Potter Family Record

Date1833-1838

Artist Justus Da Lee (1793-1878)

MediumFreehand watercolor and ink detailing combined with a pre-printed form on wove paper

DimensionsPrimary support: 14" x 11 3/4" (35.6 cm. x 29.9 cm.) and Framed: 16 3/4" x 14 5/8"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1958.305.2

DescriptionA family register that was partially press-printed and partially executed freehand. To either side is a black column with a doric capital and yellow fluting and with a green garland interspersed with roses wound around it. Each column stands on a gray-shaded plinth. The top of the left column displays an image of a red, grain-painted cradle, that on the right a black coffin. The columns support a decorative arch of red, yellow, green, and black stripes and a row of scallops. At the base of the arch to the left, a man stands wearing a black tailcoat with gray trousers; an anchor leans against him. At the base of the right arch, a woman in a black dress stands under a stylized willow tree. A wedge breaks the arch, or pediment, at the center, and it encloses leafy plants, two twined hearts, and a pair of blue doves. Lettering appears above and below the arch, with more lettering in the open rectangular space between the columns.

The 1 1/2-inch black-painted, gold-stenciled, flat frame is possibly original; it has a bead at the sight edge.
Label TextJustus Da Lee is better known for his miniature profile likenesses than for his family records, although more than a dozen of the latter survive. The basic designs of Da Lee's records were press-printed, presumably according to his specifications. He then added coloring and other freehand embellishments and began the personalization process by adding the names and data his clients supplied. The expectation was that one or more family members would add future marriage and death dates themselves, thus keeping the register current. For whatever reasons, Lucius and Adaline Potter failed to note any offspring, though they had at least two children: Horace B., born about 1842 and Adaline, born about 1849. By the time of the 1860 federal census, the Potter family was living in Johnstown, Fulton County, New York.

On December 17, 1837, Da Lee wrote to his brother from Troy, New York, stating: "[I] have on hand a constant supply of family records (I now have 200 unpainted)." Like most such records, Da Lee's employ traditional symbolic motifs for decoration and for illustration of the rites of passage documented. The Potter Record incorporates entwined hearts (love and marriage), an anchor (hope), a cradle (birth), a willow tree (mourning), and a coffin (death).

A date after 22 October 1833 is suggested for this record, because it is the latest in the original hand.

InscribedSee "Marks," where both press-printed and freehand inscriptions have been given together for clarity of reading.
MarkingsThe masthead is press-printed with added freehand embellishment; it reads: "IN GOD WE HOPE". Press-printed in ink below the arch is: "Honour thy Father and thy Mother." Press-printed with freehand embellishment within the arch is: "FAMILY RECORD". Press-printed words atop four vertical columns read: "Parents", "Born", "Married", and "Died". The freehand ink and/or watercolor inscriptions within the register are block-style names and script dates; the inscriptions read, line by line: "Lucius F. Potter August 27.1808" and "Adaline M. Burr June 27.1813." In the "Married" column, halfway between the preceding two entries, is: "October 22.1833."

At lower right in dark brown ink in block-style lettering is: "J. Dalee Cambridge."

The watermark "C&S" appears in the primary support.

ProvenanceJ. Stuart Halladay and Herrel George Thomas, Sheffield, Mass. Halladay died in 1951, leaving his interest in their jointly-owned collection to his partner, Thomas. Thomas died in 1957, leaving his estate to his sister, Mrs. Albert N. Petterson, who was AARFAM's vendor.