The Winterthur Library

The Winterthur Library

The Joseph Downs Collection of Manuscripts and Printed Ephemera

Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum

5105 Kennett Pike, Winterthur, Delaware 19735

Telephone: 302-888-4600 or 800-448-3883

OVERVIEW OF THE COLLECTION

Creator: Young, Martha Innis (Mrs. William H.), 1856-1946

Title: Correspondence

Dates: 1883-1895, bulk dates 1893-1895

Call No.: Col. 810

Acc. No.: 07x13

Quantity: 45 items

Location: 34 J 5

BIOGRAPHICAL STATEMENT

Mrs. William H. Young lived in Poughkeepsie, New York. She collected antiques, particularly china. Her husband was interested in items with naval motifs.

Mrs. Young was Martha Innis (1856-1946), the daughter of Ann Bevier Hasbrouck and George Innis. In 1883, she married William Hopkins Young (1855-1907), the son of Mary Eliot Dwight (1817-1890) and Henry Lathrop Young (1818-1900). William H. Young was a lawyer in Poughkeepsie. The couple had two children, daughter Annette (1885-1975) and son Innis (1887-1953).

In 1895, the Youngs moved into Locust Grove, the former summer home of Samuel F. B. Morse, which had been designed for him by Alexander Jackson Davis. At first, the Youngs only rented this house, but in 1901, they were able to purchase it, and proceeded to expand and update the house, while also respecting its historic value. The Youngs filled the house with their collection of antiques and art. Their children continued to live in the house, and upon her death in 1975, Annette left the property to a non-profit organization to run the house as a museum. The Youngs’ collections remained with the house, and the property is still a museum.

As a footnote, William H. Young’s mother Mary Eliot Dwight (1817-1890) was the daughter of the Reverend Henry Dwight of Utica, New York. She had a first cousin also named Mary Eliot Dwight (1821-1879), the daughter of Boston merchant Edmund Dwight. Bostonian Mary Eliot Dwight married Dr. Samuel Parkman; Parkman family papers are in Col. 707 at this repository. (No Young materials are found in Col. 707, however.)

SCOPE AND CONTENT

A collection of letters addressed to Mrs. Young from various antique dealers in New York and Connecticut. In these letters, the dealers not only described what they are offering to sell to Mrs. Young, they frequently discussed the art of negotiating the purchase of the items from the owners. Mrs. Young apparently was particularly interested in collecting china decorated with American scenes, but she also wished to purchase furniture, candlesticks, and mirrors. One dealer offered to send photos of some pieces; others would sketch the pieces. Most often, however, the dealers offered merely a verbal description. Dealer G. C. Gragg of New York City staked his reputation on being able to tell genuine articles from reproductions and offered money back if he were found to be wrong. Dealer R. T. van Deusen told her about his system of using “country buyers” to scout for pieces. Margaret A. McCollum sent an offer to make Mrs. Young “an old fashioned rug,” assuring her that it “would last a life time.” Eva B. Leete was especially chatty in her letters, writing not only about difficulties in convincing people to sell, but also including news about the health of her family and neighbors, and giving histories of some of the pieces being offered for sale. As well, the collection includes several lists of items being shipped, a sketch of a platter, an obituary of Cornelia Elliot of Connecticut, a photo of two unidentified men, and a trade card for George E. Vernon & Co. of Newport, Rhode Island.

ORGANIZATION

The items are in chronological order, with undated items at the end.

LANGUAGE OF MATERIALS

The materials are in English.

RESTRICTIONS ON ACCESS

Collection is open to the public. Copyright restrictions may apply.

PROVENANCE

Purchased from Denning McTague.

RELATED MATERIALS

See the web site for the Locust Grove Estate in Poughkeepsie, New York, for more information about the Youngs and the museum.

ACCESS POINTS

People:

Van Deusen, Robert T. (Robert Thompson), 1859-

Leete, Eva B. (Eva Bishop), 1859-1955.

Topics:

Locust Grove Estate (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.)

Antique dealers.

Antiques.

