William P. Dole's Lincoln & Johnson Jugate Inauguration Ball Invitation....

Description

William P. Dole's Lincoln & Johnson Jugate Inauguration Ball Invitation. One page on wove cardstock, 7 1/2 x 9 1/2 inches, Washington, D.C.; March 4, 1865. An engraved invitation for Lincoln and Johnson's National Inauguration Ball in 1865, featuring jugate engravings of the President and Vice President alongside patriotic imagery symbolizing the defeat of the rebellion and the restoration of the Union; the most desirable design of all inauguration ball invites. The name of the invitee is not filled in, as is typical, since the printer made a mistake on the date, which was postponed until March 6th due to inclement weather.

The invitation was originally mounted on a page in a scrapbook kept by Dole's wife, Lizzie. An image of the full page is available for reference and context. A printing of all the pages of the scrapbook will be included with the lot.

Condition: Somewhat toned. Trimmed at top and bottom edges, just touching engraving at bottom. Right corners beveled. Remnants from previous mounting on the 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.