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Digital Paxton: Digital Collection, Critical Edition, and Teaching Platform

Mr. Peter Williamson in the Dress of a Delaware Indian (1759)

Williamson wrote of his capture by a professional gang in Aberdeen, Scotland, his sale in America, and subsequent capture by the Delaware Indians. He successfully prosecuted his kidnappers, compiled the first city directory of Edinburgh, established the first penny post there and he kept a tavern where he was known as Indian Peter. The details of his account have been questioned by scholars, but his narrative was popular at the time and served as a model for other captivity narratives. The British and French, realizing the esteem with which Indians held the pipe, began to manufacture metal trade hatchet pipes or tomahawk pipes in the eighteenth century. This image may have been copied from Pierre-Francois-Xavier de Charlevoix, A voyage to North-America, Paris, 1744; see also image in Charlevoix, Voyage, Dublin, 1766.

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1. Indian Man and Woman Eating (1585) An Indian man and woman eating; on rush mat, eating maize from a large round flat dish Watercolour over graphite, touched with white, bodycolour and gold. Inscribed in brown ink: "Theire sitting at meate " and in graphite: "20." For an introduction to this group of drawings by John White and a list of abbreviations used in the Literature at the end, see curatorial comment for 1906,0509.1.1, the title page inscription to the album. The following text is taken from K. Sloan, 'A New World: England's First View of America' (London, BM Publications, 2006), no. 24, pp. 144-5: The man in this watercolour is dressed like the old man of Pomeiooc (no. 19), but is showing the shaved side of his head, an ear ornament similar to the Priest's (no. 14) and a feather, which may indicate that he is younger. The woman is also young and her skin apron also seems to rise up her back and front to join on her shoulder which is covered by her hand. She is not tattooed as the other women are and her beads are not elaborate; the couple are probably not as high-ranking as the others depicted by White. They are sharing a meal, probably of hulled corn (soaked until the skins come off and then boiled until they puff up), on a wooden platter, seated on a reed mat similar to the ones shown in both village scenes. In his engraving de Bry added a significant number of artefacts to this scene which are not mentioned by Harriot in the caption but are referred to in his main text, and include a gourd for carrying water, a tobacco pouch and clay pipe, walnut, fish, corn and shell, perhaps the invention of the engraver and intended to indicate the contents of their dish, as assumed from Harriot's main account.The most significant comment appended to this image by Harriot is that the Indians ate 'soberly' and did not overindulge as he implies the English tended to do, and were healthier and longer-lived as a result. Engraved by Theodor de Bry in "America," pl. XVI: 'Their sitting at meate. 'Lit.: LB 1(21); Quinn, pp. 429-30; ECM 41; PH&DBQ 44(a); PH 41; Rountree, p. 51; Kupperman 2000, pp. 159-65
2. Indian Village of Pomeiooc (1585)
3. Indian Village of Secoton (1585) Bird's-eye view of village with huts, lake or river, fire, fields and ceremony Watercolour over graphite, heightened with white (oxidised). Inscribed in black ink with notes and in graphite "7." For an introduction to this group of drawings by John White and a list of abbreviations used in the Lit. at the end, see curatorial comment for 1906,0509.1.1, the title page inscription to the album. The following text is taken from K. Sloan, 'A New World: England's First View of America' (London, BM Publications, 2006), no. 8, pp. 110-11: The two towns recorded by White, Secotan and Pomeiooc, represent the two main types found in the area - palisaded (similar to a type found in Florida to the south) and open, as represented here. They contained a few dozen houses at most around a central open space with no rigid plan. The towns were sited near the coast or inland waterways for fishing and transportation. Soil near water was also richer and thus better for growing corn; but rainfall in the summer in this area is not reliable enough to guarantee several harvests every year (and the time