George Washington:
Original Piece of Wallpaper from Mount Vernon
(with Provenance)
You are bidding on a piece of wallpaper that was retrieved as a relic from Mount Vernon, the famous home of George and Martha Washington. The piece measures about .50" x .50" and originally accompanied an envelope that was inscribed on the front in pencil: "Bits of wall paper torn from a room in the mansion at Mt. Vernon Va. 1885. The paper was imported from Europe and put on the wall by Genl. Washington and Genl. La Fayette." The back of the envelope flap says: "Given to HNS by Mrs. Croffert. Harriet Stevens." The wallpaper was likely imported from France, perhaps at the recommendation of La Fayette himself. After personally speaking with Mount Vernon personnel and undergoing our research on the Mount Vernon website, we were excited to learn that this exact same wallpaper type was removed by Mount Vernon personnel in January 1929 from George and Martha Washington’s bedchambers, which is not only where the two slept but was also George’s death room in 1799. Read further down below for more information on this discovery of exciting information!
This is one of maybe a few snippets that we will offer from our collection to recoup some of our original investment.
Rarity and Provenance: We purchased the wallpaper directly from Heritage Auction Galleries in 2016. The wallpaper intrigued us because we have never seen Mount Vernon wallpaper for sale anywhere in the past and just had to snatch it up. In their auction description, Heritage Auction Galleries also stated they'd never seen Mount Vernon wallpaper in the past. As to any existing public or private collections, we only know of the New York Historical Society has a few small snippets of wallpaper from elsewhere in the home, but that is all we've ever seen as it relates to collections.
Our Research and resulting proven wallpaper Provenance: We know just as well as you do that provenance on items such as this means everything. After all, we have been selling authentic historical relics for the past 17 years. After purchasing the wallpaper from Heritage Auction Galleries (as noted above), we researched the history of wallpaper in general at Mount Vernon. After personally speaking with Mount Vernon personnel and undergoing our research on the Mount Vernon website, we were excited to learn that this exact same wallpaper type was removed by Mount Vernon personnel in January 1929 from George and Martha Washington’s bedchambers, which is not only where the two slept but was also George’s death room in 1799. We have included a photo/screenshot showing this information from the Mount Vernon website itself - it is the same wallpaper design as offered in this auction!
The following is included in this auction:
-A piece of original Mount Vernon wallpaper, measuring about .50 x .50”
-A color photocopy of the three larger pieces of Mount Vernon wallpaper, originally offered by Heritage Auction Galleries and purchased by us (the current sellers). From this collection, we personally removed the piece of wallpaper that is offered in this auction.
-A color photocopy of the web page from the Mount Vernon website, showing the same wallpaper type discovered by Mount Vernon personnel in George and Martha Washington’s bedchambers in 1929 (a.k.a. George Washington’s death room).
We will start the bidding at a penny and let you eBayers decide the value of this great item.
As always, bid with confidence and feel free to send any questions and/or comments.
Good Luck and Happy Bidding !
***Money Back Guarantee*** We know that you will love this product, but if for any reason you are unsatisfied, you may return the item in its original condition within 14 days and your money will be refunded (minus shipping costs). No risk to the buyer!
We will e-mail the winning bidder an invoice within 48 hours of auction close. Winning bidder must respond within 3 days to retain high bid status. Please send payment within 10 days after auction close. Due to the new eBay policy, the only type of payment accepted is PayPal. High bidder pays $6.75 for USPS Priority Mail shipping and Delivery Confirmation.
We specialize in auctioning authentic signatures and handwriting of famous people in American History such as George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Robert E. Lee. Please see our other auctions by clicking here.