Zantzinger Memo

This memorandum, believed to be a list of desired goods, was prepared by Dolley Madison to a merchant, likely Thomas Barton Zantzinger. The list includes a number of household goods, decorative clothing, textiles, shoes, and hats. Documents like this list provided valuable clues about the Madisons’ tastes and the types of goods they acquired for Montpelier. In this document, Dolley requested or purchased “two looking glasses, long and large,” which may have been intended for the Drawing Room, where architectural evidence and visitor descriptions confirm a pair of large mirrors flanked the doors. The silk, lace, features, and flowers were probably intended for hats or turbans, which Dolley favored, and the “fanciful but cheap snuffboxes” may have been given as gifts.