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Chair
Description: Bowback Windsor writing arm chair with a small drawer underneath the writing surface; screws are covered with wooden plugs; originally painted.

The chair descended in the family of Mrs. Charles Levin Powell (nee Selina Lloyd), a close childhood friend of Mary Custis Lee. George Washington Parke Custis used this chair, and was fond of writing. His favorite subjects were the life of Washington and the ideals of the American Revolution. His writings were intended to stimulate Americans to love and serve their country. He also wrote articles and speeches denouncing slavery as “the mightiest serpent that ever infested the Earth” and called on slave owners to free their slaves and send them to Liberia in West Africa.

Wood, bamboo. H 94.2, W 81.6 cm
Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial, ARHO 2982