Charles Willson Peale's Museum
The first public showing of the mastodon (also known as the "Mammoth", the American incognitum and the "animal de l'Ohio") took place next door to Independence Hall, the building in which both the Declaration of Independence and Constitution were finalized. The venue, known variously as Peale's Museum, the American Museum or simply as The Museum, was the remarkable product of a resourceful, versatile and passionate artist and showman, Charles Willson Peale.
Peale (1741-1827) was born and raised in Maryland. A vocal opponent of the Stamp Act, he was effectively driven from his first trade, saddle making, when loyalist merchants cut off his credit. He turned to a traveling life of a self-taught, itinerant portrait painter. After a short apprenticeship with Benjamin West in London, Peale returned to Maryland in 1769 to paint wealthy patrons throughout the Chesapeake region.
In 1776 he moved to the largest city of the colonies, Philadelphia, in the hopes of further developing his career. Through his contacts made while serving as a captain of the Continental Army, Peale painted a remarkable assemblage of Revolutionary War figures, including the most comprehensive portrait series ever painted of George Washington.
Peale apparently received his inspiration for a public museum in 1783 while illustrating mastodon fossils belonging to Dr. John Morgan. (1) Visitors to his studio marveled over the fossils and one of them, his brother-in-law, exclaimed that he ". . . would have gone 20 miles to behold such a collection." Hit by the post-war depression, Peale hoped the new museum would be the answer to his financial problems. It would also fulfill his desire to reach and educate the broader public.
The museum's collection started as a combination of Peale's portraits of Revolutionary War heroes and an assortment of curiosities. Over time, however, animal, mineral, and ethnographic specimens increasingly dominated the displays. This fusion of American heroes and American nature resonated with a citizenry eager to establish a new national identity that would both differentiate the young country from Europe and proclaim it as the standard bearer of civilization's progress. (2)
The collection grew substantially through both the direct efforts of Peale himself and through the donations of others. The museum also became a repository for the collection of the American Philosophical Society (3), including many of the fossils donated by Thomas Jefferson's. Although it never achieved official status or government funding, the museum was the de facto national museum. For instance, it became the home for many of the Native American artifacts and natural history specimens collected during the Lewis and Clark and other government-sponsored expeditions.
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Peale's Mammoth
The crowning jewel of Peale's Museum was the skeleton of the giant "Mammoth" (mastodon). He returned from a trip to New York's Hudson River valley with the remains of three individuals and soon set about mounting the skeleton under the supervision of Caspar Wistar, the American authority on comparative anatomy. The final reconstruction, which measured 11 feet high and over 17 feet long, was presented to the members of the American Philosophical Society on December 24, 1801. The exhibit was opened to the public soon thereafter. (A second skeleton, destined for a European tour, was also mounted.)
Peale's "Mammoth" skeleton was the first such mounting in the Americas and among the first anywhere. He had to develop new methods as he went along, as he did for many of his museum endeavors. Early in his museum career, Peale was confronted by the need to preserve and display his animal specimens. (4) The craft of taxidermy was very crude in the United States and was not substantially better in Europe, but Peal ultimately became a master. Some of his bird mountings can still be found in museum displays nearly 200 years later. Visitor pamphlets, environmental displays, taxonomically coherent specimen arrangements and magnifying glasses for his butterfly displays are some of the innovations he introduced.
At the height of its popularity, the museum occupied parts of two substantial buildings. Three rooms were located in Independence Hall. The Quadruped Room displayed 90 specimens of Mammals. The Long Room had more than 700 bird specimens situated in mini-dioramas, about 4000 insects in glass cases, numerous minerals and scores of Peale's portraits. A third room displayed marine specimens. Peale's "Mammoth", the centerpiece of the museum, occupied a place of honor in the adjacent building, Philosophical Hall. Ethnographic specimens, including some from the Lewis and Clark expedition, as well as wax figures of Meriwether Lewis, Native Americans and South Seas aboriginals, were also displayed in this room.
A product of the Enlightenment and an active participant of the new republic, Peale saw his museum as both an instrument of scientific discourse and of public education. His role in scientific discourse was often frustrated by his lack of formal education and limited scientific expertise, but he was an active member of the American Philosophical Society and counted many prominent amateur scientists and natural philosophers among his friends. Peale felt slighted by some prominent scientists, most notably Georges Cuvier of France (5), but his contributions were widely acknowledged by others. Moreover, the museum significantly influenced many from the new generation of American naturalists, including John D. Goodman, Richard Harlan, Thomas Say, and Alexander Wilson. (6)
Peale's contribution to public education was special. While comparable institutions in Europe were effectively limited to the elite, Peale's Museum was open to all.
