Martha Washington Silk Wedding Dress Fragment.

[WASHINGTON, Martha; George Washington].

$50,000.00

Item Number: 134228

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 of Alexander Hamilton, which was published by Scribner & Sons. In very good condition. Housed in an antique leather carrying case. An exceptional association with wonderful provenance.

On May 15, 1750, at age 18, Martha Dandridge Custis married Daniel Parke Custis, a rich planter two decades her senior, and moved to his residence, White House Plantation in New Kent County, Virginia. The couple had four children together and Daniel Parke Custis's death in 1757 left Martha a rich young widow at age 26, with independent control over a dower inheritance for her lifetime, and trustee control over the inheritance of her minor children. In all, she was left in custody of some 17,500 acres of land and 300 slaves, apart from other investments and cash. Martha Custis, age 27, and George Washington, age 26, married on January 6, 1759, at the White House plantation after only three months of courtship. The wedding was grand. George's suit was of blue and silver cloth with red trimming and gold knee buckles. The bride wore purple silk shoes with spangled buckles, which are displayed at Mount Vernon. The couple honeymooned at the Custis family's White House plantation for several weeks before setting up house at George's Mount Vernon estate.