Battle of Bunker Hill
Massachusetts, ca. 1860
104 Years Old! Photo of Last Surviving Bunker Hill Participant Ralph Farnham
Photograph

An albumen photograph on printed card depicting Revolutionary War veteran Ralph Farnham (1756-1861), the oldest surviving participant of the Battle of Bunker Hill. 1p, measuring 7" x 9", Massachusetts, ca. 1860. With facsimile signature at middle, written in a shaky hand due to advanced age: "Ralph Farnham 1860/ Born July 7, 1756". Written along bottom edge: "Ralph Farnham came to see the Prince of Wales at this advanced age. I visited and talked to him with interest." At the time of this photograph, Farnham was approximately 104 years of age. Exhibits darkened edge toning, with scattered soiling and surface imperfections to photograph. Otherwise good condition- an intriguing presentation.

Provenance: The page was likely taken from the famous autograph album of Mary Rebecca Darby Smith (1814-1886), who traveled as a socialite meeting with famous politicians, painters, and poets, of which she would ask for a memento for her scrapbook.

Before the summer of 1860, Ralph Farnham lived in relative obscurity as a Maine farmer. It was not until his extravagant 104th birthday party that news spread of the aged veteran, and an invitation was extended to him to visit with the Governor of Massachusetts, among other prominent Bostonians. Despite some apprehension, Farnham arrived in Boston on October 8, 1860. The visit happened to coincide with a tour of the city by Edward VII (1841-1910), then Prince of Wales, and the two briefly met on October 18th. While his newfound celebrity status helped to inflate the fact that Farnham was indeed the last survivor of the Battle of Bunker Hill, military records show otherwise.

Farnham enlisted in May of 1775, at the age of 18, as a private in Captain Phillip Hubbard's company in Colonel James Scamman's regiment. The regiment reached Cambridge on June 16, 1775, but due to a miscommunication of orders, did not actually participate in the battle in Charlestown fought the following day. Farnham did serve, however, in subsequent campaigns and witnessed British general John Burgoyne's surrender at Saratoga in 1777. Although he never directly claimed to have been a veteran of the Battle of Bunker Hill, the rumor increased his national fame, and when he died in the Winter of 1861, news of his death was reported in Harper's Weekly and as far afield as the Illustrated London News.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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7" x 9"