Presidents and World Leaders
Rare Books by Presidents & World Leaders for Sale Online
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THE MOST IMPORTANT GEORGE WASHINGTON DOCUMENT IN PRIVATE HANDS; GEORGE WASHINGTON'S COMMISSION AS COMMANDER IN CHIEF, 1775, ONE OF ONLY TWO ORIGINALS
THOMSON, Charles. [George Washington].
George Washington’s Commission as General and Commander in Chief of the Army of the United Colonies.
Philadelphia: June 19, 1775.
One of only two originals of George Washington's Commission as General and Commander in Chief of the Army of the United Colonies; the Ahlstrom discovery, the only duplicate of Washington's own document now in the Library of Congress. One-page, oblong folio on sheepskin vellum, autograph document signed, entirely in the hand of Charles Thomson Secretary of the Continental Congress (including the signature of John Hancock which Thomson copied from the original document), appointing George Washington as General and Commander in Chief of the army of the United Colonies, Philadelphia, 19 June 1775. The document reads in full, "In Congress The…
Price: $975,000.00 Item Number: 145372
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"This is what I gave voluntarily at the risk of my life to keep my promise to the Government": Exceptionally rare document containing the fingerprints of Mohandas K. Gandhi; signed and inscribed by him
GANDHI, Mohandas K.
Mohandas K. Gandhi Signed Document.
1909.
Early 20th century South African government document containing the fingerprints of Mohandas K. Gandhi, signed and inscribed by him, "This is what I gave voluntarily at the risk of my life to keep my promise to the Government. Phoenix, Natal, 15th February 1909, M.K. Gandhi." In April 1893, Gandhi aged 23, set sail for South Africa to practice law in the colony of Natal, which, like India was part of the British Empire. The racial discrimination he experienced in his first year of residence inspired him to found the Natal Indian Congress which opposed several proposed discriminatory legislations and molded the Indian…
Price: $650,000.00 Item Number: 132138
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“THE MOST IMPORTANT SERIES OF AMERICAN POLITICAL DEBATES”: Exceedingly rare first edition, first issue of The Lincoln-Douglas Debates; inscribed by Abraham Lincoln to long-time political supporter and friend Martin S. Morris and accompanied by the table from the Morris household that Lincoln signed the book on
LINCOLN, Abraham .
Political Debates Between Hon. Abraham Lincoln and Hon. Stephen Douglas, In the Celebrated Campaign of 1858, in Illinois.
Columbus: Follett, Foster and Company, 1860.
First edition, first issue of the most famous debates in American history which cemented Lincoln as a national presidential candidate; inscribed by Lincoln in pencil to close friend Martin S. Morris and accompanied by the table from the Morris household that Lincoln signed the book on. Octavo, original cloth stamped in blind. First issue, with no advertisements, no rule above the publisher’s imprint on the copyright page, and with numeral 2 at the bottom of page 17. Association copy, inscribed by Abraham Lincoln in pencil on the front free endpaper, "M. S. Morris Esq A. Lincoln." The recipient, Martin S.…
Price: $550,000.00 Item Number: 138634
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"Second only to Gilbert Stuart's Athenaeum portrait": Rembrandt Peale's "George Washington, Patriae Pater"
PEALE, Rembrandt. [George Washington].
“George Washington, Patriae Pater” Rembrandt Peale Original Oil Painting.
Rembrandt Peale's famed painted portrait of George Washington, "George Washington, Patriae Pater", considered by many second only to Gilbert Stuart's iconic Athenaeum portrait of the first president and variations of which hang in the Oval Office and Old Senate Chamber. Oil on canvas. In 1795, 17-year-old Rembrandt Peale was invited by his father, famed American painter Charles Willson Peale, to accompany him to a portrait sitting with President George Washington. Although young Rembrandt was not entirely satisfied with the resulting portrait of the aging Washington, it was well-received and made his debut as a portraitist. In 1822, after a trip…
Price: $350,000.00 Item Number: 135084
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FROM THE LIBRARY OF GEORGE WASHINGTON AT MOUNT VERNON: First edition, presentation copy of Elkanah Watson's Tour in Holland; inscribed by him to George Washington
[WATSON, Elkanah] [George Washington].
