![[LINCOLN, Abraham]. Brass key to the door of the White House, apparently in use 1797-ca.1870, presented to by Edward Moran, White House doorkeeper, to William Osborn Stoddard (1935-1925), Third Secretary to President Lincoln.](https://www.christies.com/img/LotImages/2005/NYR/2005_NYR_01685_0083_000(110640).jpg?w=1)
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[LINCOLN, Abraham]. Brass key to the door of the White House, apparently in use 1797-ca.1870, presented to by Edward Moran, White House doorkeeper, to William Osborn Stoddard (1935-1925), Third Secretary to President Lincoln.
Latch key of solid brass, 2 5/8 x 1 x 5/16 in., the shaft 1 7/8 in. long with three decorative rings at top, the grip a rounded, tapered rectangle. Slightly worn. Preserved on a steel key ring inscribed "WILLIAM O. STODDARD NEW YORK." Enclosed in a specially-fitted silk-padded half morocco slipcase. With additional items relating to the key and its provenance (see below).
A KEY TO THE LINCOLN WHITE HOUSE, IN USE FOR 16 SUCCESSIVE ADMINISTRATIONS, PRESENTED BY THE WHITE HOUSE DOORMAN TO LINCOLN'S THIRD SECRETARY
Stoddard had attended the University of Rochester and moved to Urbana, Illinois in 1858, where he became active in Republican political efforts, actively supporting Lincoln through his Central Illinois Gazette. In 1861 he was appointed by Lincoln to a minor post in the land-office, then took over a desk as assistant to the President's two overworked secretaries, John Nicolay and John Hay. "He gave the initial screening to the incoming mail, some 200 to 300 letters a day, throwing away the great quantity that came from cranks and lunatics...He performed other clerical and messenger duties as well" (Mark E. Neely, Abraham Lincoln Encyclopedia, p.291). Stoddard's memoirs, Inside the White House in Wartime, published in 1890, "contains some memorable vignettes of the Lincoln White House and is particularly good at describing the atmosphere of the tense and hard-working wartime administration" (Ibid.).
In his memoirs, Stoddard writes: "Before me on the table lies a small brass latch-key. It has a worn-out look, as if it had served its time and was honorably discharged, but if it had a tongue few other keys could tell so notable a history. During the administrations of seventeen Presidents of the United States, it opened the front door of the Executive Mansion at Washington. The lock it belonged to was put on when that house was built, and was replaced by a new one in the time of President Grant. In my own mind and memory, this key is associated with the years which I spent in and around the White House; the years of Lincoln's administration; the days of the Civil War; the terrible furnace time, during which the old nation melted away and a new nation was moulded." Stoddard recounts his receiving the key from Old Edward Moran, long-time White House doorkeeper. Moran explained that he was "getting some new latch-keys." He held out three identical keys: "Two of the keys are bright and new, but one is old and tarnished, 'There's one for Mr. [John] Nicolay, and one for Mr. [John M.] Hay, and one for yourself. That's the old one, that belonged to the lock when it was put on.'" In reply, Stoddard said, "That's the key I want, Edward. Give Nicolay and Hay the new ones" (Stoddard, Inside the White House, New York, 1892, pp.9-10).
In Lincoln's Third Secretary, Stoddard again relates the story of Moran's gift, but adds that "I still have the key which has opened the White House door for so many Presidents and their officers." (Ms. excerpt by William O. Stoddard, Jr., n.d.) Of course, Stoddard errs on one minor point: if the key was part of the original lock it would have been first installed during John Adams's term in office, when the Presidential mansion was first occupied, so it would have been in continuous use during the tenure of sixteen--not seventeen--Chief Executives (John Adams to Grant).
Provenance: William O. Stoddard (d.1925)--William O. Stoddard Jr.--Thomas I. Starr, in 1962 (name lettered on slipcase)--Forbes (acquired 1985). Accompanying the lot are papers relating to Stoddard, including a letter and excerpt signed by William O. Stoddard, Jr., a sepia-toned cabinet portrait of Stoddard and a 1924 newspaper clipping with an image of the aged Stoddard holding the key and the key-ring.
Latch key of solid brass, 2 5/8 x 1 x 5/16 in., the shaft 1 7/8 in. long with three decorative rings at top, the grip a rounded, tapered rectangle. Slightly worn. Preserved on a steel key ring inscribed "WILLIAM O. STODDARD NEW YORK." Enclosed in a specially-fitted silk-padded half morocco slipcase. With additional items relating to the key and its provenance (see below).
A KEY TO THE LINCOLN WHITE HOUSE, IN USE FOR 16 SUCCESSIVE ADMINISTRATIONS, PRESENTED BY THE WHITE HOUSE DOORMAN TO LINCOLN'S THIRD SECRETARY
Stoddard had attended the University of Rochester and moved to Urbana, Illinois in 1858, where he became active in Republican political efforts, actively supporting Lincoln through his Central Illinois Gazette. In 1861 he was appointed by Lincoln to a minor post in the land-office, then took over a desk as assistant to the President's two overworked secretaries, John Nicolay and John Hay. "He gave the initial screening to the incoming mail, some 200 to 300 letters a day, throwing away the great quantity that came from cranks and lunatics...He performed other clerical and messenger duties as well" (Mark E. Neely, Abraham Lincoln Encyclopedia, p.291). Stoddard's memoirs, Inside the White House in Wartime, published in 1890, "contains some memorable vignettes of the Lincoln White House and is particularly good at describing the atmosphere of the tense and hard-working wartime administration" (Ibid.).
In his memoirs, Stoddard writes: "Before me on the table lies a small brass latch-key. It has a worn-out look, as if it had served its time and was honorably discharged, but if it had a tongue few other keys could tell so notable a history. During the administrations of seventeen Presidents of the United States, it opened the front door of the Executive Mansion at Washington. The lock it belonged to was put on when that house was built, and was replaced by a new one in the time of President Grant. In my own mind and memory, this key is associated with the years which I spent in and around the White House; the years of Lincoln's administration; the days of the Civil War; the terrible furnace time, during which the old nation melted away and a new nation was moulded." Stoddard recounts his receiving the key from Old Edward Moran, long-time White House doorkeeper. Moran explained that he was "getting some new latch-keys." He held out three identical keys: "Two of the keys are bright and new, but one is old and tarnished, 'There's one for Mr. [John] Nicolay, and one for Mr. [John M.] Hay, and one for yourself. That's the old one, that belonged to the lock when it was put on.'" In reply, Stoddard said, "That's the key I want, Edward. Give Nicolay and Hay the new ones" (Stoddard, Inside the White House, New York, 1892, pp.9-10).
In Lincoln's Third Secretary, Stoddard again relates the story of Moran's gift, but adds that "I still have the key which has opened the White House door for so many Presidents and their officers." (Ms. excerpt by William O. Stoddard, Jr., n.d.) Of course, Stoddard errs on one minor point: if the key was part of the original lock it would have been first installed during John Adams's term in office, when the Presidential mansion was first occupied, so it would have been in continuous use during the tenure of sixteen--not seventeen--Chief Executives (John Adams to Grant).
Provenance: William O. Stoddard (d.1925)--William O. Stoddard Jr.--Thomas I. Starr, in 1962 (name lettered on slipcase)--Forbes (acquired 1985). Accompanying the lot are papers relating to Stoddard, including a letter and excerpt signed by William O. Stoddard, Jr., a sepia-toned cabinet portrait of Stoddard and a 1924 newspaper clipping with an image of the aged Stoddard holding the key and the key-ring.