Collectors and collecting.

Selling - Antiques.

Letters.

Trade cards.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE COLLECTION

Location: 34 J 4

All accession numbers begin with 07x13.

All items are addressed to Mrs. William H. Young, unless otherwise noted.

Folder 1 of 1:

.1 bill from Theodor B. Starr, New York, Nov. 17, 1877, to Mrs. A. Varick, for silver cup in case and for repairing cameo earrings.

Printed billhead: silverware, fine diamonds, pearls, and stone cameos, ... gold jewelry, watches, bronzes;

[Mrs. Varick has no known relationship to the Young or Innis families, but this bill came with the rest of the collection.]

.2 letter from Mrs. R. D. Barnes, Chatham, May 1, 1883: have packed up the antiques and will send on Tuesday; no charge for the broken flagon; encloses bill [no longer present];

[Robert D. and Mary Barnes were listed in the 1880 census for Chatham, New York; Robert was a merchant.]

.3 bill from R. D. Barnes, Chatham, N.Y., Dec. 22, 1892: for ware[? or wine?] case, green plates, white plate, platters, Wedgwood pitcher, luster pitcher, sugar [bowl], plated pitcher, fruit dish with depiction of Boston State House, a pistol, a flagon

[see .41 for another bill from Barnes]

.4a-b from Mrs. R. D. Barnes, Chesapeake Bay, on steamer “Berkshire” from Savannah to Baltimore, May 12, 1893: gives a list of goods on hand, including high posters [bedsteads], sideboards, card tables, sofas, low boy, various kinds of chairs (no arm chairs), mahogany hall clocks, corner wash stands, desks, combined work stands/desks, bureaus, andirons, fenders, plated sticks [candlesticks], Wedgwood flower pots, wine case (reception case) with glasses and bottles (purchased from Mrs. L. E. Polk, [mistakenly identified as a sister-in-law of James K. Polk]), glasses, spoon holders, goblets, cups and saucers, “Baker Falls” Hudson River plates, and other glassware and china; she gives some descriptions of furniture: claw feet drop leaf tables, handsomely carved chair, swell front and serpentine front bureaus, etc.

.5a-b from R. T. Van Deusen, Stuyvesant, Col. Co. [Columbia County], N.Y., July 18, 1893: receipt enclosed; chairs are reproductions, supposed to be Belgian; asks if she has “Passaic Falls” in her collection; includes sketch of a dish that has that design on it in blue; gives prices of some other plates he has (brown Montreal, Nahant, B & O R.R., etc.); send list of plates that she would like and he will ask his country buyers to be on the lookout for them; is expecting to get a reproduction mahogany claw and ball footed, carved pedestal dining table;

On printed letterhead: cut-rate depot of antique furniture and colonial furnishings, old china, &c.; historical plates, &c. a specialty

.6 receipt from R. D. Barnes, Chatham, July 19, 1893: for bill rendered; with added note: was sorry to hear that the little wine bottle got broken

.7a-b from R. D. Barnes, July 20, 1893: will try to find the casters Mrs. Young wants; crockery from New Hampshire never arrived; prices a Lafayette platter with small chip; has another platter (with deer and something else – maybe trees); jam [i.e. jamb] hooks are sold; hard to find nice extension tables – the one in Hudson was too plain and common looking; no keys for wine case or tea box; mentions sofas and other crockery

.8 from R. D. Barnes, July 26, 1893: jamb hooks are sold; will keep Lafayette platter for her; the platter with animals is all right; doesn’t need to return photos – keep or pass along to others

.9 from G. C. Gragg of George W. Cole, New York, August 15, 1893: will return the vase to stock but is sure it is what he says it is - an old Empire vase – and not a new reproduction; guarantees that anything he sells is what he says it is or he will return money; has visited a factory in Paris where reproductions are made and the quality of decoration is not the same as the old ones; was not trying to pass off a reproduction as something old;