Tour in Holland in MDCCLXXXIV. By an American.
Printed at Worcester, Massachusetts: Isaiah Thomas, 1790.
First edition, presentation copy of a scarce volume from George Washington's library at Mount Vernon. Octavo, bound in full contemporary sheep with pine gilt in six compartments within raised bands, burgundy morocco spine label lettered in gilt, type-ornament title-page vignette, head and tailpieces. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author to George Washington on the front pastedown, "From the Author to General Washington" and further inscribed on the front free endpaper, "New York, Feb. 1798. Sir, Please to accept this small production which has stole its way into the world. If it can beguile one moment of that anxiety which doubtless pervades your…
Price: $275,000.00 Item Number: 143919
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NAPOLEON'S PERSONAL COPY OF VOLNEY'S VOYAGE, FROM HIS LIBRARY IN EXILE AT ST. HELENA, WITH HIS AUTOGRAPH ANNOTATIONS THROUGHOUT and likely the copy which accompanied him during his Egyptian Campaigns
VOLNEY, Constantin Francois. [Napoleon Bonaparte: His Copy].
Voyage en Syrie et en Egypte, Pendant Les Annees 1783, 84, et 85. [Travel to Syria and Egypt, During the Years 1783, 84, and 85].
A Paris: Chez Dugour et Durand, Libraires, Rue et Hotel Serpente, 1799.
Volney's important work on Egypt and Syria, from the library in exile of Napoleon Bonaparte with his annotations and corrections throughout, several made as he was dictating details from the Egyptian Campaign for his own Memoirs. This copy may also have accompanied him during his Egyptian Campaigns; it is known that Napoleon brought along a copy of Volney's book to Egypt, and it served as the standard reference source for the members of the campaign. Octavo, two volumes bound in full contemporary French sprinkled calf with gilt tooling to the spine, morocco spine labels lettered in gilt, gilt scrolling to…
Price: $250,000.00 Item Number: 146536
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perhaps the only leaf from Washington's diary in private hands: exceptional George Washington autograph diary leaf dated March 1762; the first spring Washington was full owner of Mount Vernon
WASHINGTON, George.
George Washington Autograph Diary Leaf.
[Mount Vernon]: March 1762.
Autograph manuscript, being George Washington's diary entries for a portion of March 1762, detailing the fruit grafts that he has accomplished. 2 pages (5 14/16 x 3 10/16 inches, irregular) on a leaf of laid paper, [Mount Vernon], March 1762; browned, left margin of recto waterstained and abraded causing a loss of text in most lines, small abrasion at center of recto obscuring three words. Accompanied by an autograph note signed by James Kirke Paulding: "Memorandum in the hand of Washington taken from an old almanac for 1762, in the possession of JK Paulding." A rare Washington relic: perhaps the…
Price: $250,000.00 Item Number: 142654
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REVOLUTIONARY WAR-DATE LETTER FROM WASHINGTON TO ROCHAMBEAU ON A PROPOSED EXPEDITION TO PENOBSCOT
WASHINGTON, George.
George Washington Letter Signed.
April 10, 1781.
Highly important letter signed (“Go: Washington”), as Commander-in-Chief, 2 pages folio, “Head Quarters New Windsor April 10 [17]81”, to his French ally Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau, the body of the letter in the hand of his trusted aide-de-camp, Alexander Hamilton; horizontal fold separation repaired, minor tears and chips along margins. In the spring of 1781, officials from Massachusetts approached Rochambeau with a proposal to attack the British post at the mouth of the Penobscot river— established in June 1779 to secure timber for shipyards in Halifax and to protect Nova Scotia from any American advance. On 6…
Price: $175,000.00 Item Number: 125872
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“I’ve just had the happiest day of my life”: The Companion of Honour Medal: Awarded to Friedrich von Hayek by Queen Elizabeth II
HAYEK, Friedrich von [F.A.]. [Queen Elizabeth II].
