Monday, October 21, 2013

Cheese in Late Colonial Maryland...

This article is an update of an earlier article I wrote on the subject of Cheese in Late Colonial Maryland. It is hoped the new information will be of interest to reader.

Cheese is a very common item imported into the British North American Colonies. But with so many varieties available today, it can be quite a struggle to discover which cheeses are well documented as being consumed in places like Annapolis.

Luckily for us, the order books of Wallace, Davidson and Johnson provide a very good insight into many of the goods which were being imported between 1771 and 1775.

On 25 April 1771, they ordered 5ct Double Gloucester cheese, 2ct Single Gloucester cheese and 2ct Cheshire Cheese.

Then on 4 August 1771, they ordered 5ct Double Gloucester cheese, 2ct Single Gloucester Cheese and 5ct Cheshire cheese.

And on 26 November 1771, they ordered 3ct each of Gloucester cheese and Cheshire cheese.

This is as far as we have progressed through their order books at the moment, but it is clear that, with no reference to any other types or styles of cheese, these are the three main types of cheese being imported into Annapolis in the early 1770s.

So what are these three different types of cheese which are no longer common features of the American market.

Following a cattle plague which all but wiped out the Old Gloucester cows, the area surrounding Gloucester was replaced with the Longhorn. By 1789, production of Gloucester cheese was estimated at more than 1000 tons.

There are two types of Gloucester cheese, single and double.

Single Gloucester cheese were typically the same diameter but half the height of Double Gloucester cheeses.

Double Gloucester cheese was a prized cheese, comparable in quality to the best Cheddar or Cheshire cheese, and was exported out of the County, where Single Gloucester cheese tended to be consumer within the County.

Single Gloucester was sometimes known as the hay maker’s cheese; as it was matured for a short time it was ready for eating by farm laborers during the haymaking season.

Double Gloucester cheese has a characteristic light orange hue given by the addition of annatto to the milk. This has been a traditional characteristic of the cheese since the 16th century when producers of inferior cheese used a coloring agent to replicate the orange hue achieved by the best cheese makers who were probably making the cheese from the evening’s milking to which was added the separated cream of the morning’s milking. During the summer months the high levels of carotene in the grass would have given the milk an orange color which was carried through into the cheese. This orange hue was regarded as an indicator of the best cheese. 

Flavor levels depend on the age of the cheese. Most Double Gloucester is sold at about 4 months of age and has a firm close texture and a clean mellow, creamy or buttery flavor. Older cheeses will develop more complex and nutty flavors.
    
The first reference to Cheshire cheese is in 1586, where it is recorded as "more agreeable and better relished than those of other parts of the kingdom." From 1739, the Royal Navy only bought Cheshire cheese with London being the major market for Cheshire cheese.

Cheshire Cheese is sold at different ages and like all cheese, as it matures, its taste and texture will develop. Young Cheshire is naturally bright and white in color. It is a firm bodied cheese with a crumbly texture that breaks down easily in the mouth. It has a mild, milky taste and aroma and is clean on the palate with a very slightly tangy finish.

As Cheshire matures so it becomes firmer in texture and slightly darker in color. The flavors become more complex but the cheese remains clean tasting with no hint of bitterness. The crumbly texture remains but the cheese has a drier mouth feel.

Now it would be wrong to assume that all cheese was in fact imported into the Province. In fact an article in the November 11, 1773 issue of the Virginia Gazette relates that cheese production has recently been begun in Frederick County and they are producing the best cheese on the continent, perhaps in part due to the large influx of German immigrants. Unfortunately there is no detailed information about the style of cheese which is being made in that part of Maryland, though its German origins are clearly mentioned in the article.




The sale of country made cheese, in addition to imported English cheese, also shows up in Annapolis at the store of James Dick & Stewart in Church Street in their advertisement in the June 23, 1774 issue of the Maryland Gazette. They operated a store in Frederick Town and it is quite likely that the cheese mentioned is from that place.




So the next time you are seeking out a cheese which is appropriate for the 1760s and 1770s, be sure to pick up some Cheshire and Single or Double Gloucester cheese. You can't go wrong with those choices.

All Rights Reserved.

Monday, October 14, 2013

Highlanders, Harry and the Great Mogul...

It's hard to buy a deck of reproduction 18th century playing cards without noticing the wrapper in which they are sold.

