17 174
The New York Metropolitan Fair—opened on March 28, 1864, and held through April—was orga-
nized by the United States Sanitary Commission in order to further its cause: to provide relief to sick and
wounded Union soldiers as well as Confederate prisoners of war. The Commission collected donations of
food, supplies, and cash, as well as paintings, statuary, furniture, autographs, and other collectibles, some to
be sold and others on temporary loan to be displayed in the Fair’s public exhibition. Among the items that
were sold at the Fair was a manuscript copy of the Gettysburg Address contributed by President Lincoln
himself (the Edward Everett copy at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in
Springfield, IL), and the present album, won by William Astor with his bid of $20,000 and immediately
gifted to Mrs. Viele by the generous winning bidder.
Teresa Griffin (1831-1902) and E.L. Viele were married in 1850 and divorced in 1872; Mrs. Viele
served on the Fair’s special committees, including Arms and Trophies, Curiosity Shop, and Special Literary
Contributions.
Provenance: Viele family and by descent to the present owner.
WITH
—
[Emily Viele Strother].
Teresa: A Memory
, bound typescript of biography on her mother, Teresa
Griffin, unsigned but inscribed in 1950 to her daughter, Elise, on the front free endpaper.