The Companion of Honour Medal: Awarded to Friedrich von Hayek by Queen Elizabeth II.
1984.
Exquisite Companion of Honour Medal, awarded by Queen Elizabeth II to Friedrich von Hayek on June 16th 1984 at Buckingham Palace. Measuring 2.5 inches by 1.75 inches, the medallion is surmounted by the royal crown decorated in red and green enamel and features a mounted knight and oak tree with the shield of the Royal Arms of the United Kingdom within a blue oval frame bearing the gilt motto, "In Action Faithful and In Honor Clear." On the verso is Queen Elizabeth's royal insignia. Presented on a red ribbon with gold thread borders and housed in a custom velvet blue…
Price: $150,000.00 Item Number: 117452
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"Sail on O Ship of State! Sail on, o union, strong and great!" One of the two broadsides specially printed and carried by Churchill to the Atlantic Conference signed by both him and Franklin Delano Roosevelt
ROOSEVELT, Franklin Delano; Winston S. Churchill. [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow].
Sail On, O Ship of State! The Longfellow Verse in Mr. Roosevelt’s Message to Mr. Churchill.
Raphael Tuck & Sons, Ltd., [1941].
Rare lithographic broadside signed by Franklin Delano Roosevelt as the thirty-second President of the United States and Winston S. Churchill as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom at the Atlantic Conference; one of only two known examples of this broadside specially printed at Churchill's direction and signed by both world leaders at their first wartime conference. One page, the lithograph features the famed Henry Wadsworth Longfellow verse first used by FDR in a letter of support to Churchill before the United States entered the war and a galleon at sea. The letter, sent the day before Roosevelt's third inauguration on…
Price: $150,000.00 Item Number: 125419
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"To J. Edgar Hoover- a public servant of the highest courage- with the admiration of the author": First Edition of John F. Kennedy's Profiles In Courage; Inscribed by Him to J. Edgar Hoover
KENNEDY, John F.
Profiles In Courage.
New York: Harper & Brothers, Publishers, 1956.
First edition of Kennedy's Pulitzer Prize-winning work. Octavo, original half cloth, with eight pages of black-and-white photogravures. Association copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, "To J. Edgar Hoover- a public servant of the highest courage- with the admiration of the author- John Kennedy." The recipient, J. Edgar Hoover served as the first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the United States for nearly 48 years, being first appointed director of the Bureau of Investigation – the FBI's predecessor – in 1924 and was instrumental in founding the FBI in 1935, where he remained director…
Price: $125,000.00 Item Number: 134320
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Exceptionally Rare 200-page autograph manuscript entirely in the hand of Israeli military commander Moshe Dayan documenting his years as a journalist in Vietnam
DAYAN, Moshe.
Moshe Dayan ‘Vietnam Diary’ Original Autograph Manuscript.
1966.
Rare autograph manuscript consisting of roughly 200 pages entirely in the hand of Israeli military commander Moshe Dayan, published one year later as part of Dayan's "Yoman Vietnam" or "Vietnam Diary." Folio, approximately 200 pages handwritten by Dayan on a variety of paper mounts with numerous edits, margin notes, and cross-outs which suggest an intensely involved and meticulous writing process, an original map showing military movements on page 220, and a drawing or other schematic on page 367. With English language terms throughout which provide especially revealing snapshots of what Dayan was observing during his Vietnam War experience including: "Lt.…
Price: $125,000.00 Item Number: 134059
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"The longest letter signed and entirely in the hand of John Adams obtainable": Exceptionally rare 16-page autograph letter signed by Founding Father John Adams defending the ultimate necessity of American sovereignty
ADAMS, John.
