The United States first World’s Fair was designated to be held in Philadelphia in 1876 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of our independence. It was known to be the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition. As keeping with tradition of other international World’s Fairs, it was customary to build many new buildings each containing multiple exhibits and attractions. Without question, one of the most popular exhibits was going to be the George Washington display, “The father of our country and our first President”. The organizers requested to acquire as many unique items as they could for this grand exhibit. What they wanted most was his General’s Uniform of which our National Museum (now the Smithsonian) was in possession of. Their request was denied due to the extreme importance and value even in 1876 of the uniform. So they did what was to be the next best thing. They had an exact duplicate made from the original.

      How successful was the Centennial Exhibition, 10,000,000 attended! Back in 1876, very little transportation was available, what was there was crude for the period and if you did not live within the general upper eastern part of the country, your only option was to horse and buggy it. That is how successful the World’s Fair was and it was a good bet that due to the popularity of President George Washington, every one of those 10 million laid eyes upon the uniform we are proud to offer.

      The piece we are in possession of is breathtaking. It is a pure photo match from the exhibition in 1876. The material is vintage to time period and it even contains the original makers label “D Klein & Bro” sewn into the collar. They were the most famous makers of military uniforms as well as fireman.

      The jacket body is Navy Blue, trimmed in cream white on the cuffs, pockets, collar, tail and opening. 14 buttons on the front, each sleeve has an additional three matching buttons as well as the tail has six more, all attached with wire looping. The jacket is lined. The overall jacket is in excellent condition with even light soiling throughout. There are no tears or holes with the exception of eight small moth holes, none of which affect the display.

      The vest has seven buttons, attached with period wire looping. On the front right breast is one piece of 1 x 3 inch fabric that appears to have been an identification tag at one point, still attached but very loose. The trousers are tan and have four original buttons, two pockets, and they are toned from age but no stains or tears. The one Gold Fringed Epaulette is on the right shoulder. The confusion is that Washington would have had two, but to further photo ID this uniform, the 1876 display picture we have only shows the uniform on display as having the one Epaulette! How does one put a value on this extraordinary piece of historical importance? Since Washington’s only Generals uniform will never be offered for sale, but if it were, it would be very safe to say it would command a record price upwards of $25 Million or more. This uniform, which has to be one of the coolest display items, is photo matched to an extremely important event….we will let the bidders decide.

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