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:         Sansom, Joseph, 1765 or 1766-1826.

Title:               Silhouette albums

Dates:             1790-1800

Call No.:         Doc. 52          

Acc. No.:        86x29

Quantity:        2 volumes

Location:        31 A

 

 

 

BIOGRAPHICAL STATEMENT

 

An amateur landscape draftsman, Philadelphia Quaker Joseph Sansom (1767-1826) was noted as a traveler and author.  Sansom was the son of Hannah Callendar and Samuel Sansom.  Following his 1798 marriage to Beulah Biddle (1768-1837), he embarked on a three year tour abroad.    He and his wife had no children.

 

 

SCOPE AND CONTENT

 

Consists of ink silhouette portraits bound in two separately titled volumes, dated 1790-1800.  Death dates added in vol. 2 as late as 1825 indicate that these volumes had an active life after date of creation. Volume 1 is titled An Occasional Collection of Physiognomical Sketches, chiefly North American, and drawn from the life; designed to preserve the characteristic features of personally, mentally, or officially Remarkable Persons, and the endeared memory of Private Friends or Public Benefactors with professional Notices, &c.  The volume contains 58 profiles of people in the Philadelphia area including Benjamin Franklin, James Madison, Robert Morris, Edmund Randolph, Benjamin Chew, Samuel Shoemaker, members of the Sansom and Perot families, and various other merchants, gentlemen, women, and ministers of the Gospel, plus a Native American, Tsekuyeaathaw of the Senecas (he is better known as Red Jacket).  In addition to identifying the subjects, some other information, such as profession and age, is usually added.   Volume 1 includes a table of contents.  Some of the portraits have been removed.

 

Volume 2 contains 16 profiles of notable Europeans, including Pope Pius VII, Napoleon Bonaparte, King George III, William Pitt, and others.  The title of this volume is Fifteen Silhouettes of eminent, or respectable, Personages; taken, occasionally, in Europe, about the year 1800.  The table of contents (found on the title page) lists the names of the subjects; they are not identified on the pages themselves.  A small, unidentified, silhouette was found loose in this volume as well.

 

           

 

 

LANGUAGE OF MATERIALS

 

The materials are chiefly pictorial, but captions are in English.

 

 

RESTRICTIONS ON ACCESS

 

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

           

 

PROVENANCE

           

Purchased from Anne S. Morris, widow of Elliston P. Morris, whose bookplate is found in both volumes.

 

 

RELATED MATERIALS

 

The Historical Society of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia, holds an album similar to Downs Collection's volume 1; HSP's album once belonged to the Perot family.  [See article about it in the Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, Oct. 1964.]  The Friends Historical Library at Swarthmore College holds the Thomas Gilpin Profile Album, which was copied from one of the Sansom albums.

 

 

ACCESS POINTS

 

People:

            Red Jacket, Seneca chief,  approximately 1756-1830.

 

Topics:

            Clergy - Portraits.

Indians of North America - Portraits.

Silhouettes - Europe.

Silhouettes - Pennsylvania - Philadelphia.

           

            Women - Portraits.

            Philadelphia (Pa.) - Biography - Portraits.

            Silhouettes.

Portrait painters.         

 

 

INDEX TO VOLUME 1 (acc. 86x29.1)

 

Note: there is a table of contents in the front of this volume; the names are in alphabetical groups, but someone switched the first and second leaves, and so Pen-Z comes before A-Pem.

 

Captions in parentheses below is information taken from the album.  Captions in square brackets is information added by the cataloger.

 

A number of pages are missing; most are not listed in the table of contents; some missing pages are in the table of contents, but the name has been erased.  The missing pages are as follows:

 5, 7, 13-14 [these refer to the extra silhouettes found on page 12], 17, 19-20, 25-26 [page 26 is listed in table of contents, but name is erased], 29-32, 34, 36, 41-42, 44-46, 52, 54 (which appears to be pasted to page 53), 56, 58-59 [page 59 listed in table of contents, but name is erased], 62, 64, 67, 72-73 [page 72 listed in table of contents, but name is erased], 75, 77-78, 81 [page listed in table of contents, but name is erased], 84-86 [page 86 listed in table of contents, but name is erased], 92-95 [page 95 listed in table of contents, but name is erased], 97-99, 101 [page listed in table of contents, but name is erased], and 105.

