A fascinating selection of relics related to Robert E. Lee, including a memorial CDV warmly inscribed by his widow Mary Custis Lee, as well as a commemorative pen from the ceremony restoring R.E. Lee's United States citizenship in 1975. Items include: 

1. Vignetted bust-length portrait of Robert E. Lee (1807-1870). Copy albumen CDV after original by J.W. Davies. Richmond, Virginia: The Lee Gallery, [ca early 1870]. Publisher's imprint embossed to mount recto.

INSCRIBED TO MOUNT VERSO BY MARY CUSTIS LEE: "A Memorial picture of Genl R. E. Lee for my little friend Allan Lewis with the love of Mary Custis Lee." 

Provenance: Mary Custis Lee to Allan Lewis (inscription), Daniel Weinberg, Abraham Lincoln Book Shop (receipts, etc. dated 1987); Martha Ann Sisson (ALBS receipt).

A memorial portrait, likely published after Lee's death in 1870 by Richmond entrepreneurs after the portrait by J.W. Davies. It is warmly inscribed by his widow to a young man named Allan Lewis, likely related to the Lewis family, which descended from the sister of Mary's father, Eleanor Parke "Nelly" Custis Lewis (1779-1852).

2. Vignetted bust-length portrait of Mary Custis Lee (1807-1873). Albumen CDV. Lexington, Virginia: Miley, n.d. Photographer's imprints to mount recto & verso. 

Provenance: See #1. Included in the sale via the Abraham Lincoln Book Shop and likely included by Mary originally. 

3. Commemorative White House Parker pen. United States: Parker, [1976]. Body reads: "THE WHITE HOUSE" with facsimile signature of President Gerald R. Ford. In original chipboard and brass box with custom insert. Presidential seal and facsimile signature of President Ford printed to lid.

Provenance: Typed slip included in box reads, "This pen was given out at the White House ceremony for the signing of the bill restoring Robert E. Lee's citizenship. It was given to me by my congressman, Representative William Wampler (Republican, 9th District), during a visit to his office in 1976." 

Despite petitions by Lee in 1865, he was never pardoned, nor was his citizenship restored. In 1970, an archivist at the National Archives discovered among State Department records that Lee did, in fact, swear an Amnesty Oath. In 1975, Lee's full rights of citizenship were posthumously restored by a joint congressional resolution. At the signing ceremony, where this pen was distributed as a souvenir of the event, President Ford remarked, "General Lee's character has been an example to succeeding generations, making the restoration of his citizenship an event in which every American can take pride."

A unique grouping for the Lee collector. 

[Civil War, Union, Confederate]  [Relics, Militaria, Accouterment, Equipment, Uniforms] [Photography, Early Photography, Historic Photography, Daguerreotypes, Ambrotypes, Tintypes, Cased Images, Union Cases, Albumen Photographs, CDVs, Carte de Visites, Cartes de Visite, Carte-de-visite, Cartes-de-visite, CDV, Cabinet Cards, Stereoviews, Stereocards, Stereographs] [Politics, Presidents, Commemorative Pens, Presidential Memorabilia]

Pen not tested for functionality.