Curator’s Picks

‘The Two Georges’

John Powell, an exhibit director in the Exhibits Office, chooses five favorite items from “The Two Georges: Parallel Lives in an Age of Revolution,” opening on March 28.
A historical handwritten document featuring a list of words and numbers, including the name "Gen'l Washington" prominently highlighted, with other notable names and terms visible.

George Washington: Agent 711’

During the American Revolution, George Washington set up the Culper Ring, a network of secret agents to spy on the British, as dramatized in the TV series “Turn.” The spies used codes and invisible ink to report on the movements of British troops and ships. This page from the spy ring’s codebook shows Washington identified by the number 711.
MANUSCRIPT DIVISION
A handwritten inventory list detailing various items such as "black mask," "sewing silk shaded," and "Miniken pins," written in neat script on aged paper.

George Washington’s Shopping List

Before the American Revolution, George Washington, like other Virginia planters, ordered almost everything he needed from Britain. This invoice dates from September 1759, shortly after Washington’s marriage to Martha Dandridge Custis. It includes everything from handkerchiefs to a large Cheshire cheese to a hogshead of “best Porter.” Ten years later, Washington helped organize a boycott of British goods to protest “taxation without representation.”
MANUSCRIPT DIVISION
A colorful satirical illustration titled "The Gradual Abolition of the Slave Trade," showing a group of individuals drinking tea, accompanied by speech bubbles and stacks of sugar loaves on a table.

Sugar, Slavery and Satire

The Library holds one of the largest collections of British political and satirical prints in America, with approximately 9,000 prints. This 1792 cartoon shows King George III and his family swilling sugar as they talk about giving it up. At the time, abolitionists boycotted sugar to signal their sympathy with the enslaved people who grew and processed it in Britain’s Caribbean colonies.
PRINTS AND PHOTOGRAPHS DIVISION
A close-up view of a decorative porcelain plate with intricate floral patterns and a central inscription reading, "Huzza The King is well!"

‘Huzza! The King Is Well’

This saucer was made to celebrate King George III’s recovery from his bout of illness in 1789, an episode made famous in the 1994 film “The Madness of King George.” During his illness, the king experienced episodes of delusion, rapid speech, violent behavior and stomach upsets, among other symptoms. There are multiple theories about what, exactly, the illness was.
© ROYAL COLLECTION ENTERPRISES LIMITED 2025 | ROYAL COLLECTION TRUST
A historical map titled "A Plan of the Town and Harbour of Boston," depicting significant locations, movements of troops, and skirmishes during the American Revolutionary War, with labeled areas such as Lexington, Concord, and Cambridge.

First Shots

This map from the Library’s Geography and Map Division shows the Battles of Lexington and Concord, which broke out on April 19, 1775, and marked the start of the American Revolution. Notice the small figures reminiscent of toy soldiers.
GEOGRAPHY AND MAP DIVISION
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