Wine bottle. Brown glass, shallow pontil, seamed shoulder and neck. Cork with red wax to seal mouth. Wine inside almost to shoulder level. Found by volunteers sometime during the early years of the James Buchanan Foundation. Bottle was found in the east end of the basement level in the Wheatland mansion.
Trinket chest of dovetail construction, hinged lid, turned feet and polychrome decoration. Bottom secured with square nails. Keyhole at front; key missing. On a burnt orange ground are 5 large decals (4 of fruit and 1 of flowers) and one small decal at front center of spread eagle, shield and banner. Chest sides and top have centered line decoration of 3 concentric rectangles with hollow corners (black, ochre, white). Feet are black. Edge moldings of lid and base painted black with yellow-green double line decoration enclosing leafy scrolling vines. Interior and underside unfinished.
Inked # 00.43.1 on bottom. Two old stickers: "65603" on back and "65625" on bottom.
Attributed to Joseph Lehn (1798-1892). South of Clay, Elizabeth Township.
Provenance
Transferred from the James Buchanan Foundation where chest was "found in collection" with history/provenance.
Paint soiled and darkened. Large scar on left end of lid molding. Arc scored into top at right front of lid. Wear/abrasions overall, especially lid and base molding. Loose left front foot and paint loss of right back foot. Pristine interior. One hing screw missing.
Object ID
G.03.35.1
Place of Origin
Elizabeth Twp.
Credit
Gif ot James Buchanan Foundation, Heritage Center Collec
Broadside commercially printed on wove paper in Pa. German script. Geometric border surrounds text block of 4 long paragraphs. Modern frame.
Title is "Kraftiges Gebet, / Wodurch man sich vor Kugel und Degen, vor sichtbarlichen und un- / sichtbarlichen Feinden, so wie vor allem moglichen / Uebel beschutzen und bewahren konne."
Place of origin is unknown.
Seller's translation: "A Powerful Prayer whereby one can protect himself from shot and sword, of a visible or invisible enemy, just as from all other possible wounds that one need protect against."
Rows of letters at bottom with more text with a title "Vor die fallende Sucht, oder Gicht," which seems to mean "For those who've come down with an ailment (addiction?), or gout."
Within a twisted foliate border is a central block depicting Adam & Eve flanking a tree with a serpent wound around the trunk offering Eve an apple. This is an engraving executed by Gabriel Miesse of Reading; his name appears at lower right followed by "sc" for "sculpsit", indicating the engraver. Two columns of verse flank the central block, telling the story of "the Fall" in conversational form. At top of broadside is the title in German: "Adam und Eva im Paradies." A subtitle reads: "Mel. Herzlich thut mich Verlangen, etc."
At bottom is: "Gedruckt in der Druckerey des Adlers von H.W. Villee, Lancaster, Pa. allwo alle Sorten Bilder, Bucher,/ Schriebmaterialien und Arzneyen zu haben find." This indicates the broadside was printed in the Lancaster Eagle's printshop (a newspaper started by Villee and Jacob Baab on Oct. 26, 1826). Villee was also selling pictures, books, stationery and even medicines out of his shop on N. Queen St.
See biographical info about Villee from Klaus Stopp's book in this file. He was born in France, served as a captain under Napolean, had to leave France in 1815 and ended up in America in 1820. Villee entered the printing business by working at "the Eagle," a newspaper in Reading. Villee was not successful as a printer in Lancaster, and he left sometime in 1832 or soon after, going to places like Lewisburg, Sunbury and Milton. After moving to Northumberland Co. and becoming a teacher, he finally died in 1842.
The Earnests note that Adam & Eve were popular fraktur subjects, especially among German-language printers of SE PA. They note that there are only about a half dozen Adam & Eve broadsides by Villee known.
Exhibited in Fraktur Exhibit in Masonic Lodge circa 2004 through 2007 (removed spring 2008).
See also P.01.60.1 and P04.48 for examples of a Heaven & Hell broadside by Villee.
North Queen St., Lancaster (printer); Reading, PA (engraver). Villee, Herman W., printer; Gabriel Miesse, engraver; unknown colorist
Paper darkened and soiled overall, wrinkled with fold lines and rough-edged with minor tears and folds. Stains scattered over surface with darkest stains within right text above center. Small hole at center of top foliate border.
Frame is homemade of stained and varnished tiger maple. Acidic cardboard backboard replaced with acid free matboard.
Object ID
P.04.48.1
Credit
Acquired through the generosity of Irene N. Walsh, Heritage Center Collection
Porcelain china compote with hand-painted landscape scenary on outer body of the bowl. Acquired by James Buchanan while serving as Secretary of State from then outgoing French Ambassador, Louis Adolphe Aimé Fourier, comte de Bacourt.
Nast or Darte Freres factory. Jean-Pierre Feuillet, designer.
Provenance
French Ambassador, Louis Adolphe Aimé Fourier, comte de Bacourt
Mark applied over glaze, therefore some of the ojects no longer have the designer's signature
Height (cm)
13.97
Height (ft)
0.4583333333
Height (in)
5.5
Diameter (cm)
25.4
Diameter (ft)
0.8333333333
Diameter (in)
10
Condition
Fair
Condition Date
2023-03-31
Condition Notes
Some thinning of decorative paints, chipping, broken.
Object ID
W.1935.010.001
Notes
In 1995 the JBF staff assigned the Object ID W.95.69.2 to this Compote as a FIC probably because original paper records were not found.
In March 2023 the paper file has been found that identifies Lois Cassatt Thayer as the donor in 1935. Mrs. Thayer was the daughter to Alexander Cassatt and his wife, Maria Lois Buchanan Cassatt. Maria Lois Buchanan was the daughter to Rev. Dr. Edward Y. Buchanan, the youngest sibling to President James Buchanan.
Cast silver wax holder in shape of a small walnut. Identical halves of nut are attached at one end and partially open at the other. Interior is filled with beeswax for drawing thread through, and multiple score marks are evident in wax. Hanging ring at fixed end.
Woven jacquard coverlet with red roses, blue 9-petaled flowers, 8-point stars, red birds, and blue rose trees.
Center field: alternate stripes of blocks of red roses with blue 9-petaled flowers encircled by small 8-point stars with 2 larger stars between flowers.
Outer border: Alternate redbirds and blue rose treets on 3 sides.
Head edge: Bound with commercial red twill tape.
Center seam: Self fringe on 3 edges. Side wool fringes are looped.
Corner blocks: "Made by J. Witmer Manor Township for Hennah Sauder 1839"
Indigo Jacquard coverlet. Natural cotton and indigo wool. Center seam. Inner border of alternating birds and trees. Outer border (3 sides only) a double row of 8-pointed stars. Center field of 20 full floral and star square blocks with 4.5-inch blocks at top. 25 stars between blocks.
Head edge finished with doubled .25-inch brown cotton binding. 3.5-inch self-fringe on sides with tape of fringes applied to foot.
Single-jacquard woven coverlet, 4+1; 2 panels seamed vertically; red, orange, dark blue, medium blue, green; design of roses, stars and paired birds; top edge has fabric binding, bottom edge has cotton fringe, selvedge edges have looped fringe.
Inscription: "Made by / C. Yordy / Conestoga / Township / For / Fanny / Funck / 1836"
