NEW-YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY
QUARTERLY BULLETIN
VOL. IX APRIL, 1925 No. 1
BROADWAY, LOOKING SOUTH FROM BARCLAY STREET, ABOUT 1885 Astor House and St. Paul's Church on the right.
NEW YORK: 170 CENTRAL PARK WEST PUBLISHED BY THE SOCIETY AND ISSUED TO MEMBERS THE NEW-YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY, 170 CENTRAL PARK WEST (Erected by the Society 1908) Wings to be erected on the 76th and 77th Street corners
OFFICERS OF THE SOCIETY
For Three Years, ending 1926
PRESIDENT FOREIGN CORRESPONDING SECRETARY JOHN ABEEL WEEKES ARCHER MILTON HUNTINGTON
FIRST VICE-PRESIDENT DOMESTIC CORRESPONDING SECRETARY WALTER LISPENARD SUYDAM THOMAS T. SHERMAN
SECOND VICE-PRESIDENT RECORDING SECRETARY J. ARCHIBALD MURRAY WILLIAM RHINELANDER STEWART
THIRD VICE-PRESIDENT TREASURER ARTHUR H. MASTEN R. HORACE GALLATIN
FOURTH VICE-PRESIDENT LIBRARIAN FRANCIS ROBERT SCHELL ALEXANDER J. WALL
Robert H. Kelby, Librarian Emeritus WAX PORTRAITURE
Concerning the art of wax portraiture, considerable will be found in print relating to the work of foreign artists and subjects in the collections of wax works in various institutions and private collections abroad, but only a beginning has been made in bringing out the wax portraiture done in America or the work of American sculptors in wax. The New York Historical Society has some interesting examples of wax portraits which form the basis of this article. In our Egyp tian collection we have four wax figures of the Sons of Horus repre sented with mummiform bodies and heads of a jackal, baboon, falcon and man. These figures date from XXI-XXII Dynasties (1909-745 B.C.) and are funerary gods whose function was to guard the viscera of the dead. They were placed with the mummi fied viscera in the body cavity. They are crudely made by hand, roughly carved with a knife. Two other wax figures, similar in character and date, are also in the collection of Egyptian antiquities. An earlier mention of Egyptian wax figures is made of over a dozen of Queen Nefern's shawabti figures of clay or wax wrapped in band ages and placed in a little coffin which dates back to XI Dynasty or about 3000 B.C.1 From these early evidences of the art of wax work we come to the portrait busts of the Greeks and Romans, among whom we find principally mentioned Lysistratus, a Greek sculptor who lived in Alexander the Great's time and executed small busts in colored wax, recorded as the first instance of the process of coloring.2 Roman sculptors modelled in wax from life and their busts were carried in patrician funerals at the head of the procession. According to Pliny it was the custom of noble families to keep busts in colored wax of their departed ancestors in their houses, while in humbler dwellings waxen images of the household gods were found. Still later we find many noted sculptors modelled in wax, such as Michael Angelo, Benvenuto Cellini, Leone Leoni, Antoine, Benoist,
1 The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Egyptian Expedition, 1923—1924, p. 12. 2 Kendall's Jewelled Waxes and others, "The Connoisseur," Vol. 8, pp. 133-9. 3 4 THE NEW-YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY etc. In fact it was a crowded profession in the 16th Century when we read in a work published in 1550 that "it would take too long to enumerate all the artists who model wax portraits, for nowadays there is scarcely a jeweller who does not occupy himself with such work."3 In England the custom of carrying wax effigies of the departed in funeral processions was practiced in the 16th and 17th Centuries. Some of these life-size models are still preserved in Westminster Abbey, where may be seen the figures of Queen Elizabeth, Oliver Cromwell, Charles I, Duchess of Buckingham, and Lord Chatham. It is said of the Wallace Collection of wax portraits of historical personages in Hertford House, London, England, that it is a matter of regret that none of them bear the artist's signature.4 This is essentially so in American wax portraiture and it is only from family tradition and comparison coupled with collateral documents that the names of the artists of our most interesting wax portraits are known. "The New York Gazette" of December 13 to 21, 1731, contains the following early mention of a wax worker: "Martha Gazley, late from Great Britain, now in the City of New York, Makes and Teacheth the following curious Works, viz Artificial Fruit and Flowers, and other Wax-Work, Nuns-Work, Philligree and Pencil Work upon Muslin, all sorts of Needle-Work, and Raising of Paste, as also to Paint upon Glass, and Transparant for Sconces, with other works. If any young Gentlewomen, or others, are inclined to learn any or all the above-mentioned curious Works, they may be carefully taught and instructed in the same by said Martha Gazley at present at the Widdow Butlers, near the Queenshead Tavern in William Street, not far from Captain An thony Rutgers." On August 28, 1749, "The New York Gazette" announced: "This is to acquaint the Curious, That the Effigies of the Royal Family of England, and the Empress Queen of Hungaria and Bohemia, and others to the Number of fourteen Figures, in Wax, (the Particulars of which are too numerous to be inserted here) are to be seen from 7 in the Morning to 6 in the Evening. Price One 3 Farrer's "Lady de Gex's Collection of Reliefs in Colored Wax," quoting Vasari on Technique, etc. "The Connoisseur," Vol. 23, pp. 225-232, 1909. 4 Kendall's "Sir Walter Gibbey's Collection," "The Connoisseur," Vol. 7, p. 135. QUARTERLYBULLETIN 5
Shilling and Six Pence each Person; none to be admitted without paying. Our Time in this Town will be but short." On October 9, 1749, this same exhibition was announced as a benefit for the "poor debtors now under confinement in the Prison of New York."
