A lock of hair belonging to President George Washington, along with a variety of rare presidential memorabilia, will be auctioned later this month in New York City as the nation anticipates the announcement of its next president.
The lock of Washington’s hair, encased in a locket, was originally a gift to a family friend of the first president. After being passed down through generations, it will be auctioned by Guernsey’s auction house, starting at a bid of $15,000.
“We’re conducting an auction featuring some of the most historic objects related to American history that have ever come up for sale,” said Arlan Ettinger, president of Guernsey’s.
Other notable items in the auction include the American flag that covered Abraham Lincoln’s coffin after his assassination, a 49-star flag from 1959, portraits of presidents that have never been seen before, and a painting of Lincoln reading the Emancipation Proclamation, which currently hangs in the U.S. Capitol.
“We don’t know what’s going to happen at the election, but there’s a heightened focus on the Office of the Presidency and American history right now,” Ettinger added.
The flag from Lincoln’s funeral is expected to fetch between $800,000 and $1.2 million. Ettinger noted the challenge of assigning a value to such a unique item.
In April 2021, a different locket containing a lock of Washington’s hair was sold for nearly $40,000 at Leland’s auction. Over 100 institutions across the U.S. hold clippings of Washington’s hair, with nearly 50 samples at his home in Mount Vernon, according to the Philly Voice.
The locket being auctioned is being de-accessed from a museum in Pennsylvania. It features a different case than the one sold previously, complete with a royal blue ribbon and backing.
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