Edward Williams Clay Watercolors, Scrapbook Fragments, and Silhouettes, 1816-1853, (majority within 1820-1830)

Summary

Creator:

Clay, Edward Williams, 1799-1857

Abstract:

The Edward Williams Clay watercolors, scrapbook fragments and silhouettes consist of 28 original watercolor drawings created by Edward Williams Clay, a drawing book with art by Clay and James Pemberton Morris, 37 fragments of a scrapbook believed to have been compiled by Clay, and 11 cut paper silhouettes. The bulk of materials are watercolors by Clay of Europeans and Americans abroad from 1825-1828, and satirical, genre, and theatrical prints by Clay and others.

Extent:

28 watercolors, 1 drawing book, 37 scrapbook fragments, 11 silhouettes

Language:

English

Authors:

Collection processed by Lauren Seroka, Clayton Lewis, and Jakob Dopp, March 2018-December 2022 and finding aid created by Jakob Dopp, December 2022

Background

Scope and Content:

The Edward Williams Clay watercolors, scrapbook fragments and silhouettes consist of 28 original watercolor drawings created by Edward Williams Clay, a drawing book with art by Clay and James Pemberton Morris, 37 fragments of a scrapbook believed to have been compiled by Clay, and 11 cut paper silhouettes. The bulk of materials are watercolors by Clay of Europeans and Americans abroad from 1825-1828, and satirical, genre, and theatrical prints by Clay and others.

In 2002, the Clements Library became aware of a scrapbook containing an extensive collection of Edward Williams Clay prints and artwork in possession of a Virginia antique dealer. After most of the individual pages were separately sold on eBay, it became apparent that the source, John Duncan Marsh (1931-2021) of Purcellville, Virginia, was a direct descendent of Clay's sister, Mary Ann Clay Bolton (1801-1818), and the scrapbook was likely compiled by the artist himself. Given that the contents of this collection were created after the death of Mary Ann, it is presumed that they were in the custody of one of her children, although the relationship between Clay and his nephews, James Robert Bolton (1817-1890) and Edward Clay Bolton (1818-1892), is unknown. The remaining remnants of the scrapbook were purchased by the Clements Library at auction along with the watercolor sketches and family silhouettes. All of the materials present were consigned to auction from the same source except for the drawing book, which had earlier been acquired by the Clements Library from a Philadelphia book dealer.

Series I - Watercolors

The collection contains 28 original watercolor works by Edward Williams Clay. A subset within this series represents Clay's journey from the Eastern United States to France between 1826 and 1828. Several works include inscribed titles, locations, and dates. A number of sketches also bear evidence of having been previously cropped, mounted, and framed.

Of particular note is one sketch from December 1825 showing two women and a man dressed in comically large winter clothing captioned "Life in Philadelphia - (going home from a tea-fight)." This unpublished satire is the earliest appearance of content later found in Clay's notorious series Life in Philadelphia.

Clay documented his 1826 journey to France with a series of caricatures, including the following works:

• A portrait of a well-dressed man wearing a top hat while holding spectacles and a cane with a verso caption reading "Steam boat Bellona from Brunswick to New York April 1826"
• Two portraits of well-dressed men in top hats captioned "Thayer - on board the ship Edward [Quesnel at sea July 1826]" and "Constancio - On board the ship Edward Quesnel at sea July 1826"
• A portrait of a sailor wearing a brimmed hat and smoking a pipe with a caption on the verso reading "[French?] Pilot - [Edward] Quesnel, off the coast of France 18 July [1826?]

Note: The steamer Bellona ran from Brunswick, New Jersey, to New York City, while the Edward Quesnel is recorded as regularly running between New York City and Marseilles, France.

Other scenes illustrate aspects of European society and street life from Clay's visit to Europe between 1826 and 1828. Many of these works depict men's and women's fashions in fine detail. As several subjects are identified by name, it is presumed that some of these depictions were likely based on real people observed by Clay.