PATIENCE WRIGHT The next mention we have of a wax works exhibition is that of the celebrated Mrs. Patience Wright when on June 10, 1771, "The New York Gazette" announced that on June 3rd, a fire was dis covered in the house of Mrs. Wright, the ingenious Artist in Wax Work, and Proprietor of the Figures so nearly resembling the Life, which have for some time past been exhibited in this City to general satisfaction. Most of the wax work was destroyed together with some new pieces which Mrs- Wells (sister of Mrs. Wright) had lately brought from Charlestown. On August 5th following, it was announced that her work had been restored and new pieces added. Mrs. Wright, or Patience Lovell, was born in 1725 in Borden- town, N. J., and married March 20, 1748, Joseph Wright, who died in 1769, leaving her with three children. For better support she began to model in wax, in which work she acquired a great reputa tion, and after the above announcements in 1771 she went to London to seek a wider field for her work.5 Her sailing was an nounced in the "New York Journal or General Advertiser," January 30, 1772, as follows: "The Snow Mercury Packet ... is ready to sail for London. . . "Among the Passengers, is the ingenious Mrs. Wright, whose Skill in taking Likenesses, expressing the Passions, and many curious Devices in Wax Work, has deservedly recommended her to public Notice, especially among Persons of Distinction, from many of whom we hear she carried Letters to their Friends in England." There she met with great success, modelling in wax the portraits of the celebrities of England, including King George III and Queen Charlotte, with whom she was on intimate terms. Of her work preserved in America, there is the yellow wax medal lion of Benjamin Franklin made in London which Franklin gave to 6 Dunlap's "History ... of the Arts of Design," 1918, Vol. 2, pp. 150-156. 6 THE NEW-YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Mary Hewson, of London, with whom he boarded while there and from which the Wedgwood basaltic medallion of the same size was made. It is now owned by a descendant of Mrs. Hewson, Mr. J. S. Bradford, of West Philadelphia, and is reproduced in Hart's article on Patience Wright. A similar wax, illustrated in this article, is owned by Mr. Richard T. H. Halsey. This is yellow in color and like all duplicate wax likenesses differs from the Bradford wax in various details. It is three by two inches mounted on glass which has a black background. Neither of these medallions is signed. The most important piece of work done by Patience Wright which We know of today in America is her wax bust medallion of George Washington, modelled in high relief of which two copies are known; one in the possession of Dr. Richard H. Harte, of Phil adelphia, and the other owned by Mrs. J. West Roosevelt, of New York, They are both of white wax, which time has yellowed some what, and vary but slightly. A third wax bust of George Wash ington, in a broken condition, is recorded as being in the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, but a search for it failed to locate it at the time of the writing of this article, so that we cannot state whether it is Patience Wright's work or the Bowen type hereafter described. It may be the one referred to as being in the possession of Ferdinand J. Dreer, of Philadelphia.6 From the family tradition of both the Harte and Roosevelt wax portraits of George Washington we have the knowledge that they were made by Patience Wright, although neither is signed. They are the same size, nine and one-half by six and one-quarter inches. Mrs. J. West Roosevelt relates that the bust in her possession was made for her great grandfather, Oliver Wolcott, Jr. (1760-1833), Secretary of the Treasury, 1795—1800, and son of Governor Oliver Wolcott (1726-1797), and as a child she recalls her grandmother, Laura Wolcott (1794-1870), wife of George Gibbs, tell that the wax portrait was made from life by Patience Wright for her father, Oliver Wolcott. This wax has never been out of the family. Dr. Harte's portrait bears the following legend on the back: "Washing ton by Mrs. Wright, from my father; Henry Paul Beck. It was presented by the daughter of Henry Paul Beck, Esq., Mrs. Isaac Harvey, Jr. to Dr. Richard H. Harte, Philadelphia, May 27, 1897."
6 Elizabeth Bryant Johnston's "Original Portraits of Washington," 1882, pp. 151-152. QUARTERLY BULLETIN
Johnston's "Original Portraits of Washington"7 states that all doubt in regard to Mrs. Wright having made portraits from life of Washington seem dispelled by this certificate on a photograph:
WAX PROFILE OF BENJAMIN FRANKLIN BY PATIENCE WRIGHT. Size 3x2 inches. (Courtesy of Mr. Richard T. H. Halsey)
"Washington. From an original now made PublicTLor the First time. The original of this New Likeness of the Father of his Country, was modelled from Life in Wax by Mrs. Wright the Great American Modeller of the Revolution. It was presented by herself to the late Paul Beck, Esq. His son has kindly permitted us to : Ibid. 8 THE NEW-YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY
make this, the only copy in existence. Its genuineness can there fore be vouched for, without a question. 1865. "Photo' by Menderworth, Taylor & Brown 914 Chestnut St. Phila." The Society possesses a copy of this photograph. Both of these wax portraits have the tradition that they were modelled from life, but an examination of the letters written by Mrs. Wright, together with the fact that after going to England in 1772 she did not return to America, but died in London, March 25, 1786, proves that she did not model her work from life, but more likely from the plaster bust made from life by her son Joseph Wright, who returned to Amer ica. Mrs. Wright's work abroad is traced in the following cor respondence: "Extract of a Letter from London, January 10, 1774. Mrs. Wright, the ingenious American, continues to have a great resort of company of the first distinction, among whom are some of the principal nobility. Her performances are greatly admired; she has as much business as she can possibly go through, and is in a fair way of making an ample fortune: Her frankness and humour are generally pleasing, and without giving the least offence to the greatest people, she indulges herself in the utmost freedom of speech, especially in defence of the rights and liberty of the Ameri can colonies, and in advantageous representations of them and their inhabitants. She has been much favoured by the King and Queen who have frequently honoured her with their presence, and familiar conversation; and his Majesty has several times sat for her to take his likeness. The figures of General Monkton and the Countess of Huntington, lately sent over for New-York, by Capt. Winn, are allowed to be striking representations of their present like nesses.". . . 8 In March, 1777, she writes to Benjamin Franklin saying she meets with the greatest politeness and civility from the people of England, and two years later, March 14, 1779, she wrote him from Lysle House, Lesterford, England: "I have moved from Pall Mall with the full purpose of mind to settle my affairs, and get ready for my return to America," intending to go to France on the way and see "my old American friend" Franklin and make wax busts of
