CLAY PIPE USED AND PRESENTED BY PRESIDENT ANDREW JACKSON AT THE END OF HIS ADMINISTRATION, PRESERVED IN WOOD CASE FASHIONED FROM WHITE HOUSE “SHUTTERS”

White ball-clay tobacco pipe of long-stem “trade pipe” type. Circa February or March 1837. Approx. ## x ## in. Preserved in a fitted mahogany presentation case lined with cotton batting. WITH Typed document signed by William A. Richardson (1831-1896). Washington, D.C., 1888. Affixed to lid interior. Case ## x ## in. 

Provenance: President Andrew Jackson, presented in February or March 1837 at the close of his administration; subsequent transfer to an unknown early recipient; by ca. 1887, acquired by William A. Richardson (former United States Secretary of the Treasury); 1888, presented to the New England Historic Genealogical Society; deaccessioned and into the current private collection (2000).

A historically significant presidential relic whose documentation is recorded in a contemporary printed account published in the New England Historical and Genealogical Register (July 1888), as well as the signed typewritten note affixed to the interior of the pipe’s case. The article and note relate that in February or March of 1837, shortly before the conclusion of his presidency, Andrew Jackson was found alone in his chamber at the White House, smoking this very pipe. Upon his departure from office, he is said to have promised the pipe to a young girl who had expressed admiration for its long stem and distinctive red-tipped mouthpiece. After Jackson left Washington, his private secretary reportedly fulfilled the promise, forwarding the pipe to the child at the President’s direction.

The 1888 Register and signed note further identify Richardson, Chief Justice of the United States Court of Claims and formerly United States Secretary of the Treasury, as the donor of the relic, noting that it had remained in the possession of the original recipient for approximately half a century before passing into his hands. In keeping with the object’s historical importance, Richardson commissioned a custom mahogany case for its preservation, the wood described as having been salvaged from shutters removed from the west windows of the State Dining Room of the Executive Mansion during renovation.

William Adams Richardson (1821-1896) was an American jurist and statesman who occupied several prominent federal offices during the post–Civil War era. A graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School, Richardson first established himself in Massachusetts politics before entering national service. He served successively as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury and Secretary of the Treasury under President Ulysses S. Grant, overseeing fiscal matters during a period of economic volatility following the Panic of 1873. In 1874, he was appointed Chief Justice of the United States Court of Claims, a position he held for nearly two decades, shaping jurisprudence concerning claims against the federal government.

AN IMPORTANT DOCUMENTED PRESIDENTIAL RELIC

[Presidents, Presidential Memorabilia, Presidential Relics, Pipes, Pipe stems]