of White's visits has been documented as a time of drought), and the people also hunted and gathered wild herbs and plants, carefully recorded for their medicinal, food and commercial properties by Harriot. They did not occupy their towns all year round or always return to the same site. Corn cultivation was relatively new to the inhabitants (introduced around AD 900) but they had developed a way of growing it in mounds surrounded by beans which gave nitrogen to the soil and increased the yield - far greater than the European method of ploughing and planting alone in rows. Maize was used in a variety of ways and provided a good proportion of their food (see no. 00). The houses were made of bark or reed mats, which could be lifted for ventilation. The roofs were rounded for greater stability and the various shapes of the buildings seen here are probably indicative of different functions, with closed structures for storage and ceremonial purposes and open-sided houses for living spaces, especially in the summer. They were mainly for sleeping and storage, with a central hearth used for cooking and smoking fish. There were sheds providing shelter from sun or rain for drying frames and for carrying out group work, although none is visible in White's views. White took most care here in depicting the activities of the people in the town: guarding the corn, which he indicates was sown in three stages (so it was ready for harvest from late July until September); 'sitting at meate'; their place 'of solemne prayer'; the 'Tombe of their Herounds'; and the 'Ceremony in their prayers' around posts carved with faces, while others rest on the sides. Some detail was lost through water damage to the drawing, but Harriot's accompanying written account has led de Bry to add further details including a hunting scene and plots of tobacco, sunflowers and pumpkins, and he has tidied up the scene considerably to make neat pathways and gardens rivalling those of an English country house. Engraved by Theodor de Bry in 'America', 1590, Pt. 1, pl. XX.Lit.: LB 1(6); Quinn, pp. 420-23; ECM 36; PH&DBQ 38(a); PH 36; Kupperman 1980, pp. 45-6; Rountree & Turner, pp. 14-22.
4. Indian Man and Woman Eating (1590)
5. The Town of Pomeiooc (1590) Bird's-eye view of a native American village enclosed by a circular palisade of poles. Eighteen buildings made of small bent poles covered with mats and/or bark surround a central fire with native Americans (some holding rattles) gathered around it. Outside the palisade are a field of corn (maize), sunflowers, and a pond from which three figures get water. The engraving is after a watercolor by John White. Hariot's text and key identify one building as the king's dwelling and another as a temple. The pond outside the village was dug as a source for water. Platforms within the buildings may be for sleeping and /or eating. The village can be located between present-day Lake Landing and Wyesocking Bay. Theodor De Bry's America. Part I. English.
6. The Town of Secota (1590) Bird's-eye view of a native American village. Buildings of pole and mat construction are dispersed in the landscape and surrounded by fields of crops. Crops include corn (maize), tobacco, sunflowers, and pumpkins. Human activities include hunting deer, guarding a field, tending a fire, eating, and dancing. Includes a ceremony involving dancing in a circle formed by posts with human faces carved into them. The engraving is after a watercolor by John White. Secoton may have been located on the south side of the Pamlico River, near Bonnerton, North Carolina. Theodor De Bry's America. Part I. English.
7. Virginia (1624)
8. Susquehannock Fort (1671)
9. Penn Wampum Belt (1682 Shackamoxon treaty)
10. Kort beskrifning om provincien Nya Swerige uti America (1702)
11. Lenape Indian (1702)
13. The Middle Colonies of North America (1714) This map, intended to promote German emigration to the English colonies, first appeared in Homann's Atlas Novus in 1714. From 1730 onward, this map appears with the line, "Cum Privilegio Sac. Maes. Majest." in the cartouche. It was published until 1804. Germantown Teutsche Statt, now Germanna, was a German mining community established by Lieutenant Governor Alexander Spotswood in 1714. The native American figure in the cartouche is derived from the Susquehannock warrior in John Smith's map of Virginia.