8 "The New York Journal or General Advertiser," March 17, 1774. QUARTERLYBULLETIN 9 him, as well as of others, in which work she hoped for encouragement as she had in England before the War. Franklin advised her not to come, considering the venture doubtful of success for her.9 10 Elkanah Watson records having met Mrs.( Wright in Paris in 1781 and describes her appearance, as well as several anecdotes concerning her. He also commissioned her to model a bust of Franklin which was sent to America and years afterwards acciden tally destroyed. The letters written by George Washington, Mrs. Wright, and her son Joseph Wright, prove that she never made a life portrait of Washington. From London on December 8, 1783,u she wrote: Honored Sir My Friends Write to me from America that Joseph Wright {my Son) has painted a Likeness and also moddel'd a Clay Busto of General Washington which will be a very great honour to My Famaly. I most heartly thank My God for sparing my life to Seethis hapy day—I Joyne with all My friends in the pleasing prospect that Posterity will See, and behold the Statue of the man who was apointed by his Contry, and the Voice of the Enlightend Part of Mankind to be the great General to save the liberties of the Christian Religion and Stop the Pride and Insolence of old England.—and by his truly great and Noble Example in all human Vertues he has Restord Peace on Earth, good will toward mankind—• Truly hapy are you Sir to have the greatful thanks of all Europe—with the Prayer of the Widow and the Fatherless—you have My Most grateful thanks for your Kind atention to My Son in taking him into your Famaly to encourege his genii and giving him the pleasing opertunity of taking a Likeness that has I sincerly hope, gave his Contry and Your Friends, Sir, Satisfaction— I am Impatient to have a Copy of what he has done that I may have the honour of making a Model from it in Wax work—it has been for some time the Wish and desire of my heart to Moddel a Likeness of General Washington. Then I shall think myself ariv'd at the end of all my Earthy honours and Return in Peace to Enjoy My Native Country. I am Sir with gratitude an Respect London Your Very humble Servnt Decmbr 8th 1783 Patience Wright Addressed: His Excelency Endorsed: From General Washington Mrs Patience Wright ' 8th Decr 1783. Recd Decr 12. 1784. 9 C. H. Hart's "Patience Wright, Modeller in Wax," "The Connoisseur," Vol. 19, pp. 18-22. 10 "Men and Times of the Revolution," 1857, pp. 137-143. 11 Original on file in Library of Congress, Washington, D. C. 10 THE NEW-YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY
WAX PROFILE OF GEORGE WASHINGTON BY PATIENCE WRIGHT, 1785. Size 9^£ x 6^£ inches. Courtesy of Mrs. J. West Roosevelt. QUARTERLY BULLETIN 11
WAX PROFILE OF GEORGE WASHINGTON BY PATIENCE WRIGHT, 1785. Size 9^£ x 6% inches. Courtesy of Dr. Richard H. Harte. 12 THE NEW-YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY
To this letter Washington replied on January 30, 1785,12 Mrs Wright. London. Madam, By what means it came to pass I shall not undertake to devise; but the fact is, that your letter of the 8^ of Decemr 1783, never came to my* hands until the 12th of the same month in the year following. This will account for my not having acknowledged the receipt of it sooner; & for not thanking you, as I now do, before, for the many flattering expressions contained in it. If the Bust which your Son has modelled, for me, should reach your hands; & afford your celebrated genii any employment that can amuse you, it must be an honor done me. And if your inclination to return to this country should overcome other considerations, you will, no doubt meet a welcome reception from your numerous friends, among whom, I should be proud to see a person so universally celebrated, & on whom nature has bestowed such rare & uncommon gifts. I am &c. &c. G: Washington Jany 30th 1785. On the same day Washington wrote Joseph Wright:13 January—1785 Mr Joseph Wright —Philadelphia Sir, It has so happened that your card of Sept.1 Ist, with the Bust which accompanied it, did not get to my hands until sometime in the course of last month:—& that a letter from your good Mother dated Dec/ 8th 1783, only reached me the 12th of last December. , For the first you will please to receive the united acknowledgements & thanks of Mrs Washington & myself.—The large one she prays may give you no uneasiness or hurry;—your convenience in the execution will be most agreeable to her wishes. In answer to the second, I give you the trouble of forwarding the enclosed letter when you may have occasion to write to England—Our best wishes attend you;—& I am Sir, Yr Mo: Obed1 Servant G. Washington Mount Vernon 30th Ja^ 1785. On August 14, 1785, Mrs. Wright wrote from London to Thomas Jefferson, then in Paris, in which she speaks of hearing that her son Joseph Wright had painted the best likeness of Washington which was then in Paris and refers to her intention of making a wax bust of Washington to be placed in some public building that may be 12 George Washington Letter Books No. 5, p. 346, Library of Congress. 13 Ibid. No. 5, p. 347, Library of Congress. QUARTERLY BULLETIN 13
erected by Congress, and is "happy in the prospect of seeing him in my own country." She also offers to go to Paris and model Jefferson and at the same time see the picture her son painted.14 Seven months after writing this letter, Mrs. Wright died in London and apparently her desire of seeing Washington did not come to pass, but the wax medallion she produced is considered a fine piece of modelling.
