Object Status:
Unlocated
Accession Date:
January 26, 1809
Primary Source Reference:
Peale Museum Accessions Book, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, p. 39
Notes:
Lac is the resinous secretion of a number of species of lac insects, of which the most commonly cultivated is Kerria lacca. Thousands of lac insects colonize the branches of the host trees and secrete the resinous pigment. The coated branches of the host trees are cut and harvested as sticklac, the raw material for producing shellac.
The donor was Dr. Samuel Betton (ca. 1785-1850), born in Jamaica of British parents, who was living in Germantown, Philadelphia as early as 1800 and died in the city. He was Charles Willson Peale's family physician. He was a significant landowner in Jamaica and in 1835, following the 1833 abolition of slavery in most of the British Empire, was compensated £4251 17s 6d for 195 emancipated slaves / https://www.ucl.ac.uk/lbs/person/view/14206
