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Each original is also photographed in one exposure and is included in reduced form at the back of the book. Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6” x 9” black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. UMI A Bell ft Howell Information Company 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor MI 48106-1346 USA 313/761-4700 800/321-0600 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. "THE CONSUMMATION OF EMPIRE": THE VANSYCKEL FAMILY BEDCHAMBER SUITE by Catherine L. Whalen A thesis submitted to the Faculty of the University of Delaware in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts with a major in Early American Culture Summer 1998 Copyright 1998 Catherine L. Whalen All Rights Reserved Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number: 1391758 Copyright 1998 by Whalen, Catherine Louise All rights reserved. UMI Microform 1391758 Copyright 1998, by UMI Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. UMI 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, MI 48103 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. "THE CONSUMMATION OF EMPIRE": THE VANSYCKEL FAMILY BEDCHAMBER SUITE by Catherine L. Whalen Approved: Bernard L. Herman, Ph.D. Professor in charge of thesis Approved: JameyC. Curtis, Ph.D. Directooof the Winterthur Program in Early American Culture Approved: John/C. Cavanaugh, Ph.D. Vice Provost for Academic Programs and Planning Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Firstly, I would like to thank my advisor Bernard L. Herman for the many fruitful conversations and patient guidance that ultimately shaped the following work. Director James Curtis ensured that I came to Winterthur, for which I am most grateful. During my first year of course work, Professor Gretchen Buggeln provided an invaluable foundation for material culture scholarship and encouraged intellectual curiosity. Curators Wendy Cooper, Donald Fennimore, Charles Hummel, and Sherry McFowble contributed their expertise and resources. Librarian Neville Thompson provided inestimable assistance and exercised remarkable tolerance on my behalf. Conservators Greg Landrey, Mike Podmaniczky, Mark Anderson, and Linda Eaton were unfailingly helpful. Professor Wayne Craven and Ellen Miles, Curator, National Portrait Gallery, offered their insights regarding the Vansyckel family portrait Kathleen Milley kindly provided me with information gleaned from her unpublished notes regarding Philadelphia outward coastwise shipping manifests as they pertained to cabinetmaker Isaac Jones. John Courtney shared his observations, research and conclusions regarding the Vansyckel bedchamber suite, for which I am most appreciative. Roger Moss, Director of The Athenaeum of Philadelphia, was extremely generous with his time, knowledge and resources as I researched objects owned by the Vansyckel family; his assistance to the project was invaluable. I also wish to thank Peter Strickland for contributing his recollections and suggestions. The Lois F. McNeil Fellowship made it possible for me to pursue my degree. My friends and colleagues at Winterthur offered me the personal support and the opportunities to exchange ideas that made my work more enjoyable and better informed. My parents iii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. James and Barbara Whalen have unhesitatingly and lovingly supported my endeavors, as have my sister Beth and my brother Tom; to them I am profoundly grateful. Most of all, I am indebted to my husband Benjamin Caldwell, whose support and encouragement has ranged from drawing illustrations to inspiring me to believe in my own potential; it is to him that I wish to dedicate this work. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES......................................................................................................... vii ABSTRACT.....................................................................................................................xi Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................. 1 The Vansyckel Family History ...............................................................................2 The Vansyckel Family Bedchamber Suite ............................................................. 3 Artifact and Audience.............................................................................................4 Notes to Chapter 1 .................................................................................................. 6 2 AMERICAN EMPIRE AND CLASSICAL TASTE..............................................7 Federal Philadelphia: Republic or Empire? .......................................................... 8 Empire's Capital: Philadelphia Versus New Y ork ...............................................10 Notes to Chapter 2 ................................................................................................ 15 3 THE CULTURAL LANDSCAPE OF ANTE-BELLUM PHILADELPHIA 17 Notes to Chapter 3 ................................................................................................21 4 THE VANSYCKEL FAMILY EMPIRE............................................................ 22 Notes to Chapter 4 ................................................................................................34 5 THE VANSYCKEL HOUSEHOLD...................................................................37 Notes to Chapter 5 ................................................................................................57 6 ELIJAH AND SARAH VANSYCKEL'S BEDCHAMBER............................... 60 Notes to Chapter 6 ................................................................................................76 v Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 7 THE VANSYCKEL BEDCHAMBER SUITE...................................................78 Dressing Bureau ................................................................................................... 81 Wardrobes .............................................................................................................84 Washstand.............................................................................................................86 Secretary Desk ......................................................................................................87 Bedstead................................................................................................................88 Bed Steps .............................................................................................................. 90 A Cultural Hierarchy of Beds ........................................................................... 93 Finishes and Decoration .......................................................................................97 Isaac Jones ...........................................................................................................102 Late Neoclassicism in DomesticInteriors in Philadelphia ................................. I l l Neoclassicism and French Empire .....................................................................114 Personal Taste ..................................................................................................... 117 Tradition ..............................................................................................................119 Gender and Identity ............................................................................................ 127 Notes to Chapter 7 .............................................................................................. 131 8 THE VANSYCKEL FAMILY PORTRAIT ..................................................... 141 Notes to Chapter 8 .............................................................................................. 146 9 THE VANSYCKEL FAMILYENCLAVE .......................................................