JMM April 2019 Newsletter

Mark your calendars!

Friday, April 5

6:00-7:30 PM

First Friday Sketchy History

Join the fun at JMM’s family-friendly version of Win, Lose or Draw ™. Categories used in the game are: historic people; historic objects or documents; historic events; and historic places. Bring along a team, or join one when you arrive. There will be a cash bar, and free snacks.

Thursday, April 11

7:00-8:30 PM

James Monroe’s Account Book

In celebration of National Library Week April 7-13, Heidi Stello, editorial assistant for the Papers of James Monroe, will discuss her research into a collection of previously unpublished financial documents from the Monroe-era White House, providing a fascinating insight into daily life at the Executive Mansion and the administrative role of the president.

Saturday, April 27

2:00-5:00 PM

James Monroe's Birthday Celebration

Join the 5 ^th president of the United States for a birthday celebration featuring music, cake, crafts, and photo opportunities with James Monroe.

Musings

by Scott H. Harris, Executive Director, University of Mary Washington Museums

The theme of the recent annual conference of the Virginia Association of Museums in the city of Lynchburg was “Engage. Develop. Give Back.” These active verbs simultaneously challenge and empower museums to be vibrant and, it may be hoped, trusted parts of their communities. We live in a time when faith in established institutions such as government, the media, and service organizations, to name but a few, may be called into question for a variety of reasons—political strife, cultural tensions, economic uncertainty, etc. How do museums fare in this roiled environment?

Curator's Corner

This month’s featured artifact is a painted wall mirror, known as a tabernacle looking glass, that belonged to James Monroe. Constructed of wood and glass, the mirror depicts the United States Capitol building as it appeared around 1823-1826. The previous Capitol was destroyed by British troops during the sack of Washington, DC in August, 1814. In 1822, President Monroe signed off on an appropriation of $120,000 for the construction of a central dome to be overseen by architect Charles Bulfinch. The mirror presents the dome with a relatively flat top - the more pronounced dome as we know it today was not constructed until 1855-1866. According to family tradition, the image on the mirror was damaged in transit from the President's House to Monroe's plantation and was repainted.

What's in Store?

Stationary or Stationery...

Stationary with an A means fixed in one place or standing still. Stationery with an E stems from the term stationer, which refers to a person who sells the materials used in writing, such as paper, pens, pencils, and ink.

Think of the stationary that describes standing still as being spelled with an A for Attention, and the stationery that describes paper products as being spelled with an E for Envelope.

If you’re feeling a bit stationary, pick up some stationery to keep yourself occupied!

At the James Monroe Museum Store we have everything you need to make someone’s day a bit more special with a handwritten note. It’s so nice to send something other than a bill and receive something other than junk mail!

Come by and pick up a set of eight note cards ($6.00) featuring four sites related to James Monroe:

· The James Monroe Museum – located on property owned by James Monroe while living and practicing law in Fredericksburg.

· Highland- residence of the Monroe family in Albemarle County, Virginia, purchased in 1793.

· The White House – the family’s home during James Monroe's’ two terms as president 1817-1825.

· Oak Hill - residence of James and Elizabeth Monroe after his retirement from the presidency. Located near Leesburg, Virginia.

Each of these sites are depicted by the beautiful watercolor images of artist David Hughes. The sets include two of each card and 8 envelopes.

We also stock many writing sets with feather quills in an array of colors. They make the perfect way to enhance your correspondence with friends and family!

We look forward to seeing you in the James Monroe Museum Store!

Regular hours are back!

Spring is here! We're excited to announce the Museum will resume it's regular hours. The Museum now closes at 5:00 PM.

Become a Friend of The James Monroe Museum!

Members of the Friends of The James Monroe Museum help make it possible for us to conserve the artifacts in our collection, create new exhibits for their display, and plan and implement public programming that provides opportunities to share the life and legacy of James Monroe with our community.

View the information about the benefits of membership, and learn how to become a Friend of The James Monroe Museum today!

The James Monroe Museum

908 Charles St.

Fredericksburg, VA 22401

540-654-1043

www.jamesmonroemuseum.org