 

 

Name - page number [note: Sansom’s numeral 1’s sometimes can be mistaken for sloppy 5’s]

 

Abington, Susanna Penelope              page 4

            (of Ph., daughter of the late Dr. Abraham Chovet; aged 49)

 

Allinson, Samuel         page 87

            (esquire, of New Jersey, aged 50)

[wearing a hat]

 

Benezet, Philip            page 76 [which is after p. 74, which is after p. 75]

            (of Philad., gent. [gentleman], aged 69)

[wearing a hat]

 

Callender, Catharine   page 6

            (relict of Will. Call[ender], esq., age about 75)

 

Carroll, Daniel            page 51

            (representative in Congress for Maryland, aged 70)

[first name from table of contents; it does not appear on the actual page]

 

Chew, Benjamin          page 50

            (esq., of Philadelphia, sometime Chief Justice of Pennsylvania, & caetera, &c., aged 70)

[wearing a hat]

 

Chovet, Abraham        page 1

            (M.D. of Philadelphia, age 85)

            [wearing a hat]

 

Coates, Samuel           page 90 [which is on back of p. 89]

            (of Philad., grocer, many years manager of the Penns. Hospital, aged 43)

[wearing a hat]

 

Cockburn, Guillaume, conte de Cockburn     page 69

            (sometimes commandant at Cape Francois, descended from the royal house of Stuart, aged 85]

[appears to have a beard; slip of paper with identification is pasted to the page]

 

De Brahm, John William Gerrard      page 27

            (native of Coblence, Germany, now of Philadelphia, aged 73) [ has a beard]

            [this silhouette was done on a separate piece of paper and affixed to this page, covering another silhouette]

 

[De Marsillac, John]   page 48 [which is on back of page 47]

[not identified; name is from table of contents; there it is in the M’s]

 

Dilwyn, George          page 89

            (of Burl., [Burlington, N.J.], Min. of the Gosp. [minister of the gospel], aged 50)

[wearing a hat]

 

Drinker, Henry            page 103

            (of Phil., Merch. [merchant], aged 57)

[wearing a hat]

            [he is not listed in table of contents]

 

Drinker, John              page 55

            (of Philad., Merch. [merchant], aged 60)

[wearing a hat]

 

Franklin, Benjamin     page 82

            (Dr., F.R.S. [Fellow of the Royal Society], sometime governour of Pennsylvania, aged 84)

 

Griffitts, Samuel Powell         page 22

            (Dr., of Phil., aged 31)

 

Harrison, Thomas        page 91

            (taylor [sic, i.e. tailor], the fourth successive and unwearied advocate for the blacks at Philad., aged 51)

[appears to be wearing glasses]

 

Head, John                  page 35

            (of Phil., gent. [gentleman], aged 67)

[wearing a hat]

 

Howell, Joshua            page 80

            (of Philad., gentleman, aged 65)

[wearing a hat]

 

Hutton, John               page 3

            (silversmith, of Ph., native of New York, aged 107)

 

Jones, Owen   page 8

            (of Philadelphia, gent. [gentleman], age 78)

            [wearing a hat]

 

Jones, Rebecca            page 53

            (of Philad., M.G. [minister of the gospel], aged 50)

 

Lewis, William           page 74

            (esq., barrister, of Phil., aged 30)

 

Madison, James           page 71

            (esq., OF, representative in Congress for the State of Virginia, aged 30)

 

[Marsillac, John de]    page 48 [which is on back of page 47]

[not identified; name is from table of contents; cross-referenced under de]

 

Morris, Robert            page 104

            (of Phil., merchant, minister of finance during the American Revolution, &c., aged 50)

 

Parrish, John               page 100

            (of Phil., M.G. [minister of the gospel], brush-maker, aged 61)

 [wearing a hat]

 

Paschall, Thomas        page 43

            (of Phil., ironmonger, aged 69)

[wearing a hat]

            [he is not listed in table of contents]

 

Pemberton, James       page 47

            (esq., of Philad., president of the Penn. Soc. for the Ab. Of Slavery &c [Pennsylvania Society for the Abolition of Slavery], aged 68)

