Pierre Du Simitière
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Pierre Eugene du Simitiere (born Pierre-Eugène Ducimetière, ; 18 September 1737,Helmut Stalder, ''Swiss made – die Dollarnote'', ''
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'' 26/2010 (December 24, 2010).
– October 1784) was a Genevan-born
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member of the
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,
naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...
, American
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, and portrait painter. Du Simitiere served as the artistic consultant for the committees that designed the
Great Seal of the United States The Great Seal is the seal of the United States. The phrase is used both for the Seal (emblem), impression device itself, which is kept by the United States secretary of state, and more generally for the impression it produces. The Obverse and r ...
, and submitted the first proposed design to include the
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and suggested the adoption of the U.S. motto ''
E pluribus unum ''E pluribus unum'' ( , , ) – Latin for "Out of many, one" (also translated as "One out of many") – is a traditional motto of the United States, appearing on the Great Seal of the United States, Great Seal along with ''Annuit cœptis'' (L ...
'' ("Out of Many, One").


Biography

Born in Geneva, du Simitiere's original name was Pierre-Eugène Ducimetière or Pierre-Eugène du Cimetière. After leaving the
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, he spent more than a decade in the
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before moving to New York and then Philadelphia. He spelled his name Pierre-Eugène du Simitière, Pierre Eugene du Simitiere, or du Symitiere after settling in Philadelphia. Elected to the
American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...
in 1768, he further became one of its curators (1777–1781). Du Simitiere served as the artistic consultant for the committees that designed the
Great Seal of the United States The Great Seal is the seal of the United States. The phrase is used both for the Seal (emblem), impression device itself, which is kept by the United States secretary of state, and more generally for the impression it produces. The Obverse and r ...
, and in 1776 he submitted the first proposed design to include the
Eye of Providence The Eye of Providence or All-Seeing Eye is a symbol depicting an eye, often enclosed in a triangle and surrounded by rays of light or a halo, intended to represent Providence, as the eye watches over the workers of mankind. A well-known exampl ...
, which element was eventually adopted. Moreover, he suggested the adoption of the U.S. motto ''
E pluribus unum ''E pluribus unum'' ( , , ) – Latin for "Out of many, one" (also translated as "One out of many") – is a traditional motto of the United States, appearing on the Great Seal of the United States, Great Seal along with ''Annuit cœptis'' (L ...
'' ("Out of Many, One"). He also designed the
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, the
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, and a Great Seal for
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, although Georgia did not adopt his design. In 1779, du Simitiere painted the first known portrait of
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, later used for the 1791 one-cent coin. During the early Revolution, he drew portraits of many American military and political leaders, including
Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben Friedrich Wilhelm August Heinrich Ferdinand Freiherr von Steuben ( , ; born Friedrich Wilhelm Ludolf Gerhard Augustin Louis Freiherr von Steuben; September 17, 1730 – November 28, 1794), also referred to as Baron von Steuben, was a German-b ...
,
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,
William Henry Drayton William Henry Drayton (September 1742 – September 3, 1779) was an American Founding Father, planter, and lawyer from Charleston, South Carolina. He served as a delegate for South Carolina to the Continental Congress in 1778-79 and signed ...
,
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,
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, among others, all of which were published in a 1783 book. In 1781, he was conferred an honorary degree from
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(which was still called College of New Jersey until 1896). In the early 1780s,
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's daughter
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took drawing lessons with du Simitiere. Du Simitiere was the translator into French for the Letters to the inhabitants of Canada from the Continental Congress designed to draw the new British subjects of
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into the
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. During his lifetime, du Simitiere was well known for his interest in natural history, which included every facet of the field. He was a prolific collector of knowledge, particularly published works ranging from pamphlets to books, which eventually included the history of the Thirteen Colonies and the beginnings of the American Revolution. As an artist, Du Simitiere showed great range and talent from designing seals to drawing maps to the visual portraits of Revolutionary leadership. He combined his love of history with his great capacity to create and collect material with a vision of founding the first American museum. Du Simitiere opened this museum, filled with natural history and other gathered items from his collections, in 1782. When du Simitiere died two years later in 1784, the Library Company of Philadelphia purchased the manuscript and broadsides in the museum's collection at auction. Although du Simitiere was well regarded by the American elite in the 1770s and 1780s, he frequently struggled in his finances in the years before his death. He is buried in St Peter’s Church in Philadelphia. Within a century, the location of his grave was no longer known, with one observer stating that du Simitiere's "last resting place in St. Peter's Church yard is unmarked and forgotten." His legacy was cemented by the 1870s as a man of "considerable artistic talent" with a "wandering spirit," a great vision for design, and a passion for collecting natural and political history.