DANIEL BOWEN There came to the Society with the Charles Allen Munn Collec tion of Statuettes and Medallions, a wax portrait similar to the work of Patience Wright. From data on the back of this portrait, we learn that it was purchased in a sale at Philadelphia in December, 1898, as the work of Patience Wright, and a faint pencil inscription indicates that it came from the effects of a Mr. Loman or Lorman, of Baltimore, in 1871. Mr. L. H. Dielman, Secretary of the Pea- body Institute of Baltimore, believes that this in all probability refers to Alexander Lorman who died there on January 14, 1872. Beyond this we have no previous history of this wax portrait, which does not equal the modelling of Patience Wright but is the same type. An examination of the illustrations will show how they differ in the ribbon tying the hair, the cut in the coat lapel, the shirt frill, etc., beside the general modelling of the features. Another copy of this type is in the possession of Mrs. Arthur Iselin, of Ka- tonah, N. Y., which by comparison is identical with the Munn wax save that the hair is a little smoother in the Iselin portrait. What the history of Mrs. Iselin's wax may be I have not learned. It measures, as does the Munn, eight and one-half by five and one- half inches, which is one inch smaller each way than the Patience Wright portraits, and the wax is not modelled in as high relief as the Wright wax. The matter of solving who did this second Washington wax portrait was advanced by Dr. Samuel W. Woodhouse, of the Pennsylvania Museum, when he showed the writer a photograph of another wax portrait of the Munn and Iselin type which is in the possession of Hon. Hampton L. Carson, President of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, on the back of which is inscribed: "George Washington Esqr President of the United States by Mr. Bowen, 14 Johnston's "Original Portraits of Washington," pp. 151-152. 14 THE NEW-YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY
WAX PROFILE OF GEORGE WASHINGTON INSCRIBED ON BACK "GEORGE WASHINGTON EsQre PRESIDENT OE THE UNITED STATES, BY MR. BOWEN,"JANY 23, 1794." Originally owned by Joshua Humphreys, 1751-1838. The Masonic eye is painted on the panel background. Courtesy of Hon. Hampton L. Carson, President of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania—great-great-grand son of Joshua Humphreys. QUARTERLY BULLETIN 15
WAX PROFILE OF GEORGE WASHINGTON BY DANIEL BOWEN. Bequest of Charles Allen Munn, 1924. Size &H x sH inches, on panel background. 16 THE NEW-YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY
January 23, 1794." It was originally the property of Joshua Humphreys (1751-1838), Naval Architect during the American Revolution, and designer of the "Constitution," the "Chesapeake," and other vessels, who was a friend of George Washington. This portrait hung in the home of Joshua Humphreys at Ardmore, Pennsylvania, until quite recently, when Mr. Carson, his great- great-grandson, brought it to his home in Philadelphia. The fact that this wax was always in the possession of the family with its inscription "by Mr. Bowen" establishes, I believe, the name of the modeller of these three interesting wax profiles, for Mr. Bowen was Daniel Bowen who advertised in the "New York Journal and Weekly Register" of August 27, 1789, an exhibition of "Wax Work, as large as life" at 74 Water-street opposite Crane Wharf containing "The President of the United States sitting under a canopy in his Military Dress. . . . Over the head of his Excellency a Fame is suspended (also in wax) crowning him with a Wreath of Laurels," also the King, Queen and Prince of Wales, Rt. Rev. Samuel Provoost, Bishop of New York, Rev. Dr. John Rodgers, and John Livingston, both of New York. Various other described figures, including Scripture pieces, also made up the exhibit.15 A further statement tells that some of the figures were exhibited in North and South Carolina. On September 14, 1789, we find that the President of the United States, his lady and family and several other persons of distinction, were pleased to honor Mr. Bowen's exhibition of wax work at 74 Water Street, and appeared exceedingly well pleased with the late improvements made by the proprietor.16 While no definite statement has been found that Daniel Bowen was a modeller in wax, I believe that the old inscription on the back of Mr. Carson's wax profile would indicate that he was. Wash ington was interested in visiting his exhibition when his own life- size figure was there, so that the Bowen medallion made in 1794 was modelled with at least a personal knowledge of his features. The similarity of the work to that of Patience Wright suggests that Bowen may have copied her work. Daniel Bowen was the uncle of Abel Bowen, the Boston wood engraver.17 In 1791 he established a Museum in Boston at the
15 A similar advertisement appears in "The Daily Advertiser," September 2, 1789. 16 Baker's "Washington After the Revolution, 1784—1799," p. 146. 17 Bostonian Society Publications, Vol. I, p. 32. QUARTERLY BULLETIN 17
American Coffee House on State Street and removed to the Hall over the School House in Hollis Street. In 1793 he is listed in the Philadelphia Directory as proprietor of the American Exhibition of Wax Work at 9 N. Eighth Street and on September 9, 1793, he announced to the citizens of New York his arrival there from Philadelphia with his wax work exhibition, which was exhibited that year in the Exchange as part of the American Museum.18 In 1794 the New York Directory shows him with an exhibition of wax work and paintings at 75 Broad Street. In 1795, he established the Columbia Museum in Boston on the corner of Tremont and Broomfield Streets which was burned on January 15, 1803, re-established, and again destroyed by fire on January 16, 1807. His losses were so severe from these fires that he came to New York, where on February 7, 1807, Mr. Savage announced that his Museum at 166 Greenwich Street would be opened every day and evening for one week for the express benefit of Mr. Bowen, proprietor and owner of the late Columbian Museum in Boston, and also raised the price of admission from twenty-five to fifty cents for the occasion.19 The Philadelphia Directory of 1818 contains an advertisement by Daniel Bowen of an exhibition at 1 N. Eleventh Street of a panorama of the City of New Haven. Daniel Bowen married at Boston on December 8, 1801, Mary Ruggles Paine. He died at Philadelphia on February 29, 1856, at the age of ninety-six years. His wife died July 30, 1858, aged eighty-six years.20 A portrait of Daniel Bowen by Joseph Kyle is reproduced in Volume I, page 32, of the Bostonian Society Pub lications. Other wax work exhibitions were advertised; one in 1786 at 100 Queen Street, the house formerly occupied by Mrs. Wright, and again at the same address in 1788.21 No name is mentioned as to the proprietor and I am inclined to think they are earlier mentions of Daniel Bowen's exhibition. 18 "New York Daily Gazette," September 9, 1793, "Daily Advertiser," November 6 and December 24, 1793. 19 "New York Gazette and General Advertiser," February 7, 1807, and "New York Commercial Advertiser," February 12, 1807. 20 "New England Historical and Genealogical Register," Vol. 10, p. 192, and Vol. 12, p. 363, also Thirtieth Report, Boston Record Commissioners, 1903, p. 236. 21 "The Daily Advertiser," March 17, 1786, and May 16, 1788. 18 THE NEW-YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY
In 1805, a new museum of wax work was advertised at Snow's Hotel, 69 Broadway, by N. and E. Street and among the exhibits was a striking likeness of General Hamilton.22
WILLIAM BIGLOW OF SALEM AND BOSTON BY JOHN C RAPSCHNER, r8oi (Courtesy of The Essex Institute, Salem, Mass.)
