DIRK PRESENTED TO "OLD GLