National Inauguration Ball. March 4th 1865. Designed & drawn by Bruff. Engraved by Dempsey & O'Toole. [Washington, 1865.]

An invitation to the 1865 National Inaugural Ball, issued to Miss Mary Ream - likely a sister of Lavinia "Vinnie" Ream, the sculptor of Lincoln's statue in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda and the first female artist commissioned to create a work of art for the United States government. A native Missourian, Vinnie Ream was the youngest of three children born to Robert Lee and Lavinia Ream. Their family would move to the nation's capitol in 1861 to find employment, and when the father (a land surveyor by trade) began to suffer from failing health, Vinnie began working at the post office for $50 a month. With a desire to become a sculptor, Vinnie gained an introduction to President Lincoln from fellow Missourian (and then-sitting U.S. Congressman) James S. Rollins; she then became a frequent visitor to the White House, where she spent five months working on a clay model of the president's likeness. She was almost finished this model when President Lincoln was assassinated, and after applying for a commission with the U.S. Congress, Vinnie Ream was selected by the U.S. Congress to sculpt a memorial statue of the recently fallen president. This invitation was extended to Miss Mary Ream, presumably one of Vinnie's older sisters, as a June 22, 1865 issue of the Daily Morning Chronicle (a Washington D.C.-based newspaper) pronounces the wedding of one "Miss Mary Ream, daughter of Robert L. Ream, Esq., of this city."

Originally scheduled for 4 March 1865, the 1865 Inaugural Ball took place two days thereafter due to inclement weather at the Patent Office. The event hosted 4,000 guests and was a lavish yet solemn respite, as the nation was still embroiled in the final months of the Civil War. Despite perpetual exhaustion, President Lincoln and the First Lady would remained until 1:30am, with other attendees continuing to dance until dawn.

One page on cardstock, 190 x 265mm (light creases at center, mounting remnants on verso.) Engraved invitation with vignettes of President Lincoln and Vice President Johnson, two eagle-topped columns, and a list of 150 event managers.