Papers of John Adams, volume 16
3 August 1784]
A List of Silver belonging to His Excelce:. Mr: Adams and Send to Mr: Willink at Amsterdam the 3d:. of August 1784.1
| 5 large Silver Soop Spoons. | ||
| 2 Silver Sugar boxes. | ||
| 2 Dozen and a half of Silver Tea Spoons. | ||
| 6 Dozen of large Silver table Spoons. | ||
| 5 Dozen of large Silver Forks. | } | |
| 2 Dozen of Silver dessert-Forks. | French work.2 | |
| 2 Dozen of Silver dessert-Spoons | ||
| 2 Dozen of large Silver handled Knives. | ||
| 2 Dozen of large Silver handled Forks. | ||
| roll’d up in a paper together. | { | A Silver Spoon for powder of Sugar. |
| 4 Small Silver Spits. | ||
| a Silver machine for marrow bones |
Those above mentioned Articles of Silver are carefully rolled and ty’d up in papers, covered with a Sheet of Linnen, and confin’d and Sealed in a Small trunk, by his Excelce:. Mr: Adams and directed to Mr: Willink, Merchand at Amsterdam, under the Care and protection of Mr: Brush.3
Maitré d’hotel de Son Excl
ce:
MS (Adams Papers).
This inventory by Lotter may have been intended as a supplement to the inventories done by Marie Dumas on 22 and 24 June of the household goods and furnishings at the American legation at The Hague (vol. 13:32–48). Neither of those inventories contains any mention of the silverware that was certainly on hand. The delay may have been owing to a desire to include the silver that JA was having sent from Paris but which was delayed when the shipment was stopped at Brussels.
This may refer to all or part of the silverware sent from Paris, although JA in his 290 30 June letter to the Austrian minister, the Baron von Reischach, above, mentioned only “Ninety Six Silver Spoons and Forks, made at Paris for the Use of my Family” in his discussion of the stoppage at Brussels.
See the loan consortium’s letter of 10 Aug., below.