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Music played an important part in the life of the Mount Vernon household, as in the typical genteel Virginia home of the period. The music master would travel from home to home, instructing the young, and his presence often inspired lively social gatherings at which music and dancing were the principal recreations. Although Washington could not play an instrument he did love music and he purchased a spinet for his step-daughter Patsy Custis and a violin and German flute for her brother Jacky. Years later he purchased a fine harpsichord and English guitar for his step - granddaughter, Nelly Custis.
Prior to Washington's retirement from the presidency in 1797, this small chamber had been used as a bedroom, leaving only the more formal front parlor and the central passage where guests and family could gather for reading and conversation. Soon after his return, Washington had this room turned into a small parlor and music room. The fashionable color used in the room dates from the 1797 renovation. In June 1798, Julian Niemcewicz, a Polish scholar and guest at Mount Vernon, noted in his journal, "...there is another parlor, adorned with rare engravings representing sea-scenes and here one sees the excellent harpsichord of Miss Custis." An inventory of the room's contents from 1799 lists ten Windsor chairs, a tea table, and settee.
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