1. GW ordered the goods on 28 Sept. 1760. The ship Polly, John Johnstoun master, owned by John Thornton & Co., entered the South Potomac with cargo and four passengers on 2 July 1761 and sailed for London on 28 Sept. 1761 with 240 hogsheads of tobacco and 12,000 staves. Invoices of goods for John Parke Custis and Martha Parke Custis, also 31 Mar. 1761, are in DLC:GW.

2. Theodosia Crowley & Co., Ironmongers, was on Thames Street, London.

3. For GW’s complaint at receiving two dozen whipsaws instead of the two he had ordered, see GW to Cary, 1 Aug. 1761.

4. A quernstone is one of the two stones forming a quern, a simple device for grinding grain.

5. James Ayres may be the Ayres listed in 1763 as collar maker and currier, at Stratford near Bow.

6. Pipes were the part of a horse harness, probably leather tubes, through which the traces passed to prevent chafing.

7. Billet leather is a short strap that attaches to the skirt slots on the off side of a saddle.

8. Breeching is the part of a harness that passes around the breech of a draft animal.

9. John Stabler, linen draper, had a shop on Watling Street.

10. Ticklenburgs was a coarse linen.

11. Russian diaper was a linen fabric with a double diamond pattern.

12. Mauris was a French term for percale imported from India.

13. Book muslin was either a plain muslin stiffened to imitate French lawn or a soft muslin used for tambour embroidery.

14. Mauduit, Wright, & Co. were warehousemen on Lime Street.

15. Richard Lomax Clay, oilman, was on Fishstreet Hill.

16. Shoemakers used a composition called blacking ball, or heelball.

17. A clothes flasket was a shallow washing tub or a long shallow basket.

18. Martha Ayscough (née Watkins; d. 1767) married James Ayscough, a London optician and maker of scientific instruments in 1747. After her husband’s death in 1759, she carried on his business until her own death.

19. The widow of Anthony Stoughton kept an apothecary shop. “Stoughton’s Elixir Magnum Stomachii, or the Great Cordial Elixir, otherwise called the Stomatick Tincture or Bitter Drops” was invented by her husband’s father (Griffenhagen, “Old English Patent Medicines,” description begins George B. Griffenhagen and James Harvey Young, “Old English Patent Medicines in America.” United States National Museum Bulletin 218: Contributions from the Museum of History and Technology (1959): 156–83. description ends 162).

20. John Spicer, shotman, had a shop on Tooley Street, Southwark.

21. These were bird shot.

22. Samuel Rickards was a hosier and hatter on Fenchurch Street.

23. William James, mercer, had a shop “at the blue Anchor in Cheapside, opposite Gutter Lane” (James’s receipt, 22 Mar. 1762, ViHi: Custis Papers).

24. Shag is a fabric with a long coarse nap, generally made of wool.

25. Lardner & Baratty (Barraty) were haberdashers and tobacconists at 36 Borough in Southwark.

26. Nun’s thread is a fine linen thread used in making lace.

27. Taffy was a moiré taffeta.

28. Cypress gauze was a fine, plain-weave silk fabric dyed black which was used for mourning.

29. Tick is a general term for strong fabric used in bedcovering. Garlits is a linen cloth originally made in Görlitz, Silesia.

30. Martha Washington had a saque, or sack, of hers redyed. See GW to Robert Cary & Co., 28 Sept. 1760.

31. Thomas Nalder was a glover in Cheapside.

32. Demy is a certain size writing paper.

33. Thomas Weston was a tobacconist on Coleman Street.

34. Davidson & Dennis were saddlers on Chiswell Street.

35. A weymouth is a pattern of bit used with a double bridle.

36. William Weale was a brazier on Wood Street.

37. Newnham, Shepley (Shipley), & Co., grocers, were on Watling Street near St. Paul’s.

38. Philip Bell was a cabinetmaker and upholsterer. GW complained about the cost of Bell’s case and bottles. See GW to Robert Cary & Co., 1–6 Aug. 1761.

39. A syrup of orange peel was used as a vehicle for medicines and for sweetening drinks, such as juleps.

40. Conserve of roses was used for stomach ailments and for coughs.

41. Castor oil from the bean is used in medicines and perfumes.

42. Hop clover is yellow clover.

43. Tull & Bradshaw, netmakers, were on Fishstreet Hill.

44. Genoa velvet was either a fine silk velvet brocade or a cotton velvet made on a one-up, two-down twill.

45. Samuel Freeman, lead merchant and shotmaker, was at 48 Mark Lane.

46. This may have been the firm of Rust & Dowson, whalebone cutters, at 54 Aldermanbury.

47. Everlasting was a closely woven worsted used in making women’s shoes.

48. Clear or white glass with painted enamel figures was popular.

49. GW ordered from Cary on 28 Sept. 1760 new pieces for his broken glass pyramid.