Items of interest in this group include:

• A portrait of two French priests captioned “Les Curés - Paris 1827”
• A street scene captioned "Postellers & Conductors - Paris 1827" showing several uniformed drivers (including individuals wearing heavy duty protective knee-high boots insulated with straw)
• A street scene showing five well-dressed men including man identified in a partially cutoff caption as "Count Dep..."
• A scene depicting a masked ball with a large man at center identified as "Prince Borghese"
• A scene showing a man in Artois bathing and reading Le Constitutionnel while being attended to by a servant
• An equestrian scene showing riders in a park including an Arabian horse-drawn cart carrying the driver and a Mamluk groom wearing a turban
• Two ballroom dancing scenes with couples wearing formal dress
• A wedding portrait showing a couple identified as "Hercule de B. s." and "Mde Leverd"
• A formal dinner scene showing a number of couples entering a dining room attended by servants
• A comical scene showing a young woman identified as "Josphine" being introduced by an older French-speaking woman to two men, an unidentified English speaker and an apparently German individual identified as "Becker"
• A scene showing a couple of street minstrels performing outside of an inn
• Two portraits of unidentified well-dressed men

Items that may represent American content include sketches of a young couple dancing and a restaurant dining scene showing patrons and staff.

Ethnic caricatures include:

• A portrait of a woman holding a qanon titled "A Turkish female slave playing on the Kanoon" dated to December 1827
• A portrait of the Greek goddess Iris dated January 21 1828
• A portrait of a woman captioned "A Greek Lady in her walking dress" dated to December 1827

One satirical scene titled “Compliments of the Season 1829” shows a young boy wishing merry Christmas while handing a bill from a “Mr. Smith” (presumably an American) to an irate French musician wearing a robe who appears to have been in the middle of having his face shaven by an amused servant. This scene corresponds to an 1830 lithograph published by Clay which is in the collection of the American Antiquarian Society.

Undated watercolors include:

• A portrait of a carriage driver wearing a heavy fur-trimmed coat
• A street scene showing two boys in patched-up clothing and wooden shoes in possession of a crank-organ and a performing monkey
• A street scene showing a wealthy man visiting a dog grooming business

Series II - Drawing Book

The drawing book bears a retail label from a Parisian shop and an ownership inscription dated 1816 from James Pemberton Morris (1795-1834), a member of a prominent Quaker family who resided at Bolton Farm in Buck County, Pennsylvania (note: Bolton Farm is not related in any way to the family of James McLean Bolton). 1816 is also the year in which Morris was married to his wife Rosa Gardiner (?-1828) in a ceremony in Edinburgh, Scotland. Drawings of note include a sketch of a “Judge Duncan;” multiple pencil sketches of women; a watercolor drawing of a maritime scene; and rough sketches of various cartoons. Clay's signature is attached to some of the works (including a sketch of Rosa Gardiner Morris), while others are initialled "JPM." Handwriting in the drawing book matches writing on many watercolors attributed to and signed by Clay. The nature of the relationship between Morris and Clay remains unclear.

Series III - Scrapbook fragments

The collection’s 37 scrapbook fragments are the remains of a personal scrapbook that likely once belonged to Edward W. Clay. Based on conversations with the dealer John Palmer, this scrapbook had contained a significant set of over 60 prints by Clay prior to being disassembled. A majority of the remaining fragments are satirical, genre, and theatrical prints produced by other artists, some of which may have been collected by Clay during his European travels.

Scrapbook items of interest include:

• Five lithographs by Charles Motte representing scenes from various works by Charles Perrault (Griseledis, L’Adroite Princesse, Cendrillon, Riquet a La Houppe, and Le Petit Chaperon Rouge)
• Multiple works depicting character costumes from various theatrical productions including The Prophet, The Queen of Cyprus, Tsar and Carpenter, and The Star of Sevilla
• Engraved depictions of a French “Infanterie de Ligne” and a Scottish “Tambour du 42e Regiment D’Highlanders,” both by Edouard Detaille
• An engraved portrait of George Washington by H. S. Sadd
• Two lithographs by Charles Motte of scenes involving children titled “Les Belles Dames. The Fine Ladies” and “A Fishing Party”
• Engravings of “Bolton Abbey in the Olden Time” by Schuler and “Weehawken, From the Elysean Fields. Hoboken” by Archibald L. Dick

Several engravings and lithographs focused on women's fashion include:

• “Soubrette” by Paul Gavarni
• “Modes de Paris Petit Courrier des Dames”
• “Vous ne direz plus que la mode est indécente!!”
• “Mde De Nouveautés” by Charles Philippon
• “Déclaration d’un Maître de Cham” by Frederic Bouchot

Other items of interest include:

• Drawings of various men, women, children (some of whom are identified)
• A pencil drawing of a ship captioned “Brigantine New Castle April 8th 1853”
• Six lithographic portraits of French generals Charles Nicholas Fabvier, Pierre Claude Pajol, Étienne Maurice Gérard, Horace Sébastiani, Maximilien Sébastien Foy, and the Marquis de Lafayette

Of particular note are two caricature lithographs depicting African Americans that are attributed to Clay, including one print published in 1830 titled "Back to Back" that depicts an African American couple dancing in fine clothing with the caption reading: "I reckon I've cotcht de figure now!". The other print (which is mounted on a scrapbook page) titled "A Black Cut" dates to 1839 and depicts an African American chimney sweeper being shunned by a wealthier mixed-race couple.