Other events


First American museum of natural history

He created the first American museum of natural history from his personal collections constituted during his travels and through his purchases. He opened it to the public in 1782, four years before
Charles Willson Peale Charles Willson Peale (April 15, 1741 – February 22, 1827) was an American painter, military officer, scientist, and naturalist. In 1775, inspired by the American Revolution, Peale moved from his native Maryland to Philadelphia, where he set ...
's Philadelphia Museum, which is generally considered the first American public museum of natural history.


First coin auction sale in North America

His coin collection was the first record in Early North American history to serve as collateral on a loan granted to him by William Dilwyn. This collection later on was sold at public auction by Matthew Clarkson and Ebenezer Hazard, on March 19, 1785 at Philadelphia. Included in the sale as Lot #19 was "A Mahogany cabinet containing ancient and modern Gold, Silver, and Copper Coins and Medals." This sale precedes all sales in Atinelli's Numisgraphics by 43 years and is considered to be the first known coin auction sale in America. An advertisement for this sale reposes in the Archives of the Library Company of Philadelphia.


Acknowledgement by the

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On August 14, 1776, in a letter to his wife
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about designing the
Great Seal of the United States The Great Seal is the seal of the United States. The phrase is used both for the Seal (emblem), impression device itself, which is kept by the United States secretary of state, and more generally for the impression it produces. The Obverse and r ...
,
John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before Presidency of John Adams, his presidency, he was a leader of ...
wrote about Pierre Eugene du Simitiere, both his vision and his collections:
There is a Gentleman here of French Extraction, whose Name is Du simitiere, a Painter by Profession whose Designs are very ingenious, and his Drawings well executed. He has been applied to for his Advice. I waited on him yesterday, and saw his Sketches. For the Medal he proposes Liberty with her Spear and Pileus, leaning on General Washington. The British Fleet in Boston Harbour, with all their Sterns towards the Town, the American Troops, marching in.2 For the Seal he proposes. The Arms of the several Nations from whence America has been peopled, as English, Scotch, Irish, Dutch, German &c. each in a Shield. On one side of them Liberty, with her Pileus, on the other a Rifler, in his Uniform, with his Rifled Gun in one Hand, and his Tomahauk, in the other. This Dress and these Troops with this Kind of Armour, being peculiar to America—unless the Dress was known to the Romans. Dr. Franklin shewed me, yesterday, a Book, containing an Account of the Dresses of all the Roman Soldiers, one of which, appeared exactly like it. This Mr. Du simitiere is a very curious Man. He has begun a Collection of Materials for an History of this Revolution. He begins with the first Advices of the Tea Ships. He cutts out of the Newspapers, every Scrap of Intelligence, and every Piece of Speculation, and pastes it upon clean Paper, arranging them under the Head of the State to which they belong and intends to bind them up in Volumes. He has a List of every Speculation and Pamphlet concerning Independence, and another of those concerning Forms of Government.
After du Simitiere's death, on March 8, 1785,
George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...
responded to a letter by Reverend William Gordon (1728-1807), who in his goal to write a history of the American Revolution, had requested a portrait of Washington:
If Du Simitiere is living, and at Philadelphia, it is possible he may have miniature engravings of most if not all the military characters you want, and in their proper dresses. He drew many good likenesses from the life, and got them engraved at Paris for sale. Among these I have seen that of General Gates, Baron Steuben, and others, as also of your humble servant.


Notes


References

* Orosz, Joel J., ''The Eagle That is Forgotten'' (Wolfenboro, 1988) * Van Horne, John C., Pierre Eugene DuSimitiere: His American Museum 200 Years after (Philadelphia, 1985) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Simitiere, Pierre Eugene du 1736 births 1784 deaths 18th-century artists from the Republic of Geneva 18th-century scientists from the Republic of Geneva American philosophers Members of the American Philosophical Society Natural history collectors Museum founders 18th-century American philanthropists Immigrants to the Thirteen Colonies