John Adams Autograph Letter Signed.
1809.
Exceptionally rare 16-page autograph letter signed by and entirely in the hand of Founding Father John Adams defending the ultimate necessity of American sovereignty and its precedence over international alliances. Sixteen pages, entirely in the hand of John Adams and written on both the recto and verso of each page, the letter is dated January 9, 1809 and addressed to Speaker of the House of Representatives, Joseph Bradley Varnum. Although France and America shared a strong alliance which proved crucial to winning the Revolutionary War, at the onset of the French Revolution in 1789, Washington's fear that American involvement would…
Price: $125,000.00 Item Number: 121560
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Exceptionally rare autograph album containing the autographs of 24 American Presidents in addition to numerous autographs of Cabinet Members, vice presidents and several rare carte-de-visites
WASHINGTON, George; John Adams; Thomas Jefferson; James Madison; Andrew Jackson; Martin Van Buren; William Henry Harrison; James Tyler; James H. Polk; James Buchanan; Zachary Taylor; Millard Fillmore; James Buchanan; Franklin Pierce; Abraham Lincoln; William Seward; Andrew Johnson; Ulysses S. Grant; James Garfield; Chester A. Arthur; Grover Cleveland; Benjamin Harrison; Grover Cleveland; William McKinley; Alexander Hamilton.
Autograph Album of the Presidents and Cabinet Officials of the United States of America.
Rare late 19th century folio album containing an extensive collection of Presidential autographs, letters, carte-de-visites, and portraits in addition to those of each Cabinet. Folio, bound in three quarter morocco with five raised bands and gilt titles to the spine. The album contains: a clipped signature of President George Washington with a four-page letter of provenance dated July 13 1948, several portraits of him including two rare carte-de-visites as well as a carte-de-visite of Martha Washington; and autograph letter signed by John Adams as President to Benjamin Lincoln, Quincy, July 23, 1799; a clipped document signed by Thomas Jefferson as…
Price: $82,000.00 Item Number: 129509
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Scarce 1792 printing of An Act to extend the Time limited for settling the Accounts of the United States with the Individual States; signed by Thomas Jefferson
[JEFFERSON, Thomas].
Second Congress of the United States: At the First Session, begun and held at the City of Philadelphia, in the State of Pennsylvania, on Monday the twenty-fourth of October one thousand seven hundred and ninety-one. An Act to extend the Time limited for settling the Accounts of the United States with the Individual States.
Philadelphia: Childs & Swaine, 1792.
Scarce printing of an early United States law providing for the funding of the national debt, signed by Thomas Jefferson as Secretary of State. Folio, one page. The document, which also carries the printed signatures of President George Washington, Vice President John Adams, and House Speaker Jonathan Trumbull, was approved January 23, 1792. Individual acts and bills of the first Congresses were routinely printed for public consumption. A provision was made, however, to print a few copies of each act for dissemination to the states, and to have each copy signed by Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson. One of the…
Price: $82,000.00 Item Number: 125388
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Elaborately bound collection of Presidential autographs; containing the autograph of each of the first 34 Presidents of the United States from George Washington to Dwight D. Eisenhower
WASHINGTON, George; John Adams; Thomas Jefferson; James Madison; James Monroe; John Quincy Adams; Andrew Jackson; Martin Van Buren; William Henry Harrison; John Tyler; James Polk; Zachary Taylor; Millard Fillmore; Franklin Pierce; James Buchanan; Abraham Lincoln; Andrew Johnson; Ulysses S. Grant; Rutherford B. Hayes; James Garfield; Chester A. Arthur; Grover Cleveland; William McKinley; Theodore Roosevelt; William H. Taft; Woodrow Wilson; Warren G. Harding; Calvin Coolidge; Herbert Hoover; Franklin D. Roosevelt; Harry Truman; Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Autographs of the Presidents of the United States of America.
1783-1956.