Series IV - Silhouettes

This series includes 11 cut paper silhouette portraits, nine of which bear the stamp of the Peale Museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Several include subject identifications and dates of creation. Eight of these items were originally mounted in 20th-century frames prior to being rehoused in archival mats by the Clements Library. The framed items carried the following notation in reverse at the top: "Property of / Miss Mary Clay Bolton / Mechanics and Metals Bank / 204 Fifth Avenue, New York City;" and at the bottom "Theodore Bolton," along with the frame shop label of S. Friedman, E. 9th St., New York, N.Y.

Of particular importance is a silhouette of Edward W. Clay inscribed "E.W.C. Ann: ÆTAT 21" (age 21) from the Peale Museum, ca. 1820. This work is believed to be the only known portrait of Clay outside of a painted portrait held by the Marsh family (descendants of Mary Ann Clay Bolton). The additional inscriptions “Cut at Peale’s Museum, Philadelphia” and “Edward Williams Clay, Portrait Painter” appear to have been added later.

Other identified individual silhouettes include Charles Heyward, William Heyward, George Douglass, William Graham, and George Cuthbert. These men were prominent members of South Carolinian society and were all either closely or distantly related. Three of the silhouettes are of Charles Heyward, who owned one of the largest rice plantations in the South and was the grandson of Thomas Heyward, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. The connection between these people and Edward W. Clay and/or Mary Ann Clay Bolton is unknown.

Biographical / Historical:

Edward Williams Clay was born in 1799 in Philadelphia to Robert Clay, a sea captain, and Eliza Williams Clay. The Philadelphia branch of the Clay family was affluent and active in Philadelphia's political, business, and religious scenes. Edward's brother Curtis (1803-?) was last heard of in France. His younger sister Mary Ann (1801-1818) married James McLean Bolton (1792-1824) of Savannah, Georgia, in 1816; they had two sons together, James Robert Bolton (1817-1890) and Edward Clay Bolton (1818-1892), after settling in New York. Descendants of the Bolton family are the source for most of this collection.

Clay originally pursued a career in law and was admitted to the Pennsylvania Bar Association in 1825. However, his legal career was short-lived. While studying law, Clay had etched and engraved several book illustrations, including prints for Parson Weems' God's Revenge against Duelling. Shortly after passing the bar exam, Clay traveled to Europe. Little is known about his venture overseas, though inscriptions present on materials in this collection indicate the trip took place roughly between 1826 and 1828 and that Clay spent time among upper class social circles. It is believed Clay had relatives in England with whom he could have stayed and that he may also have been motivated by a desire to visit his brother who was living in Paris. Clay certainly appears to have spent time in France and possibly London. He may have also visited Greece and Italy, but hard evidence for this is lacking.

Having presumably returned from his European travels by 1828, Clay's most famous series of etchings Life in Philadelphia began appearing in the United States that same year. Life in Philadelphia was clearly inspired by the social and sartorial satires produced in London and Paris by English and French artists such as the the Cruikshanks, Thomas Rowlandson, Charles Philipon, and Edmé-Jean Pigal as well as works by American satirists like James Akin. The 14 prints in Life in Philadelphia address fashion, courtship, the manners and dress of Pennsylvania Quakers, and social dynamics. The inclusion of provocative racist depictions of the increasingly affluent free Black population of antebellum Philadelphia made the series notorious. These derogatory images would be widely distributed and reprinted on both sides of the Atlantic for decades to come and cemented Clay's legacy as one of the principal developers of a racist visual vocabulary that remains present in American culture.

In the mid-1830s, Clay moved from Philadelphia to New York City and partnered with publishers Henry Robinson and later John Childs to produce political cartoons that addressed both New York and national politics. Generally opposed the Democratic Party, Clay's political satire became a specialty and after two decades, he had produced more political cartoons than any of his contemporaries. In addition to publishing social and political caricatures and cartoons, Clay also sketched and illustrated sheet music covers, single print sheets, portraits, magazines, and a fashion plate in the first issue of Lady's Book, later renamed to Godey's Lady's Book. Race would continue to be a reoccurring theme in many of Clay's prints, especially in a highly provocative series related to anti-slavery activism and racial amalgamation that was published in the 1830s.

