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A Dress made of the intestines of the Whale

Object Status:

Unlocated

Accession Date:

October 20, 1816

Primary Source Reference:

Peale Museum Accessions Book, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, p. 82

Additional Source Text:

"Brought from there [Sandwich Islands] by Lieut. John J Yarnall of the United States Navy."

Notes:

John J. Yarnall (d. 1815) was commissioned a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy in 1813 and in that year commanded Commanded Commodoire Perry's flagship Lawrence in the Battle of Lake Erie (10 Sep). For gallant conduct he was awarded a medal and a vote of thanks from Congress. Two years ater he died in the Algerine War when his ship Epervier foundered at sea and went down with all hands. Later a destroyer was named for him. Robert Wilden Neeser, Ship Names of the United States Navy: Their Meaning and Origin (New York, 1921), p. 259

Samuel Wetherill, Jr. (1764-1829) is listed in city directories as a "colourman" working with his father in the firm of Samuel Wetherill & Son, "oil and colourmen." See Mrs. Samuel P. Wetherill, Samuel Wetherill and the Early Paint Industry of Philadelphia (1916).