Accession number(s): 96.1
Object: Caster set
Material: Sterling silver, glass
Date: 1730-1735
Country: Great Britain
Maker: Thomas Rush
Style: George II
Provenance: Patrick Henry (1736-1799) to John Henry (1796-1868) to William Wirt Henry (1831-1900) to Lucy Gray Henry Harrison (1857-1944) to Charles L. Hamilton (d. 1932) to unknown to Virginia Lee Koepler (1918-2010) to Ken Kercheval to Patrick Henry Memorial Foundation
Description: This six-piece “Warwick” caster or cruet set was purchased by Patrick Henry in 1777 to celebrate his marriage to his second wife, Dorothea Spotswood Dandridge (1757-1831). Henry had each caster and the stand engraved “PH 1777”. It was once part of the furnishings of the Governor’s Palace in Williamsburg while Henry served as governor. Upon Henry’s death, the set was listed in his 1799 inventory of Red Hill as “1 silver rim & casters” and in his 1802 inventory as “1 set of castors.” The set descended through Henry’s family until it came into the possession of his great-granddaughter, Lucy Gray Henry Harrison (1857-1944).
On December 20, 1910, the caster set was auctioned off in Philadelphia, PA at Book Auction Rooms of Samuel T. Freeman & Co., with a catalog compiled by Stan V. Henkels; listed as item 418 on page 67 of the catalog. The casters sold for $200 to Charles L. Hamilton at this auction.
