Object Record
Images
Metadata
Object Name |
Gavel |
Date |
1868/05/20 |
Catalog Number |
2023.75.1 |
Description |
Gavel used to open the 1868 Republican National Convention in Chicago, during which the Grant/Colfax presidential ticket was made official. Though used as a gavel, the object itself is some kind of wooden mallet, featuring a rounded-square striking surface on one face and an angled peen on the other face. Remnants of paper are adhered all over the head. Solid wood. Handle was painted an red-brown color, which is worn off in many places. Label adhered to the head references its provenance reading "the Republican [Chica]go at the first..." Remnants of a typed paper label are visible on one side of the head. |
Dimensions |
H-2.5 W-5 L-13 inches |
Collection |
Colfax Collection |
Provenance |
This gavel was used to open the 1868 Republican National Convention in Chicago, Illinois, during which came the Grant and Colfax presidential ticket. The piece was once part of a collection of 25,000 items assembled by the late J. Doyle Dewitt, former CEO of Hartford Insurance, an iconic collector. He assembled what was believed to be the finest collection of political memorabilia ever. A notation in the DeWitt inventory indicates that it was used by General J.R. Hawley to call the Republican Convention to order and acquired by DeWitt from Hawley's daughter. |
Credit line |
Gift of Andy Nickle |
People |
Colfax, Schuyler Hawley, General Joseph Roswell Grant, Ulysses S. |