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Silver Pocket Watch of Meriwether Lewis
Accession1936 030 0005
Object TitleSilver Pocket Watch of Meriwether Lewis
CreatorPeter Desvignes
Creator.RoleMaker
Date.Creation1796-1797
DescriptionDouble cased, silver pocket watch made in London and owned by Meriwether Lewis.
Object HistoryMeriwether Lewis carried a pocket watch with him on the expedition to the Pacific Ocean, and this could be it. Though no watch appears on the list of equipment for the expedition, that list did not include Lewis's personal belongings. One of the expenses he incurred in Philadelphia before leaving was for "Cleaning a Silver Secont Watch." Two years later, in what is now Williams County, North Dakota, he wrote: "My pocket watch, is out of order, she will run only a few minutes without stoping. I can discover no radical defect in her works, and must therefore attribute it to the sand, with which, she seems plentifully charged, notwithstanding her cases are double and tight." He later tried, unsuccessfully, to trade the watch to an Indian for an otter skin. This English-made silver watch has a second hand (the small dial at the twelve o'clock position) and a double case, matching his descriptions. On the rim is a tiny metal lever for stopping the works, which would have been useful for synchronizing the watch with a chronometer. The watch was wound with a key. There is no maker's name on the movement, but hallmarks on the case identify Peter Desvignes, a London case-maker listed in 1792 at 221 Piccadilly and in 1796 and 1797 at 13 Denmark St. The date of the assay is 1796–97. The watch descended through Lewis's sister Jane down the Anderson branch of the family before it was donated to the Missouri Historical Society.
OriginLondon, England
Subject Browse ListLewis and Clark Expedition
Typeartifact
Measurements.Dimensions3.5 x 2.25 x 0.75
LanguageEng
PublisherMissouri History Museum
InstitutionMissouri History Museum
Rights© Missouri History Museum
Negative Number26097
Collection NameGeneral Collection
Batch IdentifierMHM-MC7-28-08
Identifier43474

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