[1865 INAUGURATION]. An invitation and menu to the National Inauguration Ball. Washington, D.C., 4 March 1865.

Engraved invitation, with jugate portraits of President Lincoln and Vice President Andrew Johnson, by Dempsey & O'Toole, after Joseph Goldsborough Bruff. 11 x 8 1/2 in. (279 x 215 mm). Unaccomplished; pencil notation in lower left margin ("B.B. French", with penciled arrow pointing to his printed name).

[With:] Lithographed broadside menu, on glossy card stock of the "Bill of Fare", dated 6 March 1865. 10 1/2 x 5 1/2 in. (266 x 139 mm). Light soiling.

Lincoln's Second Inaugural Ball, held on 6 March 1865 (rescheduled from the 4th due to inclement weather), was a grand celebration marking his re-election and the nearing of the end of the Civil War. The event was attended by over 4,000 guests and took place at the Patent Office building in Washington, D.C., the first time a government building was used for such an occasion.

Provenance:

Louise Taper, Beverly Hills, California

Property from the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Foundation