Washington Related
Pre-1827 Peale Museum George Washington Silhouette
c. Pre-1827, Silhouette of George Washington with the embossed name Peale's Museum below, Choice Extremely Fine.
The image size is 5" x 3-7/8" by sight, no date or maker, attributed to artist Charles Willson Peale's Museum, period framed to an overall size of 7" x 5.75" in a contemporary, plain wooden frame with its original brass loop for hanging at top. The black cut silhouette of Washington is choice Extremely Fine, in excellent condition on a white backing; the frame shows some wear and has some veneer loss at its upper right corner. The top of the frame has a small, brass metal loop for hanging. What is really exciting about this item is the presence of a faint, embossed stamp located directly below Washington's bust that reads "Peale's Museum," making this one of the rare extant examples from one of America's first Natural History Museums. Most likely, this was something that would have been sold to a visitor to the museum. We know the piece is dated pre-1827 because that is the year the founder of the museum, Charles Willson Peale, died. After his death, the museum and its contents were purchased by none other than P.T. Barnum, who split it up. This circa 1800 silhouette has the classic bust-line used by the Peale Museum and the simple "PEALE'S MUSEUM" below a spread wing eagle impressed stamp. It was likely cut by Peale's former Slave, Moses Williams, who ran Peale's silhouette business from the 1810s to the 1830s. Everyone who collects American silhouettes should have at least one from Charles Willson Peale's Philadelphia Museum in their collection.
Charles Willson Peale (April 15, 1741 " February 22, 1827) was an American painter, soldier, scientist, inventor, politician and naturalist. He is best remembered for his portrait paintings of leading figures of the American Revolution, and for establishing one of the first museums in the United States.
Peale had a great interest in natural history, and organized the first U.S. scientific expedition in 1801. These two major interests combined in his founding of what became the Philadelphia Museum, later known as Peale's American Museum. It housed a diverse collection of botanical, biological, and archaeological specimens.
The museum contained a large variety of birds which Peale himself acquired, and in many instances mounted, having taught himself taxidermy.
In 1792, Peale initiated a correspondence with Thomas Hall, of the Finsbury Museum, City Road, Finsbury, London proposing to purchase British stuffed items for his museum. Eventually, an exchange system was established between the two, whereby Peale sent American birds to Hall in exchange for an equal number of British birds. This arrangement continued until the end of the century. The Peale Museum was the first to display a mastodon skeleton (which in Peale's time were referred to as mammoth bones; these common names were amended by Georges Cuvier in 1800, and his proposed usage is that employed today) that Peale found in New York State. Peale worked with his son to mount the skeleton for display.