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Silver Mounted American Dirk with Tammany Hall Engraving

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Autographs Start Price:NA Estimated At:6,000.00 - 8,000.00 USD
Silver Mounted American Dirk with Tammany Hall Engraving

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Auction Date:2018 Jul 11 @ 18:00 (UTC-5 : EST/CDT)
Location:236 Commercial St., Suite 100, Boston, Massachusetts, 02109, United States
ALS - Autograph Letter Signed
ANS - Autograph Note Signed
AQS - Autograph Quotation Signed
AMQS - Autograph Musical Quotation Signed
DS - Document Signed
FDC - First Day Cover
Inscribed - “Personalized”
ISP - Inscribed Signed Photograph
LS - Letter Signed
SP - Signed Photograph
TLS - Typed Letter Signed
A beautifully made, early 19th-century dagger that measures 8 1/8? overall, with a 4 1/2? straight, double-edged blade without ricasso. The steel has an overall bright gray patina with spots of thin freckling along its length that darken slightly towards the tip. The hilt has reversed, scalloped-edge quillons, a smooth silver ferrule, and silver wire-wrapped horn grips with smooth silver pommel. The silver sheath has an older engraved coat of arms (unidentified) executed skillfully on the side opposite the frog stud, but later, cruder engraving was added in a bolder hand, that depicts a coiled rattlesnake and the motto, “BEWARE.” This was the emblem used by members of the infamous Tammany Hall on metal badges to identify each other at meetings and political events. Its presence on this dirk shows that a prior owner, but probably not the original owner, was a member of the 'Society of St. Tammany,' as it was also known. The Society was formed in the 1780s in New York City with most of its initial membership drawn from the city's craftsmen class. They adopted Tamanend, a legendary Delaware chief, as their patron and used pseudo-Indian insignia and titles at their meetings. The Tammany Society entered the political arena in the early 19th century with their support of Aaron Burr, Martin Van Buren, and such progressive policies as universal male suffrage, laws to protect craftsmen, and the cessation of imprisonment for debt. They are most famous, however, for becoming an immensely powerful and corrupt political machine under the control of William Magear Tweed, or 'Boss Tweed' as he was popularly known, who courted the support of New York City's expanding immigrant population and gained immense political power before the influence of Tammany began to wane with Tweed's arrest and death in custody in 1872. Despite the setback, Tammany Hall as a political force in New York City politics continued, with varying degrees of power and influence, until the mid-1960s, but by the late '60s it had faded from the political stage. This is a great little early 19th century American dagger, and has ties to one of the most interesting political forces of the Civil War era.