 [wearing a hat]

 

Pemberton, John         page 57

            (of Phil., M of the G [minister of the gospel], aged 63)

            [wearing a hat, and shows the torso, not just the head and shoulders

 

Pennington, Edward   page 65

            (of Ph., sugar-baker, aged 60)

[wearing a hat; straight lines frame the silhouette]

 

Perot, Elliston             page 21

            (merchant of Philad., aged 40)

 

Perot, Elliston, Jr.       pages 15 & 16 [one page with both numbers]

            (Jun. or C.P., aged 18 months) 

[name in table of contents given as Elliston C. Perot]

 

Perot, John                  page 88

            (of Philad., merch [merchant], aged 40)

[wearing a hat]

 

Perot, Samuel              page 15 & 16 [one page with both numbers]

            (of Philadelphia, age 2 years and ten months)

 

Perot, Sarah                 page 23

            (of Phil., aged 27)

 

Pleasants, Mary           page 49

            (wife of S.P.M. of Phila., aged 50)

 

Proud, Robert              page 9

            (teacher of languages in the Friends’ Academy at Phil., age 50)

            [wearing a hat]

 

Randolph, Edmund     page 63

            (esq., Attorney General of the United States, sometime governour of Virginia)

 

Redman, John             page 38

            (of Philad., M.D., president of the College of Physicians, aged 69)

[wearing a hat]

 

Ridgeway, Mary         page 28

            (widow, min. of the gos., of Mountmelick, Ireland, aged 63)

 

Sansom, Hannah         page 12  [listed as pages 12 & 13 in table of contents]

            (of Philad., age 52)

[three silhouettes on one page; two were on other pieces of paper which have been pasted to the page in this album]

 

Sansom, Joseph           page 40

            (of Philad., merch. [merchant], aged 24)

[wearing a hat]

 

Sansom, Samuel          page 33

            (of Phil., gent. [gentleman], aged 51)

 

Sansom, Samuel, Jun.             page 102

            (of Philadel., aged 18)

 

Sansom, William        page 37

            (of Philad., merch. [merchant], aged 27)

[wearing a hat]

 

Savery, William          page 2

            (tanner, M.G. [minister of the gospel] at Phil., aged 40)

 

Say, Thomas                page 66

            (of Philad., druggist, aged 82)

 

Shoemaker, Benjamin             page 61

            (of Philad., gent. [gentleman], aged 40)

[wearing a hat]

 

Shoemaker, Samuel    page 18

            (esq., of Philadel., several times mayor, aged 66)

 [he is wearing a hat]

 

Smith, Benjamin         page 39

            (of Phil., merch. [merchant], aged 27)

 

Smith, Daniel              page 68

            (of Burlington, [N.J.], gent. [gentleman], aged 62)

 

Smith, Richard.           page 10

            (esq., of Burlington, [N.J.], member of the Revolution Congress, age 50)

            [wearing a hat]

 

Sproat, James              page 11

            (senior presbyter or the Presbyterian Church at Philadelphia, aged 70)

 

[Sterling, James – name in table of contents, to be on page 73, but that is missing]

 

Tsekuyeaathaw           page 96

            (or the Man that keeps you awake, Chief Speaker of the Five Nations, aged 30);

            [this is a variant spelling of his name; he is more commonly known by his English name, Red Jacket; he was a Seneca]

 

Waln, Nicholas           page 79

            (Minister of the Gospel, and counsellor at law, of Philadelphia)

[wearing a hat; no age given but appears to be elderly]

 

[Washington, George]            page 106

            (“Standing, for the last time, in the midst of the Representatives of the People of the United States.”  Pres. Sp. 1796)

            [Washington is not identified on the page, but is listed in the table of contents.]

 

White, William            page 83

            (Dr., Bish. [Bishop] of Philad., aged 40)

 

Williams, Daniel         page 60

            (esq., of Phil., aged 70)

[wearing a hat; and shows part of torso, including his paunch]

           

Zane, Isaac                  page 24

            (of Philad., M.G. [minister of the gospel], aged 80)

[wearing a hat]

 


INDEX TO VOLUME 2 (acc. 86x29.2)

 

“Fifteen Silhouettes of Eminent, or Respectable, Personages; taken, occasionally, in Europe, about the year 1800”

 

Spine title: “British Portraits in Profile, 1799”

 

The table of contents is the only identification of these silhouettes.   Phrases inside quotation marks are the inscriptions from the title page.  Material in brackets was added by the cataloger.

