Certificate of Contribution to Build the Washington Monument

Certificate of Contribution to Build the Washington Monument - Inventory Number: POL 352

(Washington): (Washington National Monument Society),1848. No Binding. Certificate measures a little more than 6" x 12" as it matted and framed under glass, which has a total measure of about 10" x 15". The certificate is toned and executed by hand to Chas. L Smith acknowledged his contribution of $1.00 by Daniel Douglas, agent for Washington National Monument Society. Beneath are the facsimile signatures of eight prominent Americans who were part of the Washington National Monument Society appointed in 1835 to raise funds including (Zachary) Taylor, John Quincy Adams, and Danie Webster. Individual donations were initially limited to $1 per person per year, and donors received a certificate acknowledging their donation. On November 18, 1845, the Washington National Monument Society selected a design for the monument by Robert Mills, which is pictured on this certificate. The original design called for a 600-foot-tall obelisk with a nearly flat top, surrounded by a colonnaded rotunda 200-feet in diameter and 100-feet tall. Thirty 12-foot diameter columns formed a 'National Pantheon' with statues of 30 prominent Revolutionary War heroes and signers of the Declaration of Independence inside. In January 1848, Congress authorized the Washington National Monument Society to build their monument to George Washington on public grounds or a reservation within Washington, D. C. Construction began but Civil War ensued, and the design was eventually changed to the monolithic obelisk we all know. Very Good. Beautiful piece of American - Washington DC history!

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Inventory Number: POL 352