We are always quick to notice the "tax stamp," but what do we know about the other side of the package? Perhaps the most common reproduction deck of cards are the "I. Hardy" cards which are claimed to be based upon a deck which was printed about 1765.

On the other side is the picture of "The Great Mogul." This is part of a grading system of playing cards. The finest cards were called "Moguls," the next best "Harrys," and those with imperfections "Highlanders." Tradition has it that the finest, the Moguls, were named after the Mogul emperors, the Harrys, were named after Henry VIII, and the Highlanders, after Bonnie Prince Charlie.

And to ensure that the necessary duty was paid, each ace of spades was printed in the Stamp Office at Somerset House, and then given to the card printers once they had paid the duty for them.




"I. Hardy" mentioned above is actually James Hardy who operated from 1798 to 1824. The ace in this pack is number 33 which places it some time before 1817. (Ace number 37 was used from 1817 to 1820)




The other common playing card available as a reproduction today, in this case an example of a Harry's Card, is the Aesop's Fables cards which were first manufactured around 1759 by John Kirk.




Unfortunately there are currently no examples of the last sort of card, the Highlanders, but above you can see an example of a Highlanders wrapper. This example is from Henry Hart about 1757.


(from Maryland State Archives, Chancery Court (Chancery Papers, Exhibits) Wallace, Davidson Johnson, Order Books, 1771/4/25-1775/11/16. MSA S 528-27/28)  

And finally we can't forget to mention the merchant connection to playing cards, in this case that of Wallace, Davidson and Johnson and their orders for all of these various qualities of cards, as seen above in their order books, this order being placed April 25, 1771.

So the next time you go selecting 18th Century playing cards to buy, you will have a better understanding for the wrapper and information upon it as to what was inside.

All Rights Reserved.

Monday, March 11, 2013

That Utilitarian Product of the 18th Century... Tinware

After a recent trip to Colonial Williamsburg and with the continuing advance on the completion of the tinsmith shop the as part of the Armory , I became interested in the sorts of tinware which were being imported into Annapolis in the late colonial period.

Once again I turned to the order books of Wallace Davidson and Johnson to give me some insight into the sorts of tinware which were being ordered to supply the stores of the late colonial Maryland as well as in private orders with Wallace Davidson and Johnson.


Examples of painted tin canisters found at the Margaret Hunter Shop in Colonial Williamsburg


Examples of painted and unpainted tin canisters and a bread grater at the Governor's Palace Kitchen in Colonial Williamsburg


Examples of scalloped pans at the Governor's Palace Kitchen in Colonial Williamsburg


Examples of tin coffee pots at Charlton's Coffee House in Cololnial Williamsburg


Reproduction tinware made by Bill McMillian and for sale at the Prentis Store in Colonial Williamsburg


(from Maryland State Archives, Chancery Court (Chancery Papers, Exhibits) Wallace, Davidson Johnson, Order Books, 1771/4/25-1775/11/16. MSA S 528-27/28)  

Order Books
25 April 1771
For Wallace Davidson and Johnson

Tin Ware
12 double sheets tin plates @ 8d
12 single ditto 4/.
12 very small pudding pans 7/.
12 larger ditto 9/.
6 nutmeg graters 9d
6 painted do 1/6
6 pocket do 1/6
18 pound tin canisters 5/.
12 half pound canisters 3/.
4 painted sugar boxes 4 sizes 4/.
12 glass chamber lamps with candlesticks 9/.
6 tin do with spouts 7/.
6 quart tin kettles 5/.
6 3 pint do 7/.
6 2 quart do 8/.
2 gallon camp do with covers 1/6
2 ½ gallon do with do 1/8
2 2 gallon do with do 2/.
2 doz quart tin pots 5/.
1 doz pint do 3/.
1 doz pepper boxes 1/8
3 horn lanthorns 1/8
3 do 2/.
2 doz cake pans 4/.
1 doz scalloped do 4/.
1 doz ¼ tt tin canisters 2/.
½ doz tinder boxes 6/.
1 doz funnels sorted 6/.
1 doz sauce pans 3/9
1 doz porringers 5/.