 

 

Barclay, David            page 8

“David Barclay, grandson of the Apologist”

                        [Robert Barclay (1648-1690) was a Scottish Quaker and was known as the Apologist because of his writings.  His grandson David Barclay of Youngsbury (1729-1809) was a banker (forerunner of Barclays Bank) and a brewer.  He freed his Jamaican slaves and moved them to Pennsylvania.]

 

Dilwyn, William         page 7

            “William Dilwyn, brother of George”

                        [A silhouette of George Dilwyn of New Jersey is found in volume 1.  In the silhouette, he wears a hat.]

 

Henry Benedict Stuart, Cardinal Duke of York         page 2

“Cardinal York, grandson of James II”

[Cardinal Duke of York (1725-1807) (full name: Henry Benedict Thomas Edward Maria Clement Francis Xavier Stuart) was the fourth and final Jacobite heir to claim the thrones of England, Scotland, France, and Ireland publicly, although he made no effort to secure the throne.  In the silhouette, he wears a hat.]

 

George III, King of Great Britain       page 4

            “George III, King of Great Britain”

 

Litta, Cardinal             page 15

“Cardinal Litta, when Prime Minister”

                        [He wears a skull cap.  This was perhaps Lorenzo Litta (1756-1820), who was made a cardinal in 1801.  He had been an apostolic nuncio for the Roman Catholic Church (serving in Poland and Russia), and did other services, but no reference was found to his being a prime minister.]

 

Murray, Lindley          page 12

“Lindley Murray, the grammarian”

                        [Lindley Murray (1745-1826) was a Quaker, born in Pennsylvania, but he later moved to England, where he died.  His book English Grammar was written for a Quaker school in York, but became a popular textbook at many schools.]

 

Napoleon Bonaparte   page 13

“Bonaparte, when First Consul”

                        [Napoleon Bonaparte was First Consul of France from 1799-1804, after which he became emperor.]

 

Pitt, William               page 5

“William Pitt, when premier”

                        [This is William Pitt the Younger (1759-1806).  He was prime minister from 1783-1801 and 1801-1806.  His father, also William Pitt, Earl of Chatham, had also been prime minister, but he died in 1778, before Joseph Sansom went to Europe.]

 

Pius VII, Pope            page 10

“the Pope of Rome, Puis [sic] VII”

                        [In this silhouette, the pope wears his papal tiara.  He was born Barnaba Niccolò Maria Luigi Chiaramonti in 1742, and became pope in 1800, serving until his death in 1823.]

 

Porteus, Beilby            page 3

“Porteus, Bishop of London”

                        [Beilby Porteus (1731-1809) was Bishop of Chester and then Bishop of London.  He was a reformer and an abolitionist.]

 

Reynold, Richard        page 11

“Richard Reynolds, the philanthropist”

            [This was ironmaster Richard Reynolds (1735-1816), a partner in the Coalbrookdale ironworks, a Quaker, and a philanthropist, known for giving generously to charities.]

 

Rotch, Benjamin         page 6

“Benjamin Rotch, son of William”

                        [Probably Benjamin Rotch (1764-1839) of Nantucket, Mass., son of William Rotch (1734-1828).]

 

Windham, William      page 9

“Secretary Windham”

                        [Probably William Windham (1750-1810), who was Secretary at War 1794-1801 under Prime Minister William Pitt, and Secretary of State for War and the Colonies 1806-1807 under Prime Minister Lord Grenville.]

 

York, Cardinal – see Henry Benedict Stuart, Cardinal Duke of York

 

No names:

 

A Romish cardinal      page 1

                        [He does not wear a cardinal’s hat.]

 

The Master of the Ceremonies at St. Peter’s              page 14

                        [He wears a bishop’s miter.]

 

Plus a loose silhouette found in the volume, not identified (man wearing a hat)