would prefer the former." '" 



At the end of the letter, Washington added: 

 "P.S. The parlour is about 18 foot Square, a suitable 

 border if to be had, should accompany the Carpeting." 

 A few days later, Washington again wrote to Lear 

 about the carpet. This letter was dated March 12, 

 1797, Baltimore, and read in part: 



In my last from Elkton I mentioned the wantof a Carpet 

 for my parlour at Mount Vernon; and observed that 

 as the furniture was blue, the ground or principal 

 flowers in it ought to be blue also; and that if Wilton 

 Carpeting was not much dearer than Scotch I should 

 prefer it. Mrs. Washington says there is a kind difi'erent 

 from both much in use (Russia) if not dearer or but 

 litde more so than the former I would have it got. The 

 Room is about i8 feet Square, and the Carpet should 

 have a suitable border if to be had.'^' 



Just what type of floor covering Mrs. Washington 

 meant by "Russia" is uncertain, although it apparendy 

 was held in higher regard than Wilton which in turn 

 was considered to be better than Scotch carpeting.'^'' 

 It does seem likely, however, from Washington's 

 reference to flowers in connection with the color of 

 the floor covering that, as previously suggested, Scotch 

 as well as Wilton carpets were available with floral 

 patterns. And the request for a suitable border to 

 accompany the carpeting points to the practice at 

 the time, perhaps for esthetic as well as for practical 

 reasons, of finishing the edges of a carpet by attaching 

 a border. A border-trimmed carpet of the type Wash- 

 ington may have had in mind is depicted in the 

 portrait The Dunlap Family (fig. 26), painted about 

 1788 by William Dunlap. Although neither the 

 flowers nor the "ground" are blue, the colors of the 

 carpet, which are a soft gray green for the background, 

 red and white for the flowers, and dark green for the 

 leaf sprays, would have pleased Washington as would 

 the pattern because both seem to match the description 

 given in the following letter written in New York on 



'-' Letter from George Washington, Head of Elk, Maryland, 

 to Tobias Lear, Philadelphia, Mar. 10, 1797. Ibid., vol. 37, 

 pp. 577-78. 



"' Letter from George Washington, Baltimore, to Tobias 

 Lear, Philadelphia, Mar. 12, 1797. Ibid., vol. 37, p. 579. 



'2' Mr. Charles F. Hummel of the Henry Francis du Pont 

 Winterthur Museum, Winterthur, Delaware, suggests that 

 the "Russia" carpet Mrs. Washington refers to may have been 

 similar to one in the Winterthur Museum (G59.159) which is 

 a pileless type but rather like needlework than ingrain or 

 Scotch in quality and has a geometric design. 



February 10, 1790, by Tobias Lear to Clement Biddle 



of Philadelphia: 



The President wishes to get a Carpet of the best kind for 

 a Room 32 feet by 22. A Pea Green Ground, with 

 white or light flowers or spots would suit the furniture 

 of the Room, and Carpet as the former would be made 

 to fit the Room exactly when it would be difficult to 

 find one of the latter of the precise size; the length of 

 the Room, ^sjeet, is the full extent, but at each end there 

 is a fireplace which projects into the room perhaps 3'/^ 

 or 4 feet including Hearths. We can get no Carpet in 

 New York to suit the Room, nor Carpeting of the best 

 kind. Scotch Carpeting is almost the only kind to be 

 found here. If you would be so good as to inform me 

 if anything of the above description can be had in 

 Philadelphia you will oblige me. The price is also 

 necessary to be known. '^o 



A carpet was obtained in New York after all, because 

 Lear wrote to Biddle on March 5, 1790: "We are 

 furnished with a Carpet for the Room which I had 

 described to you; but are therefore no less obliged to 

 you for the trouble you have had in making inquires 

 respecting it." '" The carpet was, without doubt, 

 for use in the Presidential Mansion in New York and, 

 as with the one Washington later ordered for Mount 

 Vernon, its predominant color was to be the same as 

 that of the "furniture," that is the upholstery and 

 draperies. 



There is no mention of bordering in connection with 

 this carpet, although its use in America does date 

 earlier in the 18th century. Benjamin Franklin, 

 writing from London in 1 758 to his wife in Philadel- 

 phia, mentioned it as well as explaining how to 

 transform his purchase of carpeting into a carpet. 

 "In the great Case, besides the little Box, is contain'd 

 some Carpeting for a best Room Floor. There is 

 enough for one large or two small ones, it is to be 

 sow'd together, the Edges being first fell'd down, and 

 Care taken to make the Figures meet exactly: there 

 is Bordering for the same. This was my Fancy." "^ 



Whether this carpeting was later used in Franklin's 

 new house and was among the floor coverings 

 mentioned by Mrs. Franklin in her letter of 1765, 



"" Letter from Tobias Lear, New York, to Clement Biddle, 

 Philadelphia, Feb. 10, 1790. In The Witlings of George Wash- 

 uiglon, op. cit. (footnote 55), vol. 31, pp. 8-9. 



"' Letter from Tobias Lear, New York, to Clement Biddle, 

 Philadelphia, March 5, 1790. Ibid., vol. 31, p. 18. 



"2 Letter from Benjamin Franklin, London, to Mrs. Deborah 

 Franklin, Philadelphia, Feb. 19, 1758. In The Writings 0] 

 Benjamin Franklin, op. cit. (footnote 16), vol. 3, p. 433. 



56 



BULLETIN 250 : CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE MUSEUM OF HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY 



