Lock of Washington's hair and other presidential history aficionados at auction

1/11/2024 6:02

        As the world turns its
        attention to the U.S. election on Nov. 5, presidential history
        aficionados may be particularly interested in an auction later
        in the month that has objects on sale ranging from a lock of
        George Washington's hair to a flag that accompanied Abraham
        Lincoln to his final resting place.
        
        "We're conducting an auction of a number of the most
        historic objects relating to American history that has ever come
        up for sale," said Arlan Ettinger, president of New York-based
        Guernsey's auction house.
        
        One of the most intriguing items is the strands of hair of
        Washington, the very first U.S. president, who died in 1799. The
        graying hair has been preserved in a locket that was given to a
        family friend and passed down the generations.
        
        There is also a U.S. flag that was draped on Lincoln's
        coffin as it traveled in 1865 from Washington to Springfield,
        Illinois, where he is buried.
        
        It has a sale estimate range of $800,000 to $1.2 million,
        although putting a value on such a unique item was difficult,
        said Ettinger.
        
        A rare 49-star flag dating from the period in 1959 after
        Alaska joined the union but before Hawaii was added will also be
        among the items auctioned. That flag was in the White House
        during the presidency of Dwight Eisenhower.
        
        The auction also will include presidential portraits from
        the Bachrach photography studio, many never before seen in
        public, and a portrait of Lincoln made by Francis Bicknell
        Carpenter as a study for his painting, "First Reading of the
        Emancipation Proclamation by President Lincoln," which hangs
        today in the U.S. Capitol building.
        
        The Nov. 22 sale will be conducted online and live at the
        Arader Galleries in New York City.
        
        "We don't know what's going to happen at the election, but
        one way or another, there's great focus on the Office of
        Presidency right now and American history," Ettinger said.