Elaborately bound collection of Presidential autographs, containing the autograph of each of the first 34 Presidents of the United States from George Washington to Dwight D. Eisenhower. Quarto, bound in full red morocco by Riviere & Son with gilt titles and ruling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, gilt presidential seal to the front panel with white and blue morocco onlays, gilt arms and motto of George Washington to the rear panel with white and blue morocco onlays and his gilt signature in facsimile, centerpieces within quintuple gilt ruling with star emblems at each corner, blue…
Price: $80,000.00 Item Number: 125384
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RARE PORTRAIT OF THE FATHER OF SOVIET RUSSIA: VLADIMIR LENIN; SIGNED BY HIM
LENIN. [ULYANOV, Vladimir Ilyich].
Vladimir Lenin Signed Portrait.
1922.
Rare printed portrait signed by the father of Soviet Russia, Vladimir Lenin. One page, printed with a horizontal crease, inscribed by Lenin in the lower portion of the portrait, "VI Ulyanov (Lenin) 28.IV.1922." In very good condition. Matted and framed. The entire piece measures 17 inches by 31.75 inches.
Price: $75,000.00 Item Number: 132168
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Three exceptionally rare Abraham Lincoln Pieces; An autograph Pardon of December 8, 1863 Signed by him; pristine original carte-de-visite; and exceedingly rare contemporary printing of the Proclamation of Amnesty
LINCOLN, Abraham.
Abraham Lincoln Amnesty Proclamation and Signed Pardon of December 8, 1863.
Washington, D.C.: War Department, Adjutant General's Office, 1864-1869.
Rare autograph Oath of December 8 endorsement signed and entirely in the hand of the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln with an exceedingly rare contemporary printing of Lincoln's Amnesty Proclamation which includes the wording of the oath itself and a rare carte-de-visite of Lincoln [Providence, RI: Salisbury, Bro. & Co., n.d.]. One page, the endorsement is signed and inscribed by Lincoln, “Let these men take the oath of Dec. 8, 1863 & be discharged – A. Lincoln Dec. 30, 1863.” One page, disbound, the contemporary printing of the Amnesty Proclamation consists of 6 pages printed by order…
Price: $75,000.00 Item Number: 132045
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"let those who are really inclinable to buy, come forward, like men that are in earnest, and say what they will give": Rare Autograph Letter Signed by George Washington as the First President of the United States of America
WASHINGTON, George.
George Washington Autograph Letter Signed.
January 24, 1790.
Rare autograph letter signed by George Washington as the first President of the United States. Quarto, one page, the letter reads in full, "New York Jany 24th 1790 Sir Capt. Burnett delivered me your letter of the 18th and is so obliging as to take charge of this answer - It is my sincere opinion that the land mentioned in it is worth what I asked for it--to wit four dollars per acre and once would have sold for it; but if, in the present scarcity of cash it rather fetch that sum, let those who are really inclinable to…
Price: $65,000.00 Item Number: 141583
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"God is Truth": Exceptionally rare Etching Signed by Gandhi and Illustrator Fritz Eichenberg
GANDHI, Mohandas K. [Mahatma].
Mohandas K. Gandhi Signed Engraving Portrait.
Wood engraving of a bust-length portrait of one of the most famous graphic images of Gandhi by illustrator Fritz Eichenberg; signed by Gandhi, "God is Truth MK Gandhi." Below Gandhi's inscription in a pencil inscription by Fritz Eichenberg, "To Eva Aug. 16th, 1948 with love from Fritz" and additionally signed "Fritz Eichenberg." The engraving is a proof impression on Japanese paper. The portrait by Eichenberg was originally created for The Catholic Worker, a newspaper in the cause of social justice, and was subsequently used in multiple other publications. "The word satya (Truth) is derived from Sat which means 'being'. Nothing…
Price: $50,000.00 Item Number: 103540
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"No other Prime Minister would ever for me be able to hold the place of my first prime minister": Exceptionally Rare Document Signed by both Queen Elizabeth II and Winston Churchill
QUEEN ELIZABETH II AND WINSTON S. CHURCHILL,.
