Verplanks point 1st Oct 82

My dearest

If this letter should ever reach your hands, it will be presented by Mr Brown, - son to a Gentlman of that name in Rhode Island, from whom I have received civilities, & to whom, or his connections I could…

In the mid-1790s, Dutch merchant Andreas Everardus van Braam Houckgeest designed a Chinese porcelain service specifically to present as a gift to First Lady Martha Washington. This cup and saucer is one of the few remaining pieces of the service. …

As First Lady, Martha Washington entered into an important and new public role. Just as with the President, there was debate over what her official title should be. Suggestions included “Lady” and “Marquise.” Early on, Martha herself decided…

This garnet necklace dates to the beginning of Martha’s marriage to George Washington. It was probably part of a shipment of jewelry from London that arrived in 1759. Garnets were common among the jewelry Martha purchased in the 1750s and…

This tea service was presented as a gift to the Washingtons in the early 1780s from the Comte de Custine-Sarreck, who had served under George Washington and General Rochambeau at Yorktown. It was designed specifically for the Washingtons and made at…

This collection of popular songs was well-known both in England and in colonial America. In 1758, Martha Custis ordered the work from Robert Cary, one of her London agents. The collection would have been used for communal singing as part of social or…

Partial transcript:

"...the President seemed a good deal surprised - at the quantity of wine that you have given out, as it never was his intention to give wine or goe to any Expence to entertain people that came to Mount vernon out of curiosity…

This undated letter was written in the mid-1790s, most likely in 1795, during George Washington’s second Presidential term. In it, Martha Washington offers feminine advice to her granddaughter Nelly regarding her attire for an upcoming formal…

The Powels were important figures in upper-class Philadelphia and good friends of the President and his wife.  This note is a reply to an invitation to join the Powels at a circus (in fact, the first documented circus in America). …

This invitation dates to the brief period the Washingtons spent at Mount Vernon between the Revolution and the Presidency. The Porters were among the hundreds of houseguests that Mount Vernon hosted every year (many of them uninvited). Thomas…