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Frances Folsom Cleveland
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Executive Mansion card signed by the youngest First Lady in American History
Frances Clara Folsom Cleveland Preston, 1864–1947. First Lady of the United States, 1886–1889, 1893–1897. Engraved 4½” x 2¾” Executive Mansion card boldly signed Frances F. Cleveland.
This is a very nice Executive Mansion card that Mrs. Cleveland has signed in black fountain pen with a large signature a little over 4” long. The signature is almost perfectly centered on the card, making it an excellent item for framing.
Mrs. Cleveland became First Lady when, at age 21, she married 49-year-old President Grover Cleveland in the Blue Room of the Executive Mansion—later to become The White House—on June 2, 1886. She was and remains the youngest First Lady in American history.
During Cleveland’s two terms as President, Executive Mansion cards appeared in three variants, with executive mansion, / washington. printed variously at the top center, top left, and top right. This card, imprinted at the top right, is Variant 3. See Lynne E. Keyes and Stephen Koschal, The History of Collecting Executive Mansion, White House, and The White House Cards Signed by the Presidents and their First Ladies 24 (2d ed. 2006).
This card is in fine condition. It is bright and retains much of its original sheen. Only a narrow line of mounting remnants across one end of the back keeps us from grading it as very fine under The Manuscript Society’s strict grading standards.
