Group Lot of Items Belonging to William and Elizabeth Dole....

Description

Group Lot of Items Belonging to William and Elizabeth Dole. A collection of ephemera assembled by Elizabeth Dole, wife of Lincoln's Commissioner of Indian Affairs William Palmer Dole. The group comprises items spanning the Civil War to Rutherford B. Hayes' inauguration, as well as calling cards for James and Lucretia Garfield. Includes:

Confederate States of America War Bond for $500. One printed page (unengrossed), 8 3/4 x 6 3/4 inches, Richmond; [circa 1864]. Pledges $500 "payable two years after the ratification of a treaty of peace with the United States...with Interest at the rate of Six per cent per annum."

George Bancroft Eulogy Ticket. 4 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches on white cardstock, reading: "Mr. Bancroft's Eulogy. February 12, 1866. Admit the Bearer to the Gallery of the House." Bancroft, a historian and former member of President Polk's Cabinet, was chosen by Congress to deliver a eulogy for Lincoln on his birthday the year following his assassination.

Andrew Johnson Impeachment Ticket. 4 3/4 x 3 inches on yellow cardstock complete with attached stub, reading: "U. S. Senate / Impeachment of the President / Admit the Bearer April 30th 1868, Gallery. Geo. T. Brown / Sergeant-at-Arms." A period annotation near the center reads "Andrew Johnson." These tickets were issued to members of the public to watch President Johnson's impeachment trial, the first in U. S. history.

[Rutherford B. Hayes]. Ticket to the House of Representatives Gallery for Counting the Vote for President. 4 3/4 x 3 inches on blue cardstock, reading: "Counting the Vote for President and Vice-President. Admit Bearer to Gallery of House of Representatives. February 8, 1877." The 1876 election between Rutherford B. Hayes and Samuel J. Tilden was too close to call after the initial count of votes. With no clear winner, Congress created a special Electoral Commission of legislators and Supreme Court justices to decide the election's outcome.

Rutherford B. Hayes Inauguration Ticket. 4 3/4 x 3 inches on white cardstock, reading: "Inauguration of Governor R. B. Hayes. Admit Bearer to any section of Senate Gallery Not Reserved." Printed on the verso: "This Card will secure admittance to the Capitol through the bronze doors of the Senate wing and the north door of the Senate wing, which doors will be opened at eleven o'clock precisely." After the hotly contested election of 1876, Hayes was inaugurated on March 3, 1877, becoming the nation's nineteenth President.

Calling Cards (4) for James A. Garfield and John A. Logan. Various sizes on cardstock. Includes calling cards for "J. A. Garfield / Ohio," "Mrs. J. A. Garfield," "John A. Logan / Ill.," and "Mrs. John A. Logan." A period annotation at the lower left of Mrs. Garfield's card reads: "452 13th St." Although the cards are undated, they were likely given to Elizabeth while Garfield was serving as a member of the House of Representatives for Ohio (1863-1880).

Condition: Light, scattered soiling and minor edgewear throughout. Each item with remnants from previous mounting adhered to verso.

Provenance: Elizabeth Dole and by descent, to our consignor.

More Information: Elizabeth "Lizzie" Dole was the wife of William Palmer Dole, Lincoln's Commissioner of Indian Affairs. Born in Bedford, New Hampshire, Lizzie married William Dole in 1861 after the death of her first husband, Frank Allis. When William was appointed Commissioner of Indian Affairs on March 12, 1861, the newly married couple moved to the nation's capital. With her husband now a member of the Lincoln administration, Lizzie found herself at the very center of Washington's political and social elite; a marked change from the small-town world she had left behind.

According to The History of Edgar County, Illinois (1879), William "was on the most intimate relations with the President so long as Mr. [Abraham] Lincoln lived." However, we can only speculate as to exactly when the two men were first acquainted. Born in 1811, he was two years younger than Lincoln, and in his youth traveled along the Mississippi River by flatboat selling produce. Lincoln similarly worked as a flatboat laborer during the same years. Dole moved to Paris, Illinois in 1854, and Lincoln spent time in Edgar County while riding the Eighth Judicial Circuit from 1847 to 1859. What is in the historical record is that Dole was an early member of the Republican Party, served as a delegate to the 1860 Republican National Convention, and was an ardent supporter of Lincoln's nomination for President.

Lots 47146 to 47164 were assembled by Lizzie during her years in Washington. They speak to the access she had as a member of Lincoln's inner social circle and capture significant moments of both triumph and anguish. In addition to the two printed passes to the East and North rooms for Lincoln's funeral, note the quickly handwritten pass jotted by Mary Todd Lincoln's cousin, John Blair Smith Todd allowing entrance to the White House a day earlier on April 18, 1865. None but the most intimate of friends would have been welcomed by Mary on such a grievous occasion. An autograph album she began in the 1860s includes signatures as late as an 1898 signing by William McKinley; and so diverse as to include two signatures by "Kit" Carson, six associate Supreme Court Justices, and King Kamehameha V of Hawaii. The countless letters and calling cards collected are the story of a rich life that crossed paths with one of America's most cherished presidents.

The items have been passed down through multiple generations and are now offered here for the first time.