On printed letterhead stationery: George W. Cole, Antiques

.10a-b, .31 from Robert T. Van Deusen, Stuyvesant, Col. Co. [Columbia County], N.Y., August 29, 1893: hard times for antiques dealers, more so than for other businesses; has been training country buyers for over two years; sometimes one will leave him to work for a city dealer who can offer more; often gets letters from people offering to sell him all kinds of goods; it’s a good time for collectors to be buying; he responds to the letters by offering to sell on commission; someone has a cracked Park Theater plate, but now she shouldn’t pay much for a cracked plate; offers plates with Senate Hall Cambridge and Park Theater depictions; has no jamb hooks; prices naval pitcher (Lawrence, Decatur); sometimes high prices are from dealer but sometimes the prices are high because country owners refuse to sell at reasonable price; is writing from Vermont;

On printed letterhead: cut-rate depot of antique furniture and colonial furnishings, old china, &c.; historical plates, &c. a specialty ;

[note: last page, .31, had been separated from first two pages, but is now reunited]

.11a-b from R. T. Van Deusen, Stuyvesant, Col. Co. [Columbia County], N.Y., September 5, 1893: gives price for MacDonough plate [War of 1812 naval scene]; gives bottom price for a Park Theater plate; describes a pitcher with naval scenes, which he mentions because Mrs. Young had said her husband was interested in naval pieces; when returns to Stuyvesant will answer her questions about candlesticks; does not have mirror in size she wants; Erie Canal plates are more rare than MacDonough plates; describes a tea set (pot, cups, saucers); has sideboards and bureaus in stock; give price of just-received silverplated shoe buckles;

On printed letterhead: cut-rate depot of antique furniture and colonial furnishings, old china, &c.; historical plates, &c. a specialty

.12a-c from R. T. Van Deusen, Stuyvesant, Col. Co. [Columbia County], N.Y., September 13, 1893: send Park Theater and MacDonough plates; cabinet from Virginia arrived – has elaborate inlay and will be expensive to repair [includes a sketch of the piece, with the upper doors opened to show the inside drawers]; gives dates of upcoming fall sale; sold the extension table; tea set has a pot in what is now known as the “New England teapot” since an art magazine used the design; prices pewter porringers and platters; includes sketch of teapot and creamer, with designs of Chinese buildings; novelties recently received include fob seal, shoe buckles, buttons, snuff box; describes some furniture on had (carved claw-foot stand, sofa with horn of plenty carved on back, etc.); sketches two different styles of candlesticks and prices them for her; one needs some mending (the place is indicated on the sketch); happy to send things on approval; offers plates with the designs of Cadmus, West Point, and Philadelphia Library;

On printed letterhead: cut-rate depot of antique furniture and colonial furnishings, old china, &c.; historical plates, &c. a specialty

.13a-b from R. T. Van Deusen, Stuyvesant, Col. Co. [Columbia County], N.Y., Sept. 19, 1893: encloses memorandum of goods she took [no longer with letter]; reminds her that she has a credit of $50; forgot to offer her the fruit dish with the Union Line pattern; disappointed in his fall sale; asks her to consider buying the serpentine bureau;

On printed letterhead: antique furniture, old china and silver, miscellaneous antiques, historical plates a specialty, with the address of Albany (rather than Stuyvesant)

.14 from (Miss) Margaret A. McCollum, Stuyvesant, N.Y., Sept. 21, 1893: Mr. Van Deusen says Mrs. Young wants an old-fashioned rug; she can make one of woolen materials for eight dollars; believes that wool ones will last a life-time and look better than the cotton ones, which are more quickly made and are cheaper

.15, .34, .35 from R. T. Van Deusen, Sept. 22, 1893: encloses letter from one of his country buyers about mirrors, and gives his profit above the prices mentioned by the buyer [this letter is not extant]; same buyer is also selling a B & O plate; includes sketch of an old glass bottle used on board the “Champlain,” one of the earliest steamboats on Lake Champlain [gives further history and description]; is she interested in the etched flip glass?, expects a Wilkie plate and a Welcome Lafayette pitcher;

On printed letterhead stationery of The China Collector: a publication devoted to the interests of china collectors, Albany, N.Y.;

Accessions 07x13.34 and .35 are presumed to be continuations of accession 07x13.15; the pages were separated at one time.

