In each issue, the bimonthly DAR magazine, American Spirit, highlights an object from the DAR Museum collection in its "National Treasures" feature. These objects always have a story to tell about American history.
National Treasures
The Schoenhut Humpty-Dumpty Circus was an American-made toy popular from its introduction in 1903 until the 1930s. Schoenhut’s Circus grew to include more than 60 animals and performers, three rings...
Middle-class American women of the mid-1800s spent mornings in an outfit like this: a fitted dressing gown whose skirt opened over an elaborately decorated petticoat, embroidered “en tablier” (apron...
The acclaimed artist John Singleton Copley (1738–1815) was a teenager when he painted this portrait of Colonel Thomas Marshall of Boston around 1755. Copley was the portraitist of choice for Boston’s...
This silver teapot made around 1795–1800 reflects the restrained elegance of early neoclassicism. The deceptively simple construction features bright-cut engraving of the acorn and oak leaf bands and...
The side chair, with its elaborate, hand-decorated, gilt stenciling, was made in Baltimore, Md., between 1815 and 1825 out of tulip poplar and maple woods. In the neoclassical style, the gilt décor...
Made by Katherine Shely Fretzlen, this centennial quilt was a product of the 1876 trend of women making items to commemorate the nation’s 100th birthday. The piecing is all plain silks, mostly taffeta...
Simon Willard & Sons of Roxbury, Mass., made this strange-looking clock—called a “lighthouse clock”—around 1825. The clock’s inventor, Simon Willard of Grafton, Mass., is arguably the most famous...
The premier London piano maker John Broadwood and Son made this grand piano in 1809. Because of their dynamic sound qualities, Broadwood grand pianos were used by many of the leading musicians of the...
Originally belonging to Captain Christopher Marshall of Revolutionary War fame, this mahogany and white pine desk was made in Boston between 1765 and 1790. The desk was expensive not only because the...
The Argand lamp was the height of lighting technology when new more than 200 years ago. In the 1780s, Swiss inventor Francois-Pierre-Ami Argand patented a new method of lighting using a cylindrical...