Johnson, Eliza McCardle, Andrew Johnson, and Martha Johnson Patterson | Calling cards of President and First Lady Andrew Johnson, as well as of Martha Johnson Patterson, their daughter and White House hostess, each with an autograph inscription

Property from the Collection of Elsie and Philip Sang

Johnson, Eliza McCardle, Andrew Johnson, and Martha Johnson Patterson

A trio of calling cards inscribed by the First Family, most likely written to accompany wedding gifts

Three engraved calling cards (the largest 95 x 57 mm, the others slightly smaller), each inscribed in pencil, [Washington, April 1865−March 1869], each pierced through the left margin and tied together by blue silk ribbon; a little soiling and creasing.

The inscriptions on this suite of Johnson family visiting cards can be read as a sequence: Mrs. D. T. Patterson ("With best wishes for an unclouded future"); Mrs. Andrew Johnson ("May it ever be as bright as today"); Andrew Johnson ("With sincere respect—Andrew Johnson").

Andrew Johnson married Eliza McCardle in 1827 when he was eighteen and she was just sixteen, but the marriage endured for nearly fifty years. Johnson had little formal schooling, and his bride tutored him in reading, composition, and arithmetic. Johnson became involved in Tennessee politics shortly after his wedding, but while Eliza supported his ambitions, she generally remained at their home in Greeneville as he traveled the state, and even when he went to Washington, first as a congressman and then a senator.

After Johnson was elevated to the presidency, Eliza's chronic tuberculosis, coupled with her shy nature, prevented her from assuming the duties of First Lady. She made only two official appearances as First Lady during her tenure in the White House, being confined for the most part to her bedroom. The Johnson's oldest daughter, Martha Johnson Patterson, outgoing and sociable, acted as White House hostess for her father.

Eliza McCardle Johnson's holograph is one of the rarest of all First Ladies. The last example of her writing that can be traced in the auction records was more than fifty years ago: a signature on a leaf from an autograph album (Charles Hamilton Galleries, 28 May 1968, lot 136).