Black and white engraving of James Buchanan. Publisher used Buttre's ca 1857 engraving for this 1874 print. Buchanan is wearing formal dress attire: black pants, jacket and vest. White shirt and white tie. Holding a book in right hand and resting book on
Provenance
Parks, Richard [seller]- Slaymaker, Samuel [donor] Unknown beyond seller.
purchased from on-line auction house: E-bay $8.00 Purchased from: Richard Parks 871 Woodside Lane E #3 Sacramento, CA 95825 Funds for purchase provided by: Sam Slaymaker 109 Benley Lane Lancaster, PA 17603
Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Lignum vitas wood caster with round, bowl-like top, pierced for shaking out pounce. Base is ring-turned tapers smaller to broad top, flat bottom. Small, shallow dotted pattern in two bands near bottom. Lip at top has thin groove. Top screws onto base that would be filled with pounce, which is a fine powder made from powdered cuttlefish bone. Pounce was used both to dry ink and to sprinkle on a rough writing surface to make it smooth enough for writing.
Esther 'Hetty' Parker, James Buchanan's housekeeper, chose this among several other household items that Buchanan noted she was to be allowed to choose after his death. Miss Hetty gave this to the daughter of her neighbor. Miss Steckman donated this to the Wheatland collection in 1938.