Websites:
- American Philosophical Society's web page on Peale and his mastodon:
www.amphilsoc.org/library/exhibits/treasures/mastodon.htm - American Philosophical Society's web page on Richard Harlan:
www.amphilsoc.org/library/mole/h/harlan.htm - Clark Kimberling's web page on Thomas Say:
faculty.evansville.edu/ck6/bstud/say.html - Pennsylvania's Environmental Heritage's web site on Alexander Wilson:
www.dep.state.pa.us/dep/PA_Env-Her/alexandar_wilson.htm - Rutgers University's (American History Through Art) web page featuring Charles Willison Peale:
www.scils.rutgers.edu/~christym/final/federalist/peale.html - Virtualology.com's web page on John D. Godman:
www.famousamericans.net/johndgodman/
Print Resources:
- Godman, John D. 1826. American Natural History. Philadelphia: Carey and Lea.
- Harlan, Richard. 1825. Fauna Americana: being a description of the mammiferous animals inhabiting North America. Philadelphia: Anthony Finley; J. Harding, printer.
- Richardson, E.P., B. Hindle, & L.B. Miller. 1982. Charles Willson Peale and his World. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
- Say, Thomas. 1824-1828. American Entomology, or Descriptions of the Insects of North America, 3 volumes, Philadelphia.
- Say, Thomas. 1830-1834. American Conchology, or Descriptions of the Shells of North America Illustrated From Coloured Figures From Original Drawings Executed from Nature, Parts 1 - 6. Philadelphia: New Harmony.
- Semonin, P. 2002. American Monster: How the nation's first prehistoric creature became a symbol of national identity. New York & London: New York University Press.
Notes:
- John Morgan was a prominent Philadelphian physician who had received the fossils from his brother, who participated in a visit to Big Bone Lick in 1766. Morgan wasn't particularly interested in the fossils, but he would occasionally show them to guests as curiosities. The collection ultimately came to the attention of Christian Friedrich Michaelis, a German physician who had served under the British during the Revolutionary War. Morgan refused to sell the fossils to Michaelis, but did allow him to have them illustrated by Peale. [go back]
- A popular perception in the early United States was that the new republic was the main instrument for the advance of Western Civilization, whereas Europe was tyrannical, decadent and corrupt. On the other hand, Americans were self-conscious about their lack of the intellectual, literary and artistic heritage enjoyed by the Europeans. They were also stung by the popular European theory of American Degeneracy. Consequently many Americans embraced the idea of celebrating American Nature, including the fossils of giant animals such as the "Mammoth". [go back]
- Founded in 1743, the American Philosophical Society was the first and most important learned society of the new republic. Located in Philadelphia, the society counted many notable American savants and naturalists among its members, including John Bartram, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, David Rittenhouse and Caspar Wistar. [go back]
- Peale's museum was actually something of a hybrid between a zoo and a museum. A number of live animals were put on public display and preserved using Peale's taxidermic skills after they died. One of his favorite animals, a bald eagle, lived for 15 years at the museum. Its preserved mount, one of the few that still exist, is currently property of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University. Peale once kept a live grizzly bear at the Museum, but it escaped and he was forced to have it shot. [go back]
- Peale suffered from a number of slights, real and imagined. Part of this was due to his propensity to appoint influential people to various boards and committees without their permission. On the other hand, some slights were the result of either scientific or class snobbery. For example, Georges Cuvier, the leading comparative anatomist of his age, never personally acknowledged the receipt of fossil casts from Peale. Indeed, Peale learned of their receipt through a published notice instead of a personal correspondence. In contrast, Cuvier promptly responded to Thomas Jefferson's donations of Big Bone Lick fossils. [go back]
- John D. Godman (1795-1830), published his three volume set, American Natural History between 1826-1828. Richard Harlan (1796-1843) published Fauna Americana , the first taxonomic study of American zoology, in 1825. He is also notable for his extensive study of American vertebrate fossils. Thomas Say (1787-1834), a founding member of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, was the nation's leading authority on insects and mollusks. He published the three volume set American Entomology from 1817-1828 and the six volume set American Conchology in the 1830s. Alexander Wilson (1766-1813) was a pioneering ornithologist whose work appeared in Alexander Lawson's American Ornithology. [go back]
Image Credits
- "The Artist in His Museum" by Charles Willson Peale 1822.
Courtesy of the Pennslvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia.
Gift of Mrs. Sarah Harrison (The Joseph Harrison, Jr. Collection)
www.PAFA.org
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