An extraordinary collection of items belonging to Worcester native Andrew Haswell Green will be sold this week in an unprecedented four-day auction at the DCU Center in Worcester. Among the thousands of documents, artworks, china, clothing, and toys being sold are handwritten correspondence to and from four presidents and a rare, printed copy of George Washington’s will.
Green died in 1903. Most of his possessions were immediately placed in crates and were not opened until last year when each item was removed, examined, and catalogued. Items discovered in the crates and being auctioned include: an 1810 letter from President James Madison to James Monroe containing the first reference to a White House gardener, a rare 1850 daguerreotype of Green, an 1875 George Inness oil painting of Mount Washington, a Civil War battle flag, a hand-embroidered man’s purse made in 1760, more than 10,000 pieces of correspondence, rare books and pamphlets, antique toys and games, Tiffany silver, a 17th-century Hebrew book, vintage clothing, stamps, and coins. Among the rarest items is Washington’s will, published in Worcester in 1800 by Isaiah Thomas, of which only 13 copies are known to exist.
Green died in 1903. Most of his possessions were immediately placed in crates and were not opened until last year when each item was removed, examined, and catalogued. Items discovered in the crates and being auctioned include: an 1810 letter from President James Madison to James Monroe containing the first reference to a White House gardener, a rare 1850 daguerreotype of Green, an 1875 George Inness oil painting of Mount Washington, a Civil War battle flag, a hand-embroidered man’s purse made in 1760, more than 10,000 pieces of correspondence, rare books and pamphlets, antique toys and games, Tiffany silver, a 17th-century Hebrew book, vintage clothing, stamps, and coins. Among the rarest items is Washington’s will, published in Worcester in 1800 by Isaiah Thomas, of which only 13 copies are known to exist.
“In my 40 years in the auction business, I’ve never seen one person have so much damn stuff," said Richard Oliver, who will preside over the auction. “It’s been a nonstop discovery process."
All of the items carry no reserve prices — each item will be sold to the highest bidder, period.
Green died violently at the age of 83 on November 13, 1903, cut down by an assassin’s bullet in a case of mistaken identity. Unmarried and childless, he had bequeathed his estate to a nephew, Dr. Nathan Green. Dr. Green and his later heirs never opened the crates.
You can read more about the auction in an article by Joseph P. Kahn in the Boston Globe at http://tinyurl.com/27btxjz
You can read more about the life of Andrew Haswell Green at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Haswell_Green
I live about ten miles from the auction site but, sadly, will be in Fort Lauderdale at the time of the auction.
