Description
George Washington once confessed that he could not “raise a single note on any instrument,” but the women in his life were accomplished musicians. Martha Washington, along with her daughter Patsy and granddaughter Nelly, received musical training from an early age. For young women in wealthy families, skills such as music, dancing, and needlework signaled their elite status (since most in the 18th century lacked leisure time for such ornamental pursuits).
The Bull-finch, ca. 1757
Martha Dandridge Custis ordered this “choice Collection of the Newest and Most favourite English Songs” from London shortly before her January 6, 1759, wedding to George Washington. The small volume contains lyrics (but no notes) for popular songs, such as “God Save the King.”
Purchase, 1964
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Euterpe
The Washingtons purchased these colorful porcelain table ornaments at the beginning of their marriage. Euterpe, the Muse of Music, holds a flute, while a mandolin and reeded instruments sit at her feet.
Made at Porcelain Factory, Bow, England, ca. 1755
Purchased with funds donated by the Melissa and David Dvorak Family, 2004 [2004.4.6]
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Eleanor (Nelly) Parke Custis’s music book, ca. 1790s
Nelly Custis used this printed sheet music as she practiced the pianoforte and harpsichord. This page features an opera version of the 1765 poem The Hermit, “adapted for Two Violins, Voice, and Harpsichord.” A visitor to Mount Vernon once commented that Nelly “plays the harpsichord, sings, [and] draws better than any woman in America or even in Europe.”
Mount Vernon Library Collection
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“Nothing is more agreeable, and ornamental, than good music…”
- –George Washington, 1777