James Madison Museum: Where Is It?
This column is part of a series on artifacts rediscovered during the reorganization of the James Madison Museum’s collection. Read the intro here and come back soon to learn more about some of the hidden gems that have been uncovered.
In 2012, I was still working part-time at the museum three days a week; the rest of the week I was happily serving as a docent at James Madison’s Montpelier. It was mid-2013 when I became a full-time employee at the James Madison Museum.
In those part-time days, I gave tours, began exploring the Collection, and did a lot of cleaning. At first, I would peek into boxes but felt it might be wiser to use the PastPerfect Accession records so I could learn about the items, not just “see” them. It became a little frustrating because there were times when I could not find artifacts without a lot of rummaging in different rooms.
One item I could not locate in any room, closet, box, bin, file or drawer was an 1868 newspaper. Unfortunately, no photographs were taken when the item was donated by Alex Waugh in 2009. I checked the file and there was a TCR (temporary custody receipt) that had been handwritten and signed, but no accession paperwork. All I had to work with was the date and name of the newspaper: Friday, May 29, 1868, The Illustrated Chicago News. Although I could not locate the newspaper, I took the TCR information and filled in the accession document and noted it was “not found,” but at least there was a record on file.
Fast-forward to January 2015. I was preparing to open the Black History exhibit room on February 2 and decided to thoroughly clean the room after having painted the walls and constructed the exhibit. Dreading the layers of dust I would find on top of the largest cabinet, I dragged the ladder over, climbed up, and found a large manilla envelope, folded in half lengthwise. I climbed back down and set it aside, then cleaned the cabinet top. When I was finished, I took the envelope to the library and opened it — and there was the missing 1868 newspaper! It had been up there for four years!
(Photo Credit: Bethany Sullivan)
Looking at the damage to the folded area, I was somewhat shocked. Why anyone would have folded the paper and put it in the envelope in the first place made no sense. Why an artifact would have been placed up on top of that cabinet defied a logical explanation. You needed a ladder to reach it, while the library had shelves and a table. The Collection Storage Room had a table.
Fortunately, the excitement that comes with discovery and exploration took over. Granted, it is not our Orange newspaper, but it was still a real treasure. The paper was almost exclusively dedicated to the Republican Party’s Convention announcing Grant’s nomination for the presidency.
Because it was so badly creased and fragile, I had to open the paper gently. As with many newspapers of its time, it contained rather large sheets of paper that had to be unfolded not once but twice to view all of the articles and images.
The Republican nomination convention was held in Chicago. This image, printed on one-half of a page, is an artist’s rendering of the convention hall activity. In the background is the stage, the decor very Hellenic or Neoclassical. This image is repeated, enlarged, on another half page (next image).
(Note: Use the link to read more about this convention.)
(Photo Credit: Bethany Sullivan)
What looks like Lady Liberty is presenting Grant, seated in an elevated position, as the Party’s nominee. It also looks as if she’s beckoning toward the Democratic podium, perhaps supporting the challenge and/or taunt “MATCH HIM!” printed in front of the first step.
(Photo Credit: Bethany Sullivan)
That would be difficult for the South-friendly Democratic Party on the heels of the American Civil War.
If you compare the 1868 newspaper image to the Architect of the Capitol photograph (cropped to focus on the center entry), you will see how the stage scene was based on the nation’s Capitol Building in Washington. Though not identical, it is obviously the inspiration for the stage decor in the convention hall.
Nominee Grant is seated in a chair, on the left, in place of the statue shown in the file photograph.
The Democratic convention would occur that July, over a month later.
(Photo Credit: Bethany Sullivan)
Political cartoons, favorable and not, have a long history and do not disappoint in this paper. As it is included with his nomination coverage, the newspaper is obviously pro-Grant. The only “outrageous” image is of his ever-present cigar.
The cartoons of incumbent President Andrew Johnson were not as kindly. The “jewels” in his crown were important political figures of that time.
The image of President Johnson appears to be gazing at the top jewel, “CHASE.” Solomon Chase was a Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court.
Chase was appointed to the Supreme Court by President Lincoln (1864). He would serve on the court until his death, presiding over many of the most important legal matters of the Reconstruction era. Chase was noted for his even-handed supervision of the impeachment trial of President Andrew Johnson in 1868 and ruled in Mississippi v. Johnson that the president was within his rights to enforce Reconstruction measures in the South. Chase was instrumental in seeing John Rock become the first African-American attorney to argue before the Supreme Court, about which Johnson was not happy. I cannot find anything that indicates Justice Chase was anything other than evenhanded in his judgments.
The other cartoons are poking fun at the president’s likening himself to Moses, and the tattered Confederate States national flag lists the defeats of the South and negative items.
I was fortunate that there was a fully executed TCR so that I could build the file and accession this artifact. There have been a couple of items when I was not so fortunate. That is for another time.
Until next time ,
Bethany Sullivan, director, The James Madison Museum of Orange County Heritage
The James Madison Museum of Orange County Heritage is located at 129 Caroline St. in the Town of Orange. The museum is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, visit www.thejamesmadisonmuseum.net.