Note to file on acquisition of MSA SC 4873:

Two swords were delivered to the Archives in January of 1998. The swords were presumably owned by Tench Tilghman, and were donated to the state by his descendant Mrs. Judith Oates. The sword is furthermore believed to be that depicted by Charles Willson Peale in his painting of Washington, Lafayette and Tilghman at Yorktown (1784) which hangs in the Old Senate Chamber of the State House. [MSA SC 1545-1120]

When the two swords entered state possession under the Archives, they were removed to the Archives’ conservation lab for study and treatment. Those examining the swords included R.J. Rockefeller, Mimi Calver, Hanna Szczepanowska, Dr. Papenfuse, Betty Seifert and myself. Rocky’s comments on the swords and their historical uses and context within military involvement are detailed in the file, as are the conservation treatments of the swords by Hanna and Betty, and my initial cataloguing.

On January 21, 1998, Betty Seifer, Head Conservator at the Jefferson Patterson Park visited the Archives to examine the swords. She, Hanna and I met in the lab to discuss the swords’ condition and future treatments. Upon examination, we decided that the sword with the broken tip [MSA SC 4873-1] is constructed with a silver handle and steel blade. The other sword [MSA SC 4873-2] also has a steel blade and silver handle. We decided that the handle of this sword is ‘washed’ or ‘inlaid’ with gold. Both swords had heavy polish residue, but had not been over-cleaned to remove the original patina. We decided that the most responsible treatment for the swords would be to remove the polish in order to prevent deterioration of the objects, halting the rust at the blade junctures, consolidating the leather blade cover, and lacquering the swords to prevent further deterioration from environmental conditions. It was decided that Hanna would remove the polish from the sword handles in the Archives conservation lab, after which Betty would remove the rust, and then lacquer them at the Archives with supplies brought from Jefferson Patterson Park. This course of action was followed as planned, and conservation reports from both Hanna and Betty detail the materials and solvents used in this work.

C. Borchert 2/3/98