1From Thomas Jefferson to Matthew Anderson, 31 January 1802 (Jefferson Papers)
...President’s House in early February 1802 when “Mr Jefferson shewed us a peice of home-made Silken Cloth. The trees grow & the worms were bred in Virginia. And there too the Silk was wound, wove and dyed. The Peice is large enough to make a Surtout; and he talks of sending it to Europe to be made water-proof, before it is made into a garment.” TJ extolled the virtues of waterproof cloth and...