14. Conestoga Manor (1717)
16. Map of the land between the Delaware and Susquehanna Rivers, June 7, 1719 "Oversize map in Plexiglass case. The map is related to the boundary dispute between New York and New Jersey. The New York commissioners suspected that the northwestern station of the 1686 line was not on the northernmost branch of Delaware river. The New York commissioners evidently shared this suspicion. They sent Captain John Harrison to the branches of the Delaware on June 30, 1719. Harrison was to ""sett out from Minisinks' Island [the terminus on Delaware river fixed in 1686] and go the Indian path to Susquehanna river, and go up Susquehanna river till you meet the Indian path that comes from thence to the Indian town in Delaware called Cashieghtonk. (The New Jersey Archives, vol. 4, 391) Harrison's survey field book dated June 28 -July 8 is at the New Jersey Historical Society. (Stevens Family papers, box 40, folder 2). ""Protracted by a Scale of 5 miles in a inch."" Watermark: Shield / Post Horn Wendelin Riehel (WR 4) / K.J.K. Cf. Gravell, Foreign Watermarks, # 396 (IKM). Unpublished. "
17. Map of the Delaware River, ca. 1735 This manuscript map was probably drawn for a 1732 deed. Nicholas Scull, the first deputy surveyor for Philadelphia (1719) and Bucks County (1733); handled land disputes in Delaware Water Gap; he was was part of the surveying that precipitated the Walking Purchase. He later served as the Philadelphia County sheriff (1744-1746) and the province's Surveyor General (1748), author of published maps of Philadelphia region; member of the Junto; fluent in the Lenape language.
18. Peace Medal (1757) Presentation medal with the bust of King George II on the obverse and, on the reverse, a Quaker holding a peace pipe at a council fire with an Indian. Duffield, a clockmaker, engraved the die; the silversmith Richardson struck it. It was the first peace medal made in America. Benjamin Franklin and members of the Friendly Association would distribute these medals to Native Americans as tokens of goodwill. Inscription: "LET US LOOK TO THESE MOST HIGH WHO BLESSED OUR FATHERS WITH PEACE. 1757."
19. Habit of a Delaware Indian (1757)
20. Mr. Peter Williamson in the Dress of a Delaware Indian (1759) Williamson wrote of his capture by a professional gang in Aberdeen, Scotland, his sale in America, and subsequent capture by the Delaware Indians. He successfully prosecuted his kidnappers, compiled the first city directory of Edinburgh, established the first penny post there and he kept a tavern where he was known as Indian Peter. The details of his account have been questioned by scholars, but his narrative was popular at the time and served as a model for other captivity narratives. The British and French, realizing the esteem with which Indians held the pipe, began to manufacture metal trade hatchet pipes or tomahawk pipes in the eighteenth century. This image may have been copied from Pierre-Francois-Xavier de Charlevoix, A voyage to North-America, Paris, 1744; see also image in Charlevoix, Voyage, Dublin, 1766.
21. Disposition of the Pennsylvania Troops (1764)
22. Cantonment of His Majesty's Forces in N. America (1766)
23. A Delaware Indian with his Tomahawk (1766) Portrait of a native American of the Delaware Indians. Wearing a feathered headdress, wampum belt, gorget, and moccasins and carrying a gun or musket and a scalping knife, the man smokes a hatchet pipe and stands before a group of dancers and men paddling a canoe. The British and French, realizing the esteem with which Indians held the pipe, began to manufacture metal trade hatchet pipes or tomahawk pipes in the eighteenth century. Source title: [Journal d'un voyage fait par ordre du roi dans l'Amerique Septentrionale. English] A voyage to North-America: undertaken by command of the present King of France...
25. Penn's Treaty with the Indians (1771-72) Commissioned by Thomas Penn, son of Pennsylvania's founder, this painting depicts a legendary meeting between William Penn and members of the Lennie Lenape tribe at Shackamaxon on the Delaware River. Honoring his patron's and his own Quaker heritage, West employed a Neoclassical style to suggest both visual and political harmony. By depicting the three factions that shaped Pennsylvania for most of the eighteenth century - Native Americans, Quakers, and merchants - united in the act of settlement, West created a powerful symbol of peace. Although the scene is allegorical rather than historical, the image has become an icon of American history.Benjamin West was the first American-born artist to earn acclaim outside his homeland. West was born in Springfield (now Swarthmore), Pennsylvania, and his early artistic promise encouraged Philadelphia's leading citizens to finance his training in Rome. Subsequently, in 1763 West traveled to London and never returned to the Colonies. His acclaim as a painter of historical scenes attracted the attention of King George III. West was appointed official history painter to the king and was a founder and later was elected president of the Royal Academy. Well aware that, as an American, he was a novelty, West used this mystique to his advantage, claiming that he had learned color mixing from Native Americans. He greatly contributed to American art in his role as teacher and advisor to the many early American artists who came to London to study with him.