Order Books
25 April 1771
For Thomas Johnson

Tin Ware
1 doz small tin patty pans for tarts & hallow molds to shape the upper crusts on & marking irons to mark them
1 doz tin patty pans for cheese cakes
A tin to bake goose pie in
3 doz small tin queen cake pans
                1 doz of them round
                1 doz of them diamond
                1 doz of them hearts
1 doz tins or stone shells to scallop oysters

Order Books
25 April 1771
For Charles Wallace

Tin Ware
1 doz Naple biscuit pans to hold 6 cakes each

Order Books
4 August 1771
For Wallace Davidson and Johnson

Tin Ware
12 double sheets tin plates
12 single ditto
12 very small pudding pans
12 larger ditto
6 nutmeg graters
6 pocket do
6 painted do
18 pound tin canisters
12 half pound do
2 painted sugar boxes, 2 larger do & 2 larger do
12 glass chamber lamps with candle sticks
6 tin do with spouts
6 quart tin kettles
6 3 pint do
6 2 quart do
2 gallon camp do with covers
2 ½ gallon do with do
2 2 gallon do with do
2 doz quart tin pots
1 doz pint to
1 doz pepper boxes
3 horn lanthorns
3 do
2 doz cake pans
1 doz scalloped do
½ doz quart sauce pans, ½ doz pint do
1 doz funnels, 3 sizes

Order Books
26 Nov 1771
For Wallace Davidson and Johnson

Tin Ware
The same as sent p Williamson

Order Books
20 March 1772
For Wallace Davidson and Johnson

Tin Ware
2 doz double tin plates
2 doz single do
3 doz pudding pans sorted
3 doz nutmeg graters sorted
1 doz painted sugar boxes
1 doz chamber lamps
1 doz hanging do
24 kettles sorted
3 doz pint & quart pots
2 doz pepper boxes
6 lanthorns
12 doz single cake pans sorted
2 doz cheesecake pans
1 doz ¼ lb canisters
1 doz 1 lb do
1 doz tinder boxes
1 doz porringers
1 doz saucepans
6 overs
6 cheese toasters
6 doz naple biscuit pans 6 cakes each
1 doz tin pudding pans in the shape of half a Marsh Million with flat covers
1 doz tin colanders sorted
½ doz tin fish kettles sorted
½ doz tin fat strainers shaped like a sugar loaf
1 doz flat tin candlesticks with extinguishers

Order Books
25 March 1772
For John Davidson

Tin Ware
1 Tin Colander
1 large strong tin skimmer

Order Books
24 October 1772
For Richard Tilghman Earle (Store at Chester Mill, Queen Anne County, just east of present day Centreville)

Tin Ware
1 doz tin quarts @ 5/.
1 do pints 2/6
1 doz do quart sauce pans 5/.
1 doz do pocket graters 2/6
1 doz do pepper boxes 2/.
1 doz do flower do 3/.
1 doz do quart funnels 5/.
1 doz do best block tin ramekins 5/.
1 doz do large round patty pans 3/6
1 doz scalloped do 3/6
1 doz biscuit frames 14/.
3 doz pans sorted from 7/ to 16/.
1 doz dish candle sticks 7/.

Order Books
14 November 1772
For Wallace Davidson and Johnson for the Ship (Presumably the Kitty & Nelly)

Ship Chandlery
2 quart tin saucepans

Order Books
24 May [1773]
For Wallace Davidson and Johnson

Tin Ware
2 doz tin pudding pans sorted
4 doz nutmeg graters sorted half of the japanned
2 doz quart pots
2 doz pint do
2 doz quart & pint saucepans
6 doz pepper boxes
3 doz pound canisters
2 doz half pound do
2 doz quart & point funnels
1 doz quart black jacks
½ doz large melon pudding pans
1 doz japanned candlesticks with snuffers
1 doz painted candlesticks
½ doz egg slices
1 doz bread graters
1 doz druging boxes
3 genteel neatly japanned & painted plate warmers

Order Books
17 October 1773
For Charles Carroll of Carrolton

Tin Ware
4 best strong horn lanthorns in tin large
4 best gardeners watering pots large well painted
6 quart tin pots
12 pint do

(appears to now switch to goods for ER)

Tin Ware
2 egg slices
1 large bread rasp
2 pierced lanthorns
12 quart mugs
2 large tin pans

Order Books
12 and 24 November [1773]
For Charles Carroll of Carrolton

Tin Ware
20 good tin pound canisters

Order Books
25 December 1773
For Charles Carroll of Carrolton

Tin Ware
20 good tin pound canisters

Order Books
14 December 1773
For William Bond

Tinware
1 doz funnels sorted
½ doz painted candle boxes

Order Books
21 November 1773
For Hall Gilbert & Hall

Tin Ware
1 doz tin pepper boxes 1/8
2 nests tin buckets sorted
6 quart saucepans
6 pint do
3 sugar boxes
1 doz nutmeg graters
3 tin lanthorns


Order Books

No Date [1773]

For Buchannan & Cowen



Tinware

3 doz pound & ½ pound canisters 4/.

1 doz tin quart saucepans 4/6
1 doz pint do 3/.
1 doz large do 6/.
1 doz tin kettles 9/.
1 doz large do 1/.
1 doz do 1/3
½ doz cheese toasters 5/.
2 doz nutmeg graters 2/.
2 doz pepper boxes 1/9
1 doz tin lanthorns 22/.

Order Books

No Date [1773]

For Archibald Buchannan



Tinware

1 doz pound canisters

1 doz ½ pound do

½ doz quart saucepans 5/
½ doz pint do 2/6
½ doz tin kettles 12/
1 doz nutmeg graters 20d
½ doz tin lanthorns 24/
½ doz small do 20/
1 doz quart pots 5/
1 doz tin milk pans 12/
1 doz do 15/
1 doz pint pots
1 doz cheese toasters
1 doz apple toasters

Order Books
No Date [1773]
For Wallace Davidson and Johnson’s Nottingham Store

Tinware
2 doz pudding pans
2 doz pepper boxes
6 tin kettles sorted
1 doz quart saucepans
1 doz pint do

Order Books
19 March 1774
For Wallace Davidson and Johnson

Tinware
3 doz pound canisters
2 doz half pound do

Order Books
29 September 1774
For William Bond

Tin Ware
½ doz coffee pots
1 doz tin nutmeg graters
½ doz painted sugar boxes
2 doz 1lb tea canisters
2 doz ½lb do
2 doz pepper boxes
½ doz tin lanthorns

Order Books
No Date (previously listed order is 1774)
For Wallace Davidson and Johnson

Tin Ware
2 doz double tin plates
2 doz single do
3 doz tin pudding pans well sorted
2 doz nutmeg graters half japanned
3 doz pound canisters
1 doz half pound do
2 nests painted sugar boxes
2 doz quart pots
1 doz pint do
2 doz saucepans sorted
2 doz pepper boxes
1 doz lanterns half horn
1 doz tinder boxes flints & steels
2 doz funnels quart & pint
1 doz bread graters sorted
1 doz coffee pots sorted
½ doz candle boxes
½ doz colanders

Order Books
17 November 1774
For Wallace Davidson and Johnson’s Nottingham Store ordered by Edward Botelar

Tin Ware
1 doz quart sauce pans
1 doz pint do
1 doz large pudding pans
1 doz do sorted
6 sugar boxes (plain tin)
6 do japanned
1 doz pocket graters
6 milk kettles sorted
1 doz ½ pound canisters japanned
1 doz plain do
1 doz pound do

Order Books
No Date (previously listed order is 1774)
For Wallace Davidson and Johnson’s Queen Anne Store

Tin Ware
½ doz tin lanthorns 1/8
1 doz tin pans 10/.
1 doz do 12/.
1 doz do 14/.
1 doz nutmeg graters with cases 3/.
1 doz quart tin pots 5/.
1 doz sauce pans 5/.

Order Books
No Date (previously listed order is 1774)
For Wallace Davidson and Johnson’s Pig Point Store

Tin Ware
6 quart pots 5
6 pint do 3 ½
6 quart saucepans 5
6 pint do 3 ½
1 doz japanned pocket grater 3/.
1 doz pepper boxes 1/8

Order Books
8 January 1775
For Charles Carroll of Carrolton

Tin Ware
12 quart tin pots
12 pint do

Order Books
1 August 1775
For Alexander Ogg

Tin Ware
2 doz gallon tin pans
1 doz smaller do
1 doz tin quart pots
1 doz pint do
1 doz small funnels
1 doz large do
3 doz gallon do
3 doz pepper boxes
2 doz tin quart sauce pans
1 doz do pint do
2 doz nutmeg graters

All Rights Reserved.