.16a-b from R. T. Van Deusen, Sept. 23, 1893: more about the country buyer’s B & O. R. R. plate; asked Miss McCullum to write her about the rug [see .14 above]; am shipping platter and plate even though he wanted more money for them; has disposed of a large amount of goods and will be buying more; congratulates her on arriving home without loss;

On printed letterhead stationery of The China Collector: a publication devoted to the interests of china collectors, Albany, N.Y.;

.17 from Louisa K.[?] Jackson, St. Nicholas Ave., no city, October 12, 1893: glad that Mrs. Young is still interested in the Holly antiques; they are stored in library and will remain there until she returns from Chicago; had been going to the Capitol in Albany on work for State Board of Charities

.18, .32, .33 from R. T. Van Deusen, Dec. 11, 1893: economic downturn is affecting his business and what decisions he is making about it; especially has not been buying a lot of furniture; has few mirrors, but does have andirons, brass fenders, and fire sets; has [some kind of] set of Lafayette at Franklin’s Tomb; includes sketches two Staffordshire boxes, a jewel box and a pen holder, one with Lafayette at Franklin’s Tomb, and the other with the Marine Hospital, Louisville, Ky.; mentions other decorated plates, a tea set, and Liverpool pitchers; writes about the little profit he is able to make because of expense of finding items; is grateful for her business; mentions refinishing furniture in Albany;

On printed letterhead stationery: cut-rate depot of antique furniture and colonial furnishings, old china, &c.; historical plates, &c. a specialty

Accessions 07x13.32 and .33 are presumed to be continuations of accession 07x13.18; the pages were separated at one time, but all the page numbers match.

.19a-b from R. T. Van Deusen, January[? month is smeared] 5, 1894: will buy a porringer for her; sketches and describes a mirror; mirror and curtain knobs are brass, not china, but are pretty; sketches end of a spoon, showing inscription; sketches two buttons with Washington’s initials and “Long Live the President”; gives prices of pewter platters, mirror knobs, and curtain fixtures, and sketches the shape of the fixtures; again mentions the Staffordshire boxes sketched in letter of Dec. 11, and includes another sketch of one of them; encloses list of plats [no longer with letter] available from Miss Morse (sister of Alice Morse Earle); has inlaid bureaus; sketches a brass lamp with glass shade;

On printed letterhead stationery of The China Collector: a publication devoted to the interests of china collectors, Albany, N.Y.;

Accessions 07x13.34 and .35 are presumed to be continuations of accession 07x13.15; the pages were separated at one time.

.20a-b from Robert T. Van Deusen, Jan. 15, 1894:typed letter: asks permission to send the Staffordshire boxes on approval; offers two books, if she is interested in books; asks about her interest in a frame; recent arrivals include an old oil lamp with cut-glass prisms, an iron door knocker, and other [unnamed] odds and ends;

On printed and illustrated letterhead stationery: cut-rate dealers in antique furniture and colonial furnishings, old china, &c.; historical plates, &c. a specialty, R. T. Van Deusen, manager; illustrated with four decorated plates (with the year 1889), and a man on a horse-drawn wagon; the second page has a statement from Country Buyers about their business

.21a-b from Eva B. Leete, Guilford, Conn., March 4, 1895: barrel arrived safely; it was her mistake in calling a piece Delft rather than the correct hard glaze Chinese; went to Essex to look at some Syntax and found a Lowestoft tea pot, Franklyn maxine plates, Delft plates, and plate with Columbia College design; knows Mr. Terry will want some of the pieces but prefers to give Mrs. Young first chance because she, as well as other ladies, has been so helpful; Miss Eliot told another buyer that she would let Mrs. Leete have first choice of buying her things; is acquiring an old wood cut of the gentleman who owned the chair Mrs. Young bought; difference of opinion over whether to call it rice glaze or salt glaze;