Watch paper from a watch serviced by one of the Dominy Family clock makers. This decorative watch paper carries the name of John Dodge, watch maker, based on Broad Way in New York City. Another watch paper gives a different location for John Dodge's shop on Maiden Lane. Stephen Manheimer notes watch papers were really as much a form of decorative material as they were advertising. The papers would have also helped the watch components fit together. Papers from a prior watch maker would have been removed and repaired when a watch was repaired or serviced. These watch papers were acquired as a lot from an antique dealer in Southampton selling many documents from the Dominy workshop. The Dominy accounts in the holdings at Winterthur offer corresponding details for many of the watch papers in this collection, as per Stephen Manheimer. This watch paper only has the number "29" written on the back, and the front offers advertising about the "patent lever" technology used in John Dodge's watches.
Details
Title
Samuel Brown Watch Paper, Pearl Street, New York, with Lewis Cuffe Notation
Archive
Stephen Manheimer Dominy Family Collection
Note
Part of a private collection of materials on the Dominy Family lent to the Long Island Collection by Stephen Manheimer for digitization purposes only. The Dominy Family were prominent woodworkers, mechanics, and craftsmen, known for their clocks and other furniture. The family was also involved in operating a mill.
Lewis Cuffee was a member of the Cuffee Family of Eastville, a section of the Village of Sag Harbor within the Town of East Hampton inhabited by people of mixed heritage, including a large free African American community. One Lewis Cuffee was born in 1785, according to New York State Census data, and it is probable that this paper came from his watch.
Usage Statement
For educational use only. Please credit: The East Hampton Library, Long Island Collection. For any other use, please contact The Long Island Collection, East Hampton Library, 159 Main St., East Hampton, NY 11937. 631-324-0222 x 4 or email lic@easthamptonlibrary.org.