JOSEPH WRIGHT, the son of Patience Wright, made a wax profile of George Washington for Thomas Richardson, of Philadelphia, which was in the possession of his grandson, Benjamin G. Smith, of Germantown, Pa. In this wax the head has a wreath of laurel and the work is
22 "New York Commercial Advertiser," April 8, 1805. QUARTERLY BULLETIN 19 signed "J. Wright fecit." It is illustrated in Johnston's "Original Portraits of Washington," facing page 168.
JOHN CHRISTIAN RAUSCHNER While the Society has no wax work by him, some facts can be added to what has been published in Mrs. Bolton's book on wax
COLORED WAX PROFILE OF JOHN WILCOX, 1789-1826 BY GEORGE M. MILLER (signed). 2^2 inches high. (Courtesy of Mr. C. Percy Wilcox of Philadelphia) portraits and silhouettes. All his work appears to have been in colored wax and beautifully done. He first appears in a New York Directory of 1799 as a wax artist at 35 Chatham Street. In 1802 20 THE NEW-YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY he is called limner at 41 Chatham Street but listed as C. Rauschner and continuing so until 1806 at various addresses as an artist and portrait painter. His last appearance in New York Directories is in 1808 as John Rauschner, limner, 50 Chapel Street. A very complimentary letter concerning Rauschner's wax work appeared in the "Commercial Advertiser" of December 13, 1803, signed "Columbus" who relates how he entered Rauschner's studio during his absence and addressed a "lady" sitting there which was one of his wax works and he had mistaken it for an animate person. All of his wax profiles in the Essex Institute at Salem, Mass., are unsigned.
GEORGE M. MILLER, whose name appears in the Philadelphia Directories from 1813 to 1816 as a modeller in colors, did wax portraits similar to the work of Rauschner. A list of them will be found in Mrs. Bolton's book, but the Society has no specimen of his work. According to the late Charles Henry Hart, his name was originally spelled Muller and he was perhaps of German descent. He first appears in Phil adelphia in 1789 and was an Academician of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. He died in Philadelphia in 1819.23 Some of his profiles were signed "G. M. Miller," which is scratched on the slate upon which the wax is mounted.
VALAPERTA Mrs. Bolton refers to an Italian modeller of this name as having modelled wax heads in New York. No trace of him in documentary sources has been found so that we are unable to state anything concerning him, but at least one small and fine wax portrait signed by him. exists and four others unsigned and undoubtedly his work are in the possession of the Society. They belonged to the Gallatin family, by whose courtesy they are reproduced in this article. The subjects are Albert Gallatin (1761-1849), Andrew Jackson (1767— 1845), which bears the name "Valaperta," James Monroe (1758- 1831), and Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826). One of James Madison, not reproduced, has the nose broken ofF. That they were all modelled by the same hand is apparent in the modelling; two are mounted
23 Hart's Life Portraits of George Washington, "McClure's Magazine," Feb. 1897, p. 305. QUARTERLY BULLETIN 21
if ^^§^^k
m * ^/V^j lf| WAX PROFILE OF THOMAS JEFFERSON, WAX PROFILE OF ALBERT GALLATIN, 1743-1821 1761-1849 BY VALAPERTA. Size 3 x 2 inches. BY VALAPERTA. Size 3x2 inches.
WAX PROFILE OF ANDREW JACKSON, WAX PROFILE OF JAMES MONROE, 1767-1845. 1758-1831. Signed "VALAPERTA." Size 3x1% inches. BY VALAPERTA. Size 3x2 inches. (Courtesy of the Gallatin Family) 22 THE NEW-YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY
on circular glass with blue backgrounds and three on square pieces of glass with black backgrounds, all the same size and light red in color.
ROBERT BALL HUGHES, born in London January 19, 1806, died in Boston, Mass., March 6, 1868, was a noted sculptor, who came to New York in 1829. ' He made the statue of Daniel Webster, now standing in Central Park, New York City, of which the Society has the bronze model. He began his career modelling in wax and his work in this field is not generally recognized. Mrs. Bolton gives a list of his work in wax and illustrates some charming examples. Recently there came to the Society by gift from Mr. Harry McNeill Bland, the wax bust of an unknown subject, illustrated in this article, which is the work of Hughes. It is signed "Ball Hughes, Sculp* 1830." Finely exe cuted, this charming piece is especially rare, since wax busts of Americans or by American sculptors do not seem to have survived, as we know of only one or two others. It was made the year follow ing Hughes's arrival in America and was purchased at the sale of the effects of Grace Wilkes, on Washington Square, New York City, but its identity has not as yet been recognized.
