Update: A Relic of Marie Antoinette
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In the last newsletter, we brought you the story of a mysterious pincushion allegedly made from a dress belonging to Marie Antoinette.
We set out to prove that this tale could NOT be true and discovered instead that it is actually possible, though we may never know for sure.
With some sleuthing, we connected the donor of this pincushion and a host of other fabulous relics, to Captain John Bagley (1765-1826) of Amesbury/Salisbury, and proved that he was in France in 1807 when relics of the monarchs were still being sold (the queen was executed in 1793).
It was a little too far out for my liking, but I could find nothing definitive in the record. Then, last week, I found a reference to some shipping letters connected to the captain and held at the Peabody Essex Museum’s Phillips Library. A field trip was in order.
“St Ubes, December 12th, 1795
My Dear,
These will inform you once more that I am well, hoping they will find you and our small family the same. I arrived here the 14th of November, after a very short passage of six days from Bordeaux. I have onboard a cargo of salt and am waiting a fair wind to put to sea. I am bound direct to Georgetown, and on my arrival there all the haste and speed that is possible to get home will be made by
Yours &c.,
John Bagley
P.S. I trust by the time you receive these lines I shall be in Georgetown, for the bearer hereof sails in company bound to Boston.
J.B.”
Aha! The smoking gun - or at least a whole heck of a lot closer to Marie Antoinette’s death than 1807. Here is Captain Bagley writing that he had been in Bordeaux in November, 1795.
We have a long way to go before we can prove this tale to be true, but at least we can say that it is likely that the Captain thought he was purchasing a relic of Marie Antoinette.
Next, we visit the textile experts…stay tuned!