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Lot 216
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Martha Washington's personally owned ornate long piece of black lace
Martha Washington's personally owned ornate long piece of black lace
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Description:

Washington Martha

A lovely delicate piece of black lace, approximately 16” x 3.5”, belonging to Martha Washington. Part of lot 2134 of the February 5, 2010 James D. Julia Auction of items from the Tobias Lear family. Lear’s second and third wives were nieces of Martha Washington. At the same auction, General Washington’s map of the Battle of Yorktown sold for a world record $1.15 million, the most ever paid for a map at auction.

 

From the Julian D. Julia catalogue description of lot 2134: “Small group of lace and material identified as Martha Washington’s lace.” Included are color copies of the decorative cover of the 6” x 9” by ½” box in which the lace was kept and a 6” x 8.5” cardboard upon which was recently penned “Martha / Washington’s / Lace.” The box is not included with the lace.

 

Colonel Tobias Lear (1762-1816) was George Washington’s trusted friend and personal secretary from 1784 until Washington’s death in 1799. Lear was at Mount Vernon when Washington died. This was Lear’s diary entry: “About ten o’clk, Saturday December 14, 1799, Washington made several attempts to speak to me before he could effect it, at length he said,--‘I am just going. Have me decently buried; and do not let my body be put into the Vault in less than two days after I am dead.’ I bowed assent. He then looked at me again and said, ‘Do you understand me?’ I replied ‘Yes.’ ‘Tis well’ said he.”

 

Frances “Fanny” Bassett was the daughter of Burwell and Anna Maria Dandridge Bassett, Martha Washington’s sister. She was living at Mount Vernon when she became engaged to George Augustine Washington, General George Washington’s nephew, who was also living at Mount Vernon. After they were married in 1785, General Washington made his nephew the manager of Mount Vernon and gave him a portion of his plantation upon which he could establish a farm for himself and his wife. When he died in 1793, his widow retained control of the farm, called Walnut Tree Farm. In 1795, Fanny Bassett Washington married Tobias Lear and control of the farm passed to Lear. When Fanny died in 1796, George Washington invited Lear to rejoin the Washington household with his young son from his first marriage and Fanny and George Augustine Washington’s three young children. In 1803, Tobias Lear married Frances “Fanny” Dandridge Henley, his late wife’s cousin, and another of Martha Washington’s nieces. Tobias Lear committed suicide in 1816. His widow died in 1856.

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Shipping

Applicable shipping and handling charges will be added to the invoice. ***PLEASE NOTE: IF YOU WOULD LIKE YOUR SHIPMENT TO BE SENT TO AN ADDRESS OTHER THAN THE ONE YOU HAVE ON FILE WITH INVALUABLE, YOU WILL NEED TO INFORM US OF THIS AS SOON AS PAYMENT IS SUBMITTED FOR YOUR WINNINGS*** Shipping and handling costs are competitive as we maintain discounted contracts with FedEx. If you have any questions, contact University Archives prior to bidding. After payment has been made in full, University Archives will ship your purchase within 5 business days following receipt of full payment for item. We currently ship via FedEx but if your purchase is shipping to a P.O. Box, we ship via USPS. All items are insured. We ship from our offices in Westport, CT. We may opt to use a third party shipper for very fragile, bulky or oversized items. Items requiring third party shipping will be denoted in the item description. Packages shipped internationally will have full value declared on shipping form. International buyers will be responsible for any customs fees incurred.

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Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $99 $10
$100 $299 $20
$300 $499 $25
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $2,999 $200
$3,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 + $5,000