George Washington Resigns, Speech Returns

George Washington's Resignation Speech,
 Maryland State Archives, MSA SC 5664.

Considered to be the most significant Washington document to change hands in the past 50 years, George Washington's final draft of his resignation speech was acquired by the Maryland State Archives in January of 2007. Soon it will return to the Maryland State House where the speech was delivered on December 23, 1783. 

John Shaw and the State House, 1783

John Shaw (1745-1829) is widely considered to be the premier cabinetmaker of Annapolis during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. He owned the largest furniture-making shop in Annapolis which produced furniture for private and public patrons, including many commissions for work at the State House. Much of Shaw’s furniture, including objects made for the State House, was stylistically distinctive and frequently identified by labels. Between the 1770s and 1819, Shaw, more than any other Annapolis artisan, played the most extensive role in shaping the appearance of the State House, its furnishings, and in particular, the Old Senate Chamber. 

Shaw and Chisholm Label, c. 1783-4; found on MSA SC 1545-0814