By the 1850s, Clay started to lose his eyesight. His last known caricature was published in 1852. Some of the pencil drawings in the scrapbook fragments from this collection that are dated from the 1850s may have been among the last of his works. After spending over two decades publishing political cartoons, he entered civil service. From 1854 to 1856, he served in the offices of the Clerk of the Court of Chancery and Clerk of the Orphan's Court for the State of Delaware. Clay died in 1857, never having married, and is buried at Christ Church Burial Ground in Philadelphia.

In his self-authored obituary, Clay claimed that he was a relative of the politician Henry Clay and that he had served in the United States Navy as a midshipman for Commodore Perry. Neither of these claims have been substantiated by other sources.

Acquisition Information:

Purchased from Argosy Bookstore, 1980 (P-3134); Cowan's Auctions, July 2006 (P-2510); Clark Palmer Antiques, January 2007 (P-2544). P-2510, P-2544, P-3134 .

Custodial History:

Geo. S. MacManus Co.- Argosy Book Store (drawing book); Cowan's Auctions, Cincinnati, 2006, consigned by John Palmer of Purcellville, Virginia, from John Duncan Marsh (1931-2021), descended from the children of Mary Ann Clay Bolton (1801-1818) (bulk); Clark & Palmer Antiques, Purcellville, Virginia (two additional drawings returned from Cowan’s)

Rules or Conventions:

Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)

Related

Additional Descriptive Data:

Related Materials

The Clements Library has many other items produced by Edward W. Clay, including Clay's Life in Philadelphia (published in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, by S. Hart & Son, 1828). Other Clay-related materials can be found in University of Michigan Library Search and in the Clements Library Image Bank.

A satirical lithograph held by the American Antiquarian Society titled "Compliments of the Season" lithographed by Cephas Grier Childs and published by Clay in Philadelphia in 1830 corresponds to the scene titled "Compliments of the Season 1829" found in this collection.

Digital scans and descriptions of additional related materials that came from the same source as the bulk of this collection can also be found in the Cowan's Auctions lot listing from June 17 2006.

Bibliography

Davison, Nancy Reynolds. "E. W. Clay: American Political Caricaturist of the Jacksonian Era." PhD dissertation, University of Michigan, 1980.

"Edward Williams Clay." In Politics in Graphic Detail: Exploring History through Political Cartoons. Historical Society of Pennsylvania. Accessed March 12, 2018.

Jones, Martha S. and Clayton Lewis. Reframing the Color Line: Race and the Visual Culture of the Atlantic World. William L. Clements Library online exhibit. Accessed March 12, 2018.

Subjects

Click on terms below to find any related finding aids on this site.

Subjects:

Prints shelf.
African Americans--Caricatures and cartoons.
Balls (Parties)--1820-1830.
Carriages & coaches--1820-1830.
Children--1820-1830.
Clothing & dress--1820-1840.
Coach drivers--1820-1830.
Dogs--France--1820-1830.
Dance--France--1820-1830.
Generals--French--France--1820-1830.
Interracial marriage--New York (State)--New York--1830-1840.
Masquerades--France--1820-1830.
Ocean travel--1820-1830.
Organ grinders--France--1820-1830.
Passengers--1820-1830.
Priests--France--1820-1830.
Racism--1820-1840.
Soldiers--1820-1830.
Street children--France--1820-1830.
Street vendors--France--1820-1830.
Upper class--1820-1840.
Weddings--France--1820-1830.
Working class--1820-1840.

Formats:

Caricatures.
Cartoons (Commentary)
Engravings.
Etchings.
Ethnic stereotypes.
Fragments (object portions)
Lithographs.
Pencil works.
Satires (Visual works)
Silhouettes.
Sketchbooks.
Watercolors.

Names:

Peale Museum.
Perrault, Charles, 1628-1703.
Beukelszoon, Jan, 1509-1536--Pictorial works.
Cornaro, Andrea, 1548-1616--Pictorial works.
Iris (Greek diety)--Pictorial works.
Washington, George, 1732-1799--Portraits.
Bouchot, Frédéric, 1798- .
Childs, George.
Childs, J. (John)
Detaille, Edouard, 1848-1912.
Devéria, Achille, 1800-1857.
Dick, Archibald L., approximately 1805-approximately 1855.
Disturnell, John, 1801-1877.
Gavarni, Paul, 1804-1866.
Hamerton, Robert Jacob.
Morris, James Pemberton, 1795-1834.
Motte, Charles Etienne Pierre, 1785-1836.
Philipon, Charles, 1800-1862.
Sadd, Henry S.