The
The Joseph Downs Collection of Manuscripts and
Printed Ephemera
Henry
Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum, Winterthur, DE 19735
302-888-4600 or 800-448-3883
OVERVIEW OF THE COLLECTION
Creator: Byington, Isaac.
Title: Journal
Dates: 1786-1800
Call No.: Doc. 531
Acc. No.: 60x21.4, 74x137
Quantity: 1 volume
Location: 31 E
BIOGRAPHICAL STATEMENT
Isaac Byington was a framer from
SCOPE AND CONTENT
Records financial transactions, narratives written by Byington, and several recipes. Many of the accounts in the volume pertain to farm activities and products. Additional accounts record Byington's work as a framer and for sawing lumber. There is a pen and ink drawing depicting a side elevation of a two story farm house; a pencil sketch of two chickens in front of a shed; a rough pencil sketch of the interior of a house; and a sketch of a small house with a fenced yard. Also present are a number of lists, including "the price of things in the house," in effect making an inventory of house furnishings, china, silverware, etc.; expenses related to Byington's father's illness and funeral; "things expended for debt and family," including oxen, bulls, cows, hay, bushels of rye, etc.; cash received from the estate in 1798, and the amount of debt paid for the estate and expended in the family.
The volume also contains diary
entries as well as several letters written by Byington to his father during his
time in the south. In the first letter,
he apologizes to his father for his aberrant behavior and the argument that led
to his leaving
Finally, recipes for varnish, polish, paints, cherry stains, gold lacquer, varnish for machines, dying linen blue, gilding picture frames, boiling oil for rooms, japanning on wood, composition ornaments, and mixing colors are recorded in the volume.
Pages 89-113, containing accounts and some of the recipes in the volume, were acquired separately from the rest of the volume. Whether they actually belong in this volume or represent a fragment of another volume kept by Byington is unclear.
LANGUAGE OF MATERIALS
The materials are in English.
RESTRICTIONS ON ACCESS
The photocopy of this document must be used before access to the original will be granted. Collection is open to the public. Copyright restrictions may apply.
PROVENANCE
Accession 60x21.4 purchased from John H. Martin.
Accession 74x137 purchased from Bookworm and Silverfish.
ACCESS POINTS
Topics:
Agriculture
-
Architectural drawing.
Carpentry.
Decedents' estates -
Dyes and dyeing.
Dwellings - Designs and plans.
Farm produce.
Framing (Building)Gilding.
Freemasons.
House furnishings.
Indigo.
Kitchen utensils.
Lacquer and lacquering.
Manners and customs.
Paint materials.
Sawing.
Stains and staining.
Varnish and varnishing.
Wood finishing.
Workshop recipes.
Accounts.
Account books.
Journals.
Recipes.
Poems.
Inventories.
Letters.
Carpenters.
Farmers.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE COLLECTION
Location: 31 E
Name and object lists
for Doc. 531:
Names found in Doc. 531
(acc. 74x137)
Bartholomew,
Jacob
Bolan,
Richard
Byington,
Danl.
Byington,
Isaac
Clark,
Dimand
Cowles,
Elijah
Cowles,
Isaac
Curtis,
Sarah
Danforth,
Jonathan
Everet,
Dr.
Grannes(?),
David
Hadsell,
James
Hart,
Gilbert
Hart,
John
Ives,
Enos
Lee,
James
Lewis,
David
Lewis,
Josiah
Merriman,
Dr.
Mitchel
& Barns
Mix,
Ashbel
Navit,
David
Peck,
R.
Rich,
Capt.
Royce,
Rowland
Thomson,
(Widow)
Tuttle,
Loyal
Upson,
Asa
Upson,
Saul
Waring,
Benjamin
Warren,
Elish
Wolcott,
Josiah
Yale,
Thomas
Objects for which there
are recipes mentioned in Doc. 531
Chair
Chair,
green
Dye
Frame,
picture
Gilt
Lacquer
Oil
cloth
Paint
Stain
Varnish