Books and Manuscripts

Glasgow: C(harles).G(ray), 1819. Engraved cotton handkerchief, printed in brown, 25 7/16 x 19 5/16 in. (646 x 490 mm). Scattered light edge-wear; wear at center left edge; small hole in top left corner and bottom, right edge. From the Mastai Americana Collection, and with their ink stamp in bottom right corner. Collins, Threads of History 54; Wick 62

A scarce and well-preserved textile commemorating the legacy of President George Washington. This image, depicting Washington standing on a pedestal reading "Sacred to Patriotism" is based on Cornelius Tiebout's 1798 engraving after the drawing by Charles Buxton and the painting by Gilbert Stuart. "Buxton's elaborate design is an amalgam of patriotic symbols referring to Washington's military achievements and his role in forging the new nation. The figure stands on a pedestal ensconced in a niche and flanked by two obelisks labeled 'Liberty' and 'Independence.' An eagle at the top of the arch holds a ribbon from which hang tablets representing the first sixteen states. The large urn in front of the figure...is probably the Masonic pot of incense, an emblem of a pure heart...The key to the whole design, however, lies in the background view of Bowling Green, New York, which depicts an empty pedestal where a statue of George III formerly stood." (Wendy C. Wick, George Washington: American Icon, p. 131). This rendition adds a long tribute to Washington above, reading "Sic Transit Gloria Mundi!" and that he "united and adorned many excellent Characters, at once the Patriot and the Politician; the Soldier and the Citizen; the Husbandman and the Hero; the Favourite of the Genius of Liberty; the Father of American Independence...He was First in Peace, First in the Hearts of Americans, First in the Eyes of the World..."