Maine Antique Digest, December 2016

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10-B Maine Antique Digest, December 2016
- AUCTION -
10-B
Lincoln related and historically important, interest
was high. Take for example, Mary Todd Lincoln’s
mourning dress ensemble that realized $100,000.
Four components made up this lot—her mourning
dress, which was 57" long and made of black silk,
a silk corset, a 38" cotton petticoat, and a 30"
cotton petticoat with lace trim at the bottom.
It is interesting to consider that Mary Todd
Lincoln had to wear this ensemble most of her
adult life. Three of her sons and her husband
preceded her in death. And during her lifetime, the
socially acceptable mourning period was lengthy.
Heritage noted that this ensemble and other
items of Mary Todd Lincoln’s selling this day
were from the Fowler family of Chicago. The first
lady was a friend and neighbor of Mrs. Fowler.
Locks of hair and bits of bloody clothing
associated with Lincoln’s assassination were also
up for sale. A lock of assassin John Wilkes Booth’s
hair sold for $31,250. It was accompanied by a
typed letter stating the lock to be genuine and signed
by “Katherine W. Byrne.” Byrne is the great-great-
granddaughter of Dr. John M. Peddicord, who cut
the lock of hair off Booth’s head.
Described by Heritage as being “perhaps the
most evocative mourning relics we have ever
offered,” two silver Victorian jewelry pieces,
one a large locket, the other a brooch, sold
for $31,250. Each piece features an image of
Lincoln’s birthplace log cabin made with strands
of Lincoln’s hair.
Heritage points out, “Inside the cover of
the locket under glass (now cracked) is neatly
lettered: ‘Sketch of ABRAHAM LINCOLN’S
BIRTHPLACE, HARDING, KY. Feb. 12, 1809.
Made from a lock of Lincoln’s hair secured by Dr.
Sabin Taft on the night of the assassination. April
14, 1865. Washington.’ On the back of the brooch
is engraved in script ‘Lincoln / Apl. 14 / 1865.’”
Probably the most interesting lot of assassina-
tion-related material would be the piece of blood-
stained collar from the coat worn by Lincoln the
night of his death. The approximately 33 /8 " x 2¼"
fabric scrap sold for $18,750 with an original
signed note from Benjamin French, Jr. stating,
“...piece of the coat stained with the blood of the
President. Overcoat which he wore when he was
assassinated Apl 14th, 1865. Rec’d from a Police
Officer on duty at the Presdt. Mansion.”
Manymore interesting items ofLincolnmemora-
bilia also sold this day, fromportrait flags and sculp-
ture toWhiteHouse china, stoneware, and castings.
When the day was done close to $2.5 million
was spent. Equally impressive was the fact that
more than 700 registered bidders actually placed
bids. The auction was also a celebration of sorts, as
it was a joint event held in collaboration with The
Rail Splitter: A Journal for the Lincoln Collector,
in recognition of the publisher’s 20th anniversary.
“We were extremely pleased with this auction,”
Slater stated. “The final sale total exceeded our
expectations by more than twenty percent, which
was wonderful.”
For more information, call (214) 528-3500 or
check the website ).
Then there was the flag that had never sold before in the United States,
according to Heritage. Up for grabs was this Belle Boyd First National
Confederate States of America flag presented by the “Siren of the
Shenandoah” on June 10, 1862, at Front Royal, Virginia. Having 11 stars
on the reverse canton and one star on the obverse canton, this large, more
than 3' x 5' flag realized $62,500. Heritage notes, “This pristine flag bears
unparalleled provenance to one of the most remarkable figures of the Civil
War. Before emerging from a Swiss castle in 2015, this flag descended
among the family of Frederick Sears Grand d’Hauteville since 1862.
D’Hauteville, then a captain on the staff of General Nathaniel Banks, was
given this flag by the legendary Rebel spy Belle Boyd, the Siren of the
Shenandoah, in Front Royal, Virginia, on June 10, 1862.”
Campaign flags are always
desirable not only for their
historical value but also
because their ephemeral
nature makes them scarce.
Collectors of this genre
always celebrate when such
a flag has survived. This
1860 Abraham Lincoln
beardless portrait campaign
flag features the wording
“Lincoln and Hamlin.”
This cotton flag measures
9" x 15¼" and has 13 stars
displayed in a circle in
the canton, and it sold for
$75,000.
The unconventional canton placement and star configuration of
this 1860 Lincoln and Hamlin campaign flag were a major draw,
as were the large curved letters of the Republican candidates’
names. At 10¾" x 16", this campaign artifact brought $35,000.
Any well-documented material associated
with Abraham Lincoln’s assassination brings
strong final bids. Selling with a letter stating
how it was acquired, this lock of John Wilkes
Booth’s hair cut from the top of his head on
April 27, 1865, went for $31,250.
Mourning jewelry is a collecting category in
its own right. When the piece is crafted from
a lock of hair, it draws interest.
When the hair belongs toAbraham
Lincoln, big money exchanges
hands. The locket-type pendant and brooch
decorated with log cabins formed from
strands of Lincoln’s hair sold together for
$31,250. The background of each is made
of mother-of-pearl decorated with hand-
painted grass and trees.
This Stephen A. Douglas 1858 silk presentation
banner is a historic relic from the Lincoln-
Douglas debates. Many pieces that Heritage
Auctions handles are tagged “historical,” so
much so the term can lose its meaning. However,
this banner is truly historic. Heritage’s catalog
listing explains, “The Lincoln-Douglas Debates
that took place in the fall of 1858 pitted
incumbent Senator Stephen A. Douglas against
his longtime rival, Springfield lawyer Abraham
Lincoln. The momentous issue of slavery and
its extension into the territories dominated the
seven meetings. Transcripts of the arguments
and partisan reporting gave readers across
the country a window into the intense political
rivalry of two titans, a rivalry that would lead,
two years later, to the election of Abraham
Lincoln and the ensuing civil war.” It sold for
$25,000.
Large in size at almost 21" high x 25¾" wide x 14¾" deep,
this Abraham Lincoln sculpture titled Seated Lincoln ,
cast in .999 fine silver, the work of Mount
Rushmore sculptor Gutzon Borglum (1867-
1941), made $23,750. It is number 22 out of an
edition of 56 done by the Borglum Historical
Foundation in 1990 and produced
by the Silversmiths Group USA in
conjunction with the Liberty Mint.
It was cast from Borglum’s original
plaster maquette. Borglum’s first
life-size sculpture cast in bronze was
done in 1911 and still can be viewed
where it resides, outside the Essex
County Courthouse in
Newark, New Jersey.
This single 9" dinner plate of the
White House china used during
Abraham Lincoln’s presidency sold
for $16,250. Done in the Solferino
(or Royal Purple) pattern, the
dinnerware was ordered by Mrs.
Lincoln from E.V. Haughwout &
Company of New York during a
buying trip she took in May of 1861.