When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Today out of a local estate comes this very rare and hard to find, J. Crutchettmade Mount Vernon wood framed memorial etching, under glass, agreat little memento. This is a small turned wood frame ,made from Mount Vernon trees, planted by George Washington. It has a memorial engraving of Washington & a Mount Vernon view, surrounded by “DESIGNED BY H. BILLINGS, ENGRAVED BY THE AMERICAN BANK NOTE CO.,”. It has its original glass cover and is in great condition. The back of the frame at the bottom is impressed into the wood \"From Mount Vernon\"(this is the only I know of that is in good enough condition to see it on the frame bottom just below the label), it also has the great original printed \"certified\" note on the back reading-
Washington D.C. 14th Nov. 1859- I hereby certify that the picture frame stamped- From MOUNT VERNON, J. Crutchett, to which this is attached was manufactured by the \"MOUNT VERNON FACTORY\" from wood grown at Mount Vernon the home and resting place of the immortal George Washington in agreement with the accompanying printed certificates of John A Washington Esq., proprietorof Mount Vernon and his honor the Mayor of Washington City , dated Nov. 12th 1856. This beautiful Gem givesan artistic likeness of General Washington together with a view of the Mansion of Mount Vernon & Tomb of Washington. J. Crutchett.-- “THIS BEAUTIFUL GEM, framed in Mt Vernon Wood, can only be had, wholesale and retail, at HORACE BARNES & CO,123 WASHINGTON STREET, BOSTON or their agents throughout the United States.”.
This is a great little piece of history, of which several of these can found in big American museums,but not as nice as this one overall. I have noted below,several descriptions & articles related to this piece and the internet sites of the articles on the history of these, from those museums.
PAYPAL PAYMENT DUE AT sale END WITH $10.00 INSURED SHIPPING.
This past President’s Day there was much love for, and celebration of, our first POTUS, George Washington. This sentiment was widely shared by our mid-19th-century compatriots, who were enamored by the story and glorification of George Washington. Winterthur has a large collection of objects depicting the “Father of His Country,” including paintings, statues, printed textiles, clocks, glass flasks, ceramics, and more. But one item in particular, a framed engraving representing a medal of Washington in front of Mount Vernon and his tomb, highlights the exceptional Washington fervor of the 1850s. Beyond the antebellum idolization of George Washington, this delicate 3.3 inch engraving and its frame tell us a story of cultural entrepreneurship in the mid-19th century.
The story of this memento starts with James Crutchett, the English-born civil engineer responsible for installing a large gas lantern on the dome of the Capitol. In the early 1850s, Crutchett set his eyes on Mount Vernon, which had become a pilgrimage for patriots. The current owner at the time, John Augustine Washington, was struggling to fund the plantation. Capitalizing on the George Washington fervor and the monetary problems of Mount Vernon’s owner, Crutchett approached John Augustine with a business proposition. Around 1854 the pair signed a deal, which Crutchett characterized as allowing him to purchase the “many thousand trees around the mansion and tomb, and all on the estate of the homestead at Mount Vernon, the sacred home and resting place of the immortal George Washington,” (1) with the purpose of manufacturing canes and wooden souvenirs. News of the sale was met with some consternation. The Lowell Daily Citizen and News (Lowell, MA) reported the deal in 1858, commenting, “We hope the bones of the ‘Father of his country’ will not be dug up to be manufactured into toothpicks.” (2) Regardless, Crutchett’s enterprise moved full steam ahead.
Crutchett first focused on manufacturing canes. He established the Mount Vernon Cane Manufactory near the Baltimore and Ohio depots, and used steam machinery to speed up production. (3)Crutchett quickly turned to other forms of Mount Vernon mementos, including pictures frames, bracelets, necklaces, earrings, goblets, and more—all using the Mount Vernon wood. On August 1, 1860, he posted an advertisement for one specific souvenir:
PATRIOTS AND LOVERS OF WASHINGTON can now be supplied with engravings representing Mount Vernon, east and west fronts, the Birth-place and the Tomb of Washington. Each are neatly set in a glass crystal, and framed in circular frames of wood grown at Mount Vernon, from three to four inches in diameter; each frame is stamped, polished, and warranted, and accompanied with the certificate of Mr. Crutchett, the publisher and proprietor of the Mount Vernon factory. These will be sent by mail free of postage in any part of the Union on receipt of 5[?] cents each, (where 3-cent postage prevails,) or $1.50 for the set of four. (4)
[link removed by ]
[link removed by ]
[link removed by ]
[link removed by ]
[link removed by ]