G. ROUSE In the summer of 1924 there appeared on the market in London, England, some wax profiles of "Gen. George Washington" signed "Q. Rouse, Sculp* 1797." One of these marked "Gen. Washing ton " but unsigned was purchased for a very nominal sum and later a second copy with Rouse's name was offered and accepted as a copy of the first. Upon their arrival here a comparison seemed to indi cate the work was by the same hand but with the usual differences of wax portraits in the ribbon tying the hair and the shirt frill or stock; both mounted on a wax background set in old frames with the lettering scratched in the wax done by the same hand. It was not long after the arrival of these waxes that one appeared in a sale, signed G. Rouse, which had been painted over with the buff and blue uniform colors. Another copy was shown to me by a dealer and three others were reported in shops abroad. A search for data QUARTERLY BULLETIN 23
WAX BUST. Signed BALL HUGHES, Sculp*, 1830 (Subject Unknown) Size 7j^ x 7 inches. 24 THE NEW-YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY
concerning G. Rouse was unsuccessful but produced the following interesting information from Mr. F. D. Sladen, Superintendent of the Reading Room of the British Museum. In a letter Mr. Sladen writes : ."We have been quite unable to trace a wax portrait artist of the name of Rouse and it seems very doubtful whether such a man ever existed. I am enclosing a few notes kindly written for me by an officer in the Department of Ceramics which throws a great deal of light on the matter & which I am sure will interest you. The Mr. Hobson mentioned is the Keeper of the Department of Ceramics." The information kindly furnished by the officer in the office of Mr. R. L. Hobson, Keeper of the Department of Ceramics in the British Museum, follows: "Counterfeit wax portraits were current in London during last year. They were made by a very clever artist named X a man in very poor circumstances, who sold them to anyone who came to him. It is believed that he did not himself offer them as genuine, but those who bought them from him were not so scrupulous. "There was a portrait of Washington among those he made. One such, at least, was taken from a bronze plaque which is now in the possession of a lady known to the writer of this note; so it could' easily be identified by a photograph. "X signed the pieces with fictitious names. "It is generally recognized among the more reputable and old established dealers that wax portraits are very much counterfeited; and most of them refuse to buy them, except from old families whom they can trust. "X 's father, known as Z , was a celebrated forger who imitated Turner, Crome, & Constable, and was well known in the Eastern counties as a clever workman who was more than a mere copyist. "Mr. Hobson does not know the name of Rouse. "But wax portraits are always to be regarded with the gravest suspicion; and celebrated characters are of course the most com monly forged." Other modern wax profiles of George Washington and celebrated characters such as Franklin, Lincoln, and Napoleon, were repro duced about twenty years ago in Zurich, Switzerland, by a man in JO
>
W
td C r
w H
MODERN WAX PROFILE OF GEORGE WASHINGTON. MODERN WAX PROFILE OF GEORGE WASHINGTON Made in England. Signed G. Rouse, Sculp*. 1797. Made in England. Similar to the one signed G. Rouse, 1797. 8^£ x sH inches, mounted on wax background. 8M x 5^£ inches, mounted on wax background. to 26 THE NEW-YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY the employ of a museum as a repairer. They were small medallions in round frames about three inches, including the frames, which are of plaster of Pans stained black. The back is cardboard, waxed on the obverse to which the miniature is glued. Some were also put in old frames. A number of these were brought to Philadelphia in 1908 and presented to private persons. Additional information on wax portraits of and by Americans, not recorded, will be of interest to the writer.
A. J. WALL QUARTERLYBULLETIN 27
EXHIBITIONS In co-operation with the American Numismatic Association, the Society held an exhibition of its coins, currency, tokens, and medal lions, during "Coin Week," February 15-22, 1925. . Special exhibitions were placed on view during February of the Society's collections of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln prints and broadsides.
THE NEW YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY SCHOLARSHIP At a meeting of the Executive Committee held January 20, 1925, an annual scholarship in history at Columbia University was created to be known as "The New York Historical Society Scholar ship," the purpose of which is to encourage further study and investigation in the field of history by members of the junior class at Columbia University who intend to pursue graduate work in history, the basis of the competition to be an essay of from four thousand to six thousand words on a subject relating to New York City or State.
THE AMEN CORNER BENCHES Two of the four benches which marked the historic Amen Corner in the old Fifth Avenue Hotel, Twenty-Third Street and Fifth Avenue, were recently presented to The New York Historical So ciety by the Amen Corner through the Secretary, Mr. T. 0. McGill. Presidents Grant, Hayes, Garfield, Arthur, Cleveland, Harrison, McKinley, Roosevelt, Taft, Wilson, and Harding have sat on these benches which have small plates containing the following inscription: "This sofa is one of four which stood for twenty-five years in the Amen Corner at the Fifth Avenue Hotel. It was presented to the Amen Corner Corporation by Messrs. Darlington and Vilas, April 4, 1908." to GO
