Robert Morris's Folly: The Architectural and Financial Failures of an American Founder

359 Pages·2014·5.903 MB·English

by  Prof. Ryan K. Smith

Robert Morris’s Folly
The Lewis Walpole Series
in Eighteenth-Century Culture and History
The Lewis Walpole Series, published by Yale University Press with the aid
of the Annie Burr Lewis Fund, is dedicated to the culture and history of the
long eighteenth century (from the Glorious Revolution to the accession of
Queen Victoria). It welcomes work in a variety of fi elds, including literature
and history, the visual arts, political philosophy, music, legal history, and the
history of science. In addition to original scholarly work, the series publishes
new editions and translations of writing from the period, as well as reprints
of major books that are currently unavailable. Though the majority of books
in the series will probably concentrate on Great Britain and the Continent, the
range of our geographical interests is as wide as Horace Walpole’s.
(cid:2)
Robert Morris’s Folly
The Architectural and Financial
Failures of an American Found er
Ryan K. Smith
New Haven and London
Published with assistance from the Annie Burr Lewis Fund.
Copyright © 2014 by Yale University.
All rights reserved.
This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, including illustrations, in any form
(beyond that copying permitted by Sections 107 and 108 of the U.S. Copyright Law and except by reviewers
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For information, please e-mail [email protected] (U.S. offi ce) or [email protected] (U.K. offi ce).
Set in Fournier type by Westchester Book Group.
Printed in the United States of America.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Smith, Ryan K.
Robert Morris’s folly : the architectural and fi nancial failures of an American founder /
Ryan K. Smith.
pages cm—(The Lewis Walpole series in eighteenth-century culture and history)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-300-19604-7 (hardback)
1. Morris, Robert, 1734–1806—Finance, Personal. 2. Morris, Robert, 1734–1806—Homes
and haunts—Pennsylvania—Philadelphia. 3. Founding Fathers of the United States—Finance,
Personal. 4. Founding Fathers of the United States—Homes and haunts—Pennsylvania—
Philadelphia. I. Title.
E302.6.M8S58 2014
973.3092'2—dc23
[B]
2014003765
A cata logue record for this book is available from the British Library.
This paper meets the requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.48– 1992 (Permanence of Paper).
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
When follies are pointed out, and vanity ridiculed,
it may be very improving.
Mary Wollstonecraft (1787)
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Contents
Map of Robert Morris’s Philadelphia ix
Prologue 1
1. His Capital 10
2. His Family 31
3. His Plans 49
4. His House 66
5. His Architect 84
6. His Folly 104
7. His Entreaties 128
8. His Ruins 164
9. His Release 192
Notes 213
Ac know ledg ments 336
Index 339
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Robert Morris’s Philadelphia
Philadelphia as it appeared at the turn of the nineteenth century; the city’s eastern border— the Delaware
River— is visible at right. (Detail of image from John Hills and John Cooke, This Plan of the City of Philadel-
phia and it’s [sic] Environs . . . [Philadelphia: John Hills, 1797; London: John and Josiah Boydell, 1798].
Courtesy of the Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division. Customization by Bill Nelson.)