Queen Elizabeth II and Winston S. Churchill Signed Document.
1954.
An extremely rare document signed by both Winston S. Churchill and Queen Elizabeth II. Churchill writes to the Queen from Downing Street, December 28th 1954, in full, "Sir Winston Churchill, with his humble duty to The Queen, has the honour to recommend that William Rankine Milligan, Esqure, Q.C., be sworn of Your Majesty’s most honourable Privy Council on his appointment as Lord Advocate." Boldly signed by Churchill, and countersigned by the Queen at the top, "Appd, E.R." Matted and framed with a photograph of the Queen and Churchill. Matted and framed. The entire piece measures 20 inches by 13 inches. Rare signed…
Price: $50,000.00 Item Number: 132450
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"One of the most fascinating regiments in American military history": Rough Rider Sergeant Craig W. Wadsworth's personal collection of Rough Riders books, letters and photographs; with a first edition of The Rough Riders and typed letter signed by President Theodore Roosevelt
ROOSEVELT, Theodore and Craig W. Wadsworth.
Theodore Roosevelt and Craig W. Wadsworth Rough Riders Collection.
New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1899.
Craig Wharton Wadsworth's personal collection of books, letters and photographs from his time as a Sergeant in Roosevelt's Rough Riders cavalry. The collection includes a first edition of Roosevelt's best-selling work, The Rough Riders (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1899) signed by Roosevelt, "Theodore Roosevelt" and Wadsworth, "Craig W. Wadsworth Sergeant-Troop K"; Wadsworth's 14-leaf photograph album bound in full pebbled leather with gilt titles to the front panel which read: "First United States Volunteer Cavalry (Roosevelt Rough Riders) 1898" containing 24 original photographs of the cavalrymen on their expedition to Daiquiri with annotations in Wadsworth's hand and a lengthy introduction…
Price: $50,000.00 Item Number: 123510
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"I have numerous readers among farmers and workers. They make India. Their poverty is India's curse and crime. Their prosperity alone can make India a country fit to live in:" Second Series of Mohandas K. Gandhi's Young India; signed and dated by him
GANDHI, Mohandas K. [Mahatma].
Young India Second Series 1924-1926.
New York: The Viking Press, 1927.
First edition of the second series of the writings of Gandhi. Octavo, original cloth with gilt titles to the spine and front panel. Signed and dated by Gandhi on the front free endpaper, "MK Gandhi 3:4:29." Gandhi founded and published the weekly periodical in English, Young India, from 1919 to 1931 to spread the philosophy and principles of the Satyagraha Movement and urge readers to participate in it. In near fine condition. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box made by the Harcourt Bindery. Exceptionally rare and desirable signed and in this condition.
Price: $50,000.00 Item Number: 95311
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Original swatch from Martha Washington's white silk wedding dress, given by her as a gift to Mrs. Alexander Hamilton and handed down through generations of the Hamilton family
[WASHINGTON, Martha; George Washington].
Martha Washington Silk Wedding Dress Fragment.
1759.
Original swatch from Martha Washington's white silk wedding dress, given by her as a gift to Mrs. Alexander Hamilton, Elizabeth, and handed down through generations of the Hamilton family. The silk swatch measures roughly 2.75 inches by 2 inches, mounted on a stiff paper card inscribed in pencil on the verso, "A bit of Martha Washington's wedding dress Wh. was Mrs. Alex Hamilton's" in the hand of Hamilton's granddaughter-in-law, Mrs. Allan McLane Hamilton, and from her collection. Hamilton’s grandson, Allan McLane Hamilton was a prominent psychiatrist and founded the New York Psychiatric Society. In 1910, he published The Intimate Life…
Price: $50,000.00 Item Number: 134228