DESCRIPTION:
Ephemera - Finely embroidered watch memento paper dated July the 23rd 1772 to a Dr. Thomas Parke, embroidered piece measures 43mm x 50mm, a lovely piece of Americana that predates the birth of this fine nation. Doctor Thomas Parke was a physician in Philadelphia who became director of the Library Company of Philadelphia in 1778 and ran it through until 1835. The library kept getting larger and larger and by the late 1700s they had to rent space at the nearby Carpenters' Company Hall, which is where the first Continental Congress met as well as the second Continental Congress the following spring, and again after that when the delegates to the Constitutional Convention met in 1787. Nine signers of the Declaration of Independence were deeply involved in the Library Company including the founder Benjamin Franklin, as well as Benjamin Rush, Francis Hopkinson, Robert Morris, George Clymer, John Morton, James Wilson, Thomas McKean, and George Ross. The Library Company functioned more or less as the Library of Congress until the national capital of Washington, D.C. was established in 1800. Our last photo is a copy of Dr. Thomas Parke's Library Company portrait courtesy of the Library Company of Philadelphia (photo not included with lot).
CONDITION:
Memento shows its age with several small holes as well as discoloration, piece is incredibly fragile and should be handled accordingly.
ESTIMATE:
$300
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$600
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