a w s; w Si
I «! O 9> 91
H O 9>
O > f-
ONE OF THE AMEN CORNER BENCHES. FROM THE OLD FIFTH AVENUE HOTEL 23d Street and Fifth Avenue. Presented by the Amen Corner through the Secretary, Mr. T. O. McGill, 1925. QUARTERLYBULLETIN 29
NOTES The following portraits were the gift of Mr. Dunkm H. Sill: Johannes Provoost, first Clerk of Fort Orange and Village of Beaverwyck, 1656-1664, Mrs. Johannes Provoost (Anna Mauritz, widow of Dominie Wilhelmus Van Nieuwenhuysen and third wife of Johannes Provoost) —1687, Margaret Provoost, wife of Johannes Van Brugh, daughter of Johannes by his first wife Sara Staats, Elizabeth Van Brugh, daughter of Johannes Van Brugh and Margaret Provoost, wife of Henry Van Rensselaer. The Society is indebted to the Misses Isabella Vache Cox and Mary E. Cox for a varied collection of family relics, including a fine pair of 18th Century andirons, several pieces of silver formerly the property of General Richard Montgomery, family portraits, china, and glassware. Mr. Samuel V. Hoffman presented a collection of seven hundred and nineteen posters relating to the War of 1914—1918. Mr. Harry McNeill Bland presented a bust in wax (unidentified) made by Ball Hughes, 1830. A collection of forty-four broadsides, poems of Bloodgood H. Cutter, of Long Island, N. Y., 1859—1895, was received from Mr. Wilberforce Eames. Mr. George Dudley Seymour presented a photograph of design for statute of Nathan Hale (1755-1776), also a photograph of a portrait of Thomas Youngs Seymour (1757-1811). Three manuscript volumes and one hundred and ninety-nine pieces of manuscript, including a number of deeds covering property in Dutchess and Herkimer Counties, N. Y., 1713-1819, were pre sented by Mr. Sydney R. Taber. The President appointed Messrs. Samuel V. Hoffman, Reginald Pelham Bolton, and Alexander J. Wall to represent the Society in the matter of the Erie Canal Centennial Celebration, occurring in 30 THE NEW-YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY
1925 but to be celebrated in 1926 in connection with the one hun dred and fiftieth anniversary of the American Revolution and the three hundredth anniversary of the purchase of Manhattan Island. Two volumes of The John Watts de Peyster Publication Fund were issued in February 1925. They consist of the "Minutes of the Committee and of the First Commission for Detecting and Defeating Conspiracies in the State of New York, December II, 1776—September 23, 1778, and the Minutes of the Council of Appointment, State of New York April 2, 1778—May 3, 1779. We were pleased to welcome The New York Library Club in the rooms of the Society on March 18, 1925, when that organiza tion held their meeting in the Assembly Hall. An entertainment of Magic was provided and much enjoyed by the Club. Mr. John Hill Morgan will lecture before the Society on May 5th next, on "Life Portraits of George Washington."
MEMBERSHIP The following persons were elected members of the Society:
LIFE Harry McNeill Bland Mrs. Charles S. Fairchild William B. Osgood Field John Hill Morgan Dunkin H. Sill
ANNUAL Mrs. William S. Coffin
NECROLOGY James W. Husted, a member since 1911, died January 2, 1925 in the 54th year of his age. Frederic E. Underhill, a life member since 1906, died January 15, 1925 in the 52nd year of his age. QUARTERLYBULLETIN 31
Edmund Penfold, a life member since 1852, died February 4, 1925 in the 86th year of his age. William P. Wainwright, a member since 1910, died February 5, 1925 in the 59th year of his age. Everett P. Wheeler, a life member since 1863, died February 8, 1925 in the 85th year of his age. Walter Curtis Tucker, a life member since 1900, died February 8, 1925. Harry A. Taylor, a member since 1919, died February 16, 1925. Hon. William A. Clark, a life member since 1895, died March 2, 1925 in the 87th year of his age. Milton S- Barger, a life member since 1896, died March 5, 1925 in the 51st year of his age. Theodore F. Sanxay, a life member since 1904, died March 26, 1925. 32 THE NEW-YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY
II I COLONIAL COMMISSIONS 1680- 1772 VI
I. BOOK III {continued) I 1723-March 25] r, T ^ L /"
1725—June 2. Commission of John Price to be Lieutenant of Fuzileers, vice Philip Schuyler, deceased. June 28. Leave of Absence to Lieut. Riggs for one year. Aug. 16. Commission of Walter Butler to be Lieut, of Fuzileers, vice Scott, deceased. Aug. 26. Timothy Bagley to be Lieut, in Capt. Riggs' Company of Foot, vice Thomas Garland, deceased. 1727—March 7. Commission of Evert Bancker to be Capt. and Commander of all His Majesty's Christian Subjects re siding in the country of the Five Nations, except His Majesty's regular forces, -& to be Commissary therein. Oct. 9. License of Danl. Seymour to be Attorney at Law. Oct. 17. Francis Costigan to be Attorney at Law. Oct. 17. Edwd. Blagge to be Attorney at Law. 1728-April 29. Commission authorizing the Bishop of London to exercise Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction in theAmerican Colonies. May 6. Commission of Walter Butler to be Lieut, in Captn. Holland's Company of Fuzileers, vice Collins, deceased. Sept. 13. Commission of Philip Livingston, Mynder Schuyler, Evert Bancker, Rutger Bleeker, Henry Holland, Steph- anus Groesbeck, Peter Van Brugh, Johannes Cuyler, Abrm. Cuyler, Harmanus Wendall, Johannes Roseboom, Jeremiah Van Renselaer, Nichs. Bleeker, Evert Wendel, Phillip Schuyler, Ryer Gerritse, Barent Sanders and Johannes Lansing to be Commissioners of Indian affairs at Albany. Oct. 23. Richard Bradley to be Attorney General. Dec. 2. License of Frederick Morris to be Attorney at Law. Dec. 18. Commission of Rich. Riggs to be Captain of Fuzileers, vice John Riggs, deceased. 1729-April 14. Commission of Andrew Nicolls to be Captain of Fuzileers, vice Symes, deceased. April 14. Paschal Nelson to be Lieut, in Capt. Riggs' Company of Fuzileers. June 5. Lewis Morris to be Chief Justice of the Prov ince of New York. Abrm. Gaasbeck Chambers, Wessel Ten Broeck, and Evert Wynkoop, to be Judges of the Court of Com mon Pleas in the County of Ulster. 34 THE NEW-YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY
I729-N0V. I. Phillip Livingston, Meyndert Schuyler, Henry Holland, Johannes Schuyler, Peter Van Brugh, Evert Banker, Henry Van Ranslaer, Rutger Bleeker, Evert Wandall, Stephanus Groesbeck, Johannes Roseboom, Abrm. Cuyler, Harmanus Wendall, Nich's. Bleeker, Ryer Gerritse, Phillip Schuyler, Jeremiah Van Ranslaer, Derick Ten Broeck, Johannes Lansing and Barent Sanders to be Commissioners for Indian Affairs. Dec. 6. Commission of Francis Harrison to be Surveyor of the port of New York. Dec. 6. Francis Harison to be Recorder of the City of New York. Dec. 6. Francis Harison to be Examiner in Chancery. 1730-July 30. License of Abrm. Lodge to be Attorney at Law. Sept. 3. Commission of Cadwallader Colden, Gilbert Willett and Vincent Mathews to run the remainder of the Boun dary Line between New York and Connecticut. Nov. 6. Frederick Morris to be Register of the Court of Chancery. Dec. 24. Jno. Lindsay to be Naval Officer, vice Alex ander. 1731-Jan. 15. Charter granted to the City of New York. Feb. 22. Commission of Edw. Clarke to be Lieut, of Capt. Holland's Company of foot. June 24. —— James De Lancey to be Second Justice of the Supreme Court of the Province of New York. June 24. Frederick Phillipse to be third Judge of the Supreme Court of the Province of New York. Nov. 16. Order of Capt. Wm. Dick to repair to his post at Albany as the French have lately fortified Crown Point. 1732-July 15. Commission of Abrm. Gouverneur to be Translator and Interpreter of Foreign Languages in the Province of New York. Aug. 19. Charles Williams to be Naval Officer, vice Lindsey. Oct. 7. License of Richard Williams to be Attorney at Law. Oct. 14. Commission of Robert Lurting to be Mayor of the City of New York. QUARTERLY BULLETIN 35
1732-Oct. 14. Henry Beekman to be Sheriff of N. York. Oct. 14. —— John De Peyster to be Mayor of the City of Albany. Oct. 14. John Lindesay to be Sheriff of Albany. Oct. 14. Rich. Nicholls to be Coroner of N. York. Dec. 4. Pardon of a Negro. 1733-Jan. 31. Letters of Induction to Rev. Thomas Colgan to the parish Church at Jamaica. Mar. 17. Commission of Wm. Forster to be Clerk of the County of Westchester. Aug. 21. Supersedeas of Lewis Morris as Chief Justice of the Province of New York. Aug. 21. Commission of James DeLancey to be Chief Justice of the Province of New York, vice Lewis Morris. Aug. 21. Frederick Phillipse to be Second Justice of the Supreme Court of the Province of New York. Oct. 15. Robert Lurting to be Mayor of New York. Oct. 15. Henry Beekman to be Sheriff of New York. Oct. 15. Rich. Nicholls to be Coroner of New York. Oct. 15. Edw. Holland to be Mayor of Albany. Oct. 15. John Lindesay to be Sheriff of Albany. Oct. 15. Commission of Wm. Smith to be Clerk of the County of Suffolk. Dec. 1. James Roehead of the Island of Jamaica and others to take evidence regarding the Will of Theopholus Rogers, deceased (with Probate of the same). 1734—March 8. Commission of Charles Gerritsen to be Sheriff of the County of Richmond. July 13. Phillip Livingston, Wm. Dick, Myndert Schuy ler, John Schuyler, Hend'k. Van Renslaer, Rutger Bleeker, Stephanus Groesbeck, Philip Schuyler, Jeremiah Van Renselaer, Edw. Holland, Nich's. Bleeker, Ryer Gerritse, Dirck Ten Brook, Johannes Lansing Junr., John De- peyster, Jacob Glen, Cornelius Cuyler, John Schuyler Jr., Edw. Collins and Abr. Cuyler, to be Commissioners of Indian Affairs. Nov. 3. —— Mordecay Gomez to be Spanish Interpreter in the Admiralty Court and Daniel Gomez to be Spanish Interpreter in the Supreme Court. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
FIRST CLASS—FOR ONE YEAR, ENDING I925 THIRD CLASS—FOR THREE YEARS, ENDING 1027 SAMUEL V. HOFFMAN B. W. B. BROWN FRANK BRINLEY PORTER JOHN E. STILLWELL JAMES B. WILBUR FRANK WIENER
SECOND CLASS—FOR TWO YEARS, ENDING I926 FOURTH CLASS—FOR FOUR YEARS, ENDING 1028 RICHARD HENRY GREENE THOMAS T. SHERMAN ARCHER M. HUNTINGTON W. GEDNEY BEATTY HIRAM SMITH WILLIAM DENNISTOUN MURPHY
SAMUEL V. HOFFMAN, Chairman ALEXANDER J. WALL, Secretary [The President, Vice-Presidents, Recording Secretary, Treasurer, and Librarian are members of the Executive Committee.]
STANDING COMMITTEES
COMMITTEE ON FINANCE COMMITTEE ON ANNIVERSARY R. HORACE GALLATIN ARCHER M. HUNTINGTON RICHARD HENRY GREENE J. ARCHIBALD MURRAY WALTER L. SUYDAM THOMAS T. SHERMAN
COMMITTEE ON LECTURES - COMMITTEE ON BUILDING B. W. B. BROWN J. ARCHIBALD MURRAY THOMAS T. SHERMAN WILLIAM R. STEWART HIRAM SMITH W. GEDNEY BEATTY
COMMITTEE ON LIBRARY COMMITTEE ON FINE ARTS ALEXANDER J. WALL JOHN E. STILLWELL ARTHUR H. MASTEN WALTER L. SUYDAM FRANK BRINLEY PORTER WILLIAM D. MURPHY
COMMITTEE ON PUBLICATIONS COMMITTEE ON PLAN AND SCOPE ALEXANDER J. WALL R. HORACE GALLATIN R. HORACE GALLATIN W. GEDNEY BEATTY FRANK WIENER JAMES B. WILBUR
COMMITTEE ON MEMBERSHIP WALTER L. SUYDAM JOHN E. STILLWELL WILLIAM DENNISTOUN MURPHY