Washington Winter Show 2014

48 The residents of Stratford, like many of their Virginia contemporaries, enjoyed a wide variety of wines and other alcoholic beverages. Brewing of beer and making of wines and liquors were common in the households of the Virginia gentry to supplement the supply of imported beverages. Cellars beneath Stratford’s main house allowed ample cool storage space for the large quantities of imported and domestic beverages served at the table. The household inventories of the 18th century outline some of the concoctions imbibed at Stratford, including liquors such as rum and persimmon brandy; wine such as Madeira, claret, and Virginia wine; and beers such as porter. One wine order to France made by Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee in 1785 was for 298 bottles of wine.11 Philip Ludwell Lee’s 1776 inventory included 286 bottles of wine plus 48 gallons of rum and 22 gallons of Persimmon brandy. 12 While beer and brandy were popular at Stratford, documentation indicates that wine was served regularly at the Stratford table, as well as sent as gifts to friends and acquaintances. Wine coasters [Figure 8] were also sometimes referred to as “bottle sliders” in the 18th century and were used to hold bottles at the dining table. When Philip Ludwell Lee’s estate was appraised in 1776, the inventory takers noted “4 Silver sliderds” in storage in the Smokehouse along with Virginia Wine, Claret and Madeira Wine. As with other silver, the Lees used the family crest, a squirrel, to mark the coasters. This pair of wine coasters was still here at Stratford when the estate was purchased by William Somerville from Henry Lee IV in 1822. Coffee, tea, and chocolate were popular drinks in the 18th century, and “1 Chocolate Stone” is included in the Stratford household inventory of 1775, along with “1 Chocolate [pott],” “1Tea kittle,” “Tea Cups,” and “1 Coffee pott.” 14 In the Virginia gentry, the art of tea-making and tea-drinking in particular was taught at an early age. Lucinda Lee records in her journal of 1782 that when entertaining beaus, “Nancy and myself are going to pore out tea,” 15 indicating this action had a notable social meaning, especially for young ladies of the period. The preparation and drinking of tea brought with it a whole set of fashionable goods needed to complete the ritual: hot water urns, teapots, strainers, spoons, cups, waste bowls (for the dregs), and tea caddies. Imported tea bowls and teapots [Figure] were fashionable objects for personalization by wealthy families in 18th-century England and its colonies. The Lees used the squirrel crest to mark not only silver, but also porcelain, glass, and other goods. This page is sponsored by Mr. and Mrs. Robert F. Baldwin, Jr. and Mr. and Mrs. Gregory May Figure 9: Teapot. China. Porcelain, c. 1730. Purchase, Caroline Ryan Foulke Fund. [2011.003]. The service was likely created for a member of the English Lee family, sharing a line of descent with the Lees of Virginia and using the same squirrel crest and coat of arms (on the other side; not pictured) favored by the Lees of Virginia. Figure 10: Music Book, “Prominade [sic] Waltz” (detail). Circa 1850. W: 25.5cm, H: 34.5cm. Belonged to Mary Raandolph Custis Lee. Permanent loan from Lee family descendants. [LE2013.001] “…my brother, Dr. Lee, informed me that you wished to have some wine from our native grape, I lost no time in procuring the best for you. Captain Johnson will deliver to you a small cask, together with a few bottles of older wine. The first is of last year’s vintage, and that in bottles is several years old. This wine is, at present, of the true flavour of our grape, and is very gently acid, a quality natural to this fruit. I wish the season, and the heat of the tobacco load, may not injure it.” —Richard Henry Lee at Chantilly, Virginia to Doctor Fothergill in London, May 1769 13