26. Penn's Treaty with the Indians (1775)
27. Plan of the City and Environs of Philadelphia (1777)
28. The Course of the Delaware River from Philadelphia to Chester (1778)
29. Plat of the Seven Ranges of Townships (1814)
30. Penn's Treaty with the Indians (1820) This engraving was taken from Benjamin West's painting which was commissioned by Thomas Penn in his effort to retain the proprietorship government of Pennsylvania. It shows William Penn's peace conference with representatives of the Leni Lenape or Delaware tribes under the great elm at Shackamaxon. The image in the print is reversed from the painting which is in the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia. Cf. 05-135. Series edited by Giulio Ferrario. The title page identifies the illustrator as Giuseppe Erba Odescalchi. Image placed horizontally on page.
31. Washington Residence and Philadelphia Barracks View showing the house, also known as the Robert Morris House, built circa 1767-1768 at 526-530 Market Street, resided in by the president during construction of the executive mansion on Ninth Street. The walled garden adjacent the residence and the neighboring Sheaff's Wine Store (512 Market) are also visible. Includes pedestrian traffic of two men with canes. The residence burned in 1780 and was demolished in 1803. View showing the barracks built in 1757 in Northern Liberties for the quartering of British soldiers. Infantrymen drill across from a soldier presiding over a cannon in the courtyard of the buildings. The Barracks extended between Second, Third, Tammany, and Green streets and were razed soon after the American Revolution. Plate published in John F. Watson's Annals of Philadelphia...(Philadelphia: E.L. Carey & A. Hart, 1830), opp. p. 361. Residence view reproduced in Edward Lawler Jr.'s "The President's House In Philadelphia: The Rediscovery of a Lost Landmark." Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography (January 2002), pp. 5-95.
32. Penn's Treaty with the Indians (c. 1830-1835)
33. Events in Indian history: beginning with an account of the origin of the American Indians, and early settlements in North America, and embracing concise biographies of the principal chiefs and head-sachems of the different Indian tribes, with narratives a
34. Massacre of the Conestogas (1841) Events in Indian history: beginning with an account of the origin of the American Indians, and early settlements in North America, and embracing concise biographies of the principal chiefs and head-sachems of the different Indian tribes, with narratives and captivities ... also an appendix containing the statistics of the population of the U. States, and an Indian vocabulary. Illustrated with eight fine engravings.
35. Colored Lithograph of William Penn's Treaty with the Indians (1845) Print after the Benjamin West painting (1771) showing the treaty made at the village of Shackamaxon (i.e. Penn Treaty Park, Kensington) on the Delaware River. Penn, surrounded by his delegates, negotiates with the Delaware Indian chief near a giant elm tree. Crates of goods are sat upon and displayed by the English delegation. Native Americans, including a translator and a woman breast-feeding her baby, participate in and watch the negotiations. Also shows brick residences being built in the background. River depicted on left.
39. Paxton Presbyterian Church Paxton Presbyterian Church, Paxtang, Harrisburg, Pa. Congregation formed around 1732. This building erected 1740 is the oldest Presbyterian church in continuous use in Pennsylvania. An historic spot closely identified with early Colonial history and the American Revolution. Chapel erected in 1905, enlarged 1923. Marker shows location of early log church. Postcard produced by the Albertype Company, which operated between 1890 and 1952.
40. Visit of Pontiac and the Indians to Major Gladwin
41. Coaquannock Map (1934)