Flowers for "Decoration Day" - photo 1
Flowers for "Decoration Day" - photo 2

Flowers for "Decoration Day"

Lot 199
27.01.2023 10:00UTC +00:00
Classic
Sold
$ 5 292
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUnited Kingdom, London
Buyer Premiumsee on Website%
Archive
The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 887977
Lot 199 | Flowers for "Decoration Day"
Estimate value
$ 3 000 – 5 000
LINCOLN, Mary Todd (1818-1882) Autograph letter signed ("Mrs. A. Lincoln") to "Mrs. Col. Eastman," Chicago, 26 May 1872.

Two pages, 172 x 113mm, on her personal mourning stationery (marginal fold separations repaired).

Mary Lincoln sends money to place flowers on graves for fallen soldiers on "Decoration Day" — what would later become known as Memorial Day. Headed "Private," Lincoln's long-bereaved widow declines an invitation to attend ceremonies in Chicago marking the occasion on 30 May 1872, but offered "ten dollars for the purchase of flowers for 'Decoration Day' to strew over the graves of our brave and honored soldiers." She admits that he was "so much of an invalid [state] at present that I cannot participate in this Scared duty…" The roots of the modern observance of Memorial Day lie among a variety of local sources with numerous locals claiming priority as the first observance. In Chicago, Decoration Day had been observed there since the end of the war, according to newspaper coverage of the 1872 ceremonies at Rose Hill Cemetery that Mary Lincoln was unable to attend (See "The Dew and the Daises … Details of the Observance of Decoration Day." Chicago Evening Post, 31 May 1872, p. 1)"
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
8 King Street, St. James's
SW1Y 6QT London
United Kingdom
Preview
13.01.2023 – 27.01.2023
Phone +44 (0)20 7839 9060
Email
4FQ.AYGKAGLUQ@FO3G@
Buyer Premium see on Website
Conditions of purchaseConditions of purchase

Frequently asked questions

First of all, you should register to be able to purchase at auction. After confirming your email address, enter your personal information in your user profile, such as your first name, last name, and mail address. Choose a lot from the upcoming auction and the maximum amount you want to place on it. After confirmation of your choice, we will send your application by e-mail to the appropriate auction house. If the auction house accepts a request, it will participate in the auction. You can view the current status of a bid at any time in your personal account in the "Bids" section.
Auctions are performed by auction houses and each of the auction houses describes their terms of auction. You can see the texts in the section "Auction information".
The results of the auction are published within a few days after the end of the auction. In the top menu of the site, find the tab "Auctions". Click on it and you will be on the auction catalog page, where you can easily find the category "Results". After opening it, select the desired auction from the list, enter and view the current status of the interested lot.
The information about the auction winners is confidential. The auction winner will receive a direct notification from the auction house responsible with instructions for further action: an invoice for payment and the manner in which the goods will be received.
Each of the auction houses has its own payment policy for the won lots. All auction houses accept bank transfers, most of them accept credit card payments. In the near future you will find detailed information for each case in the section "Auction information" on the page of the auction catalog and the lot.
Shipment of the won lot depends on its size. Small items can be delivered by post. Larger lots are sent by courier. Employees of the auction houses will offer you a wide range to choose from.
No. The archive serves as a reference for the study of auction prices, photographs and descriptions of works of art.