Creator |
Hand, Alfred, photographer. |
Contributor |
Nevil, Thomas, 1721-1797, architect. |
Title |
Mount Pleasant, home of Benedict Arnold in Fairmount Park. [graphic]. |
Publisher |
[Philadelphia] |
Publisher |
PA. Philadelphia. 1920 |
Date |
[ca. 1920] |
Physical Description |
1 negative : glass ; negative 11 x 8 cm (4 x 3.25 in.) |
Description |
View of front facade of the mansion built 1761-1765 for Captain John Macpherson after the designs of Thomas Nevil in Fairmount
Park, Philadelphia, Pa. A person, attired in a hat, a scarf, a long coat, and shoes, sits on a wooden chair at the top of
the steps on the left side of the house. Mount Pleasant was described by John Adams as "the most elegant seat in Pennsylvania,"
and is an excellent example of Philadelphia's Middle Georgian country houses of the 1760s. Macpherson, a privateer during
the Seven Years’ War, purchased the estate with profits from these operations. Free white and Black laborers, indentured servants,
and at least four enslaved people of African descent, whose names are unknown, worked on the plantation. In 1779, General
Benedict Arnold purchased Mount Pleasant for his wife Peggy Shippen, but they never occupied the house. In 1792, General Jonathan
Williams purchased the mansion. The City of Philadelphia purchased the property from the Williams family in 1869. On behalf
of the city, the Philadelphia Museum of Art restored the house in 1926.
|
Notes |
Inscribed in negative: 2495. |
|
Title from negative sleeve. |
|
Also identified as the Arnold Mansion. |
|
Purchase 1988. |
|
Description revised 2022. |
|
Access points revised 2022. |
Subject |
Arnold, Benedict, 1741-1801 -- Homes and haunts. |
|
Macpherson, John, 1726-1792 -- Homes and haunts. |
|
Williams, Jonathan, 1750-1815 -- Homes and haunts. |
|
Dwellings -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia. |
|
Mansions -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia. |
|
Plantations -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia. |
|
Slavery -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia. |
Geographic subject |
Mount Pleasant (Philadelphia, Pa. : Estate) |
|
Mount Pleasant Drive (Philadelphia, Pa.) |
|
Fairmount Park (Philadelphia, Pa.) -- East. |
Genre |
Glass plate negatives -- 1910-1920. |
Associated name |
Nevil, Thomas, 1721-1797, architect. |
Location |
Library Company of Philadelphia| Print Department| 4x5 Glass Negatives - Hand [P.9259.44] |
Accession number |
P.9259.44 |