Washington at Valley Forge

We have two distinguished objects in our collection that memorialize General George Washington’s winter encampment at Valley Forge, each reflecting how later generations shaped the visual memory of the Revolutionary War. 

The first is a vintage pair of Washington at Valley Forge bookends produced by Hubley Manufacturing Co. in 1925. This bookend set is a sculptural homage to one of the most enduring images of the Revolutionary War. The design is adapted from William B. T. Trego’s 1883 painting The March to Valley Forge, December 19, 1777, itself inspired by Washington Irving’s evocative written account in Life of Washington. Irving wrote, “Sad and dreary was the march to Valley Forge, uncheered by the recollection of any recent triumph. . . Hungry and cold were the poor fellows who had so long been keeping the field . . . provisions were scant, clothing was worn out, and so badly were they off for shoes, that the footsteps of many might be tracked in blood.” Trego distilled this passage into a powerful visual composition, placing Washington resolute at the center as his exhausted army advances into winter quarters. Hubley, founded in Lancaster, Pennsylvania in 1894 and later celebrated for its decorative sand cast bookends, translated this canonical painting into cast iron form during the height of America’s Colonial Revival.

Complementing the bookends is a 1932 "Washington at Valley Forge" blue glazed transfer ware plate by Crown Ducal,  issued for the George Washington Bicentenary marking the two hundredth anniversary of his birth. Produced in England for the American market, the plate centers on a kneeling and praying George Washington. The composition is based on Henry Brueckner’s 1866 engraving The Prayer at Valley Forge, itself rooted in the narrative popularized by Mason Locke Weems in his 1800 biography of Washington. Weems recounted how Isaac Potts, the Quaker landowner upon whose property the army encamped, witnessed Washington in prayer among the snowy trees and was moved to enlist and support the Revolutionary cause. The plate’s scalloped border of flowers, diamond lattice, and scrollwork frames this romanticized tableau. Crafted in the historic transferware process, in which an engraved copperplate and cobalt oxide transfer a detailed blue design onto earthenware, it reflects the long British tradition of producing wares for American consumers eager to celebrate national history. 

Together, these objects demonstrate how the ordeal at Valley Forge evolved across successive generations, from lived hardship into national iconography, interpreted first through books, then painting and prints, and later in cast iron and earthenware. These vintage objects are a testament to the endurance of Washington’s image and the material culture that has sustained his legacy in American collecting.