Daniel Parke Custis wine bottle seal

Notes

This fragment is a wine bottle seal, bearing the initials of DP Custis. Wine bottles such as this were primarily imported from Britain and Europe in the eighteenth century, and were commonly used to consume cider, beer, wine or liquors in colonial households of all statuses. Seals such as these were formed by affixing a glass disc onto the body of wine bottle. This disc was impressed with a commissioned stamp often bearing lettering and/or symbols to form initials, names or crests. Such seals were signs of gentility, wealth and individuality among the planter class from the 17th through the 18th century. As custom items as well these would not have been available for purchase in local American markets, instead potentially passing as gifts or legacies among the planter class.

It is likely in this fashion that the DP Custis seal ended up at Mount Vernon. Daniel Parke Custis was Martha Washington’s first husband who died in the year 1757. Dying without a will, Martha was entitled a dower share of one third of Daniel’s estate for her lifetime. This included wealth and physical property. The reality of plantation society in the eighteenth century is that among the dower, and listed as property, were eighty-four enslaved men, women, and children, many of whom came to Mount Vernon with Martha after her marriage to George Washington.

Object Type

Glass

Has it Been Conserved?

Yes

Where Was It Found?

Project Site: House for Families    [more details]