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
Owned by Thomas McKean, a Delaware signer of the Declaration of Independence, this distinctive sofa was made in Philadelphia between 1770 and 1790. Sofas were expensive and rare items even among...
Standing upright on its copper sphere, this rooster appears ready to crow. Made of lead, sheet iron and copper and still showing traces of its original gilding, the DAR Museum’s engaging circa-1850...
Two young sisters’ charming needlework samplers stitched more than 200 years ago share a home at the DAR Museum. In 1997 the Museum purchased a canvas needlework picture made in Philadelphia and...
Though the design of this tea table appears English in origin, it was actually made in China for the export market to the West where exotic Chinese goods were highly sought after. This rare table...
This 1851 portrait commemorates angelic young brothers John Daniel Parsons, Stephen Albert Parsons and Nathaniel H. Parsons. The children are dressed in the height of mid-19th-century finery, with...
In the 19th century, meat preservation was a serious business, though quite messy and time-consuming. A family usually made sausage at the same time it butchered a hog. Pork was ground and mixed with...
Thomas Sully painted at least 13 portraits of Fanny Kemble, an English actress who first appeared on the American stage in 1832. After marrying Pierce Butler of Philadelphia, she retired from the...
The DAR Museum has an impressive collection of wedding attire, including wedding dresses worn by three generations of one Philadelphia family. On Mary Emma Funk Radcliffe’s wedding day in 1882, she...
English potter Josiah Spode II made this tureen around 1820 as part of a large supper set that included four covered serving dishes and 17 plates. Such sets, sometimes nestled in a mahogany tray, were...
President James Monroe ordered this pair of mahogany armchairs for the East Room of the White House in 1818. The order was placed with Georgetown cabinetmaker William King Jr., and the set originally...