Certificate of Membership in the Society of Cincinnati

Certificate of Membership in the Society of Cincinnati

Jean Jacques Le Veau

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Society of the Cincinnati's membership diploma was designed in France by L’Enfant, with decorative elements engraved in Paris. After being sent to the United States, the engraved text was added, and printed copies inscribed using pen and ink. This copy attests to Jacob Hyer's military service during the American Revolutionary war, and was signed at Mount Vernon by George Washington.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Certificate of Membership in the Society of CincinnatiCertificate of Membership in the Society of CincinnatiCertificate of Membership in the Society of CincinnatiCertificate of Membership in the Society of CincinnatiCertificate of Membership in the Society of Cincinnati

The Department’s vast collection of works on paper comprises approximately 21,000 drawings, 1.2 million prints, and 12,000 illustrated books created in Europe and the Americas from about 1400 to the present day. Since its foundation in 1916, the Department has been committed to collecting a wide range of works on paper, which includes both pieces that are incredibly rare and lauded for their aesthetic appeal, as well as material that is more popular, functional, and ephemeral. The broad scope of the department’s collecting encourages questions of connoisseurship as well as those pertaining to function and context, and demonstrates the vital role that prints, drawings, and illustrated books have played throughout history.