Description:

Washington Martha 1731 - 1802

Near perfect Martha Washington dress fragment with phenomenal provenance.

A lovely large piece of Martha Washington's dress with a contemporary attribution, 2.5" x 2", adhered to a backing to a size of 7.5" x 3.75".

A scarce surviving example of Martha Washington's dress.

This phenomenal piece was found within an 1830s album kept by the wife of an officer in the Black Hawk War, containing numerous superb signatures including David Crockett, Sam Houston and dozens of others within the 80 leaves of the scrap book. The scrap book additionally contained prints and ephemera. The owner was identified on the first leaf, in ornate calligraphy, "THE SCRAP BOOK, Elvira F. Smith ... JEFFERSON BARRACKS: February 12, 1830". The album was kept by Elvira Loraine Foster Smith (1804-1878), the wife of infantry officer Henry Smith (1798-1847), who was stationed at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri from 1830-1832. The album was mostly disassembled, however all the phenomenal signatures and prints remain intact and in highly collectible condition.

How Mrs. Smith obtained Washington's dress fragment is unknown. However we know many of the other pieces from the scrap book were signatures that appeared to be cut from letters probably addressed to her husband, and the album contained other period artifacts. Her husband was an 1815 graduate of West Point who served in a variety of posts, including working as a Quartermaster at Sackett's Harbor and Plattsburg, New York from 1819-1822 and in the same capacity at Green Bay, Wisconsin (1822), Fort Brady, Michigan (1822-1823), and Fort Smith, Arkansas (1823). From 1823 to 1826 he served as an aide-de-camp to General Winfield Scott.

This lovely piece is in excellent condition, and no doubt has its own silent story to tell.

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Bid Increments
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$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