A very rare substantial lock of founding father John Adams’s hair, originally obtained from the estate of George F. Noyes of Portland, Maine. Hairs measure approximately 3.5″ in length and the lock is affixed to a 4 x 3.75 off-white sheet with a single spot of red wax. Notation on the sheet reads, “Presented me by Elizabeth Adams Quincy, President Adams hair Quincy.” Accompanied by the original period envelope the hair was discovered in, labeled “President Adams’ hair.” Also accompanied by a desirable and important letter of provenance which states, in part: “The enclosed lock of President John Adams hair was uncovered while searching through the estate of George F. Noyes of Portland, Maine. He was a Civil War officer on General Abner Doubleday’s staff. The remnants of his belongings included several boxes of papers and included a letter from Doubleday, many letters to his wife, several thousand envelopes, etc…This [ generous] lock of hair was in a sealed envelope, stuffed among the many others.”
After graduating from Bowdoin College, George Noyes established a law practice in Boston, eventually moving to California in 1849 and establishing the largest law firm in the state. At General Doubleday’s request he joined his staff as captain of the Commissary Department, and later served on the staff of General Wadsworth. At the conclusion of the war he settled in New York to devote himself to his legal profession again. While small strands of Adams’s hair occasionally appear of sale, this substantial lock is perhaps the most generous and consequential President Adams hair lock ever offered. A founding father relic of immense historical importance.
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