Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ONE-DOLLAR PORTRAIT
Anyone who has ever seen a dollar bill knows what our first president looked like.
Or do they? When the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association wanted exact likenesses
of good old George for the new education center, they turned to a forensic anthro-
pologist to figure out how the great general might have looked at ages 19, when he
was a frontier surveyor; 45, when he served as commander-in-chief of the Contin-
ental Army; and 57, when he was sworn in as president. Although anthropologist
Jeffrey H. Schwartz wasn't allowed to dig up Washington's bones, the easiest way
to tackle such a task, he was able to reconstruct the first leader by examining his
false teeth (on display at the museum—they were made of human teeth, ivory, and
ox bone), a mask of Washington created by a French sculptor, letters, diaries, and
old clothes. Turns out the familiar Gilbert Stuart portrait of Washington, called the
“Athenaeum” portrait, the likeness of which was used on the one-dollar note, is not
exactly accurate. Washington had a pockmark on his left cheek from the smallpox
that afflicted him at 19. He also had taut lips from holding in dentures and, as he
grew older, a chin slightly longer on one side than the other caused by bone loss
associated with tooth loss.
There is no fee to volunteer. Although the Archaeology Lab doesn't provide housing for
its volunteers, there are many nearby hotels. Volunteers can work at excavation projects any
Monday through Friday and will be given 50 percent off meals at the Mount Vernon Inn, the
on-site restaurant serving typical colonial fare.
HOW TO GET IN TOUCH
Mount Vernon Ladies' Association, 3200 Mount Vernon Memorial Highway, Mount
Vernon, VA 22121, 703-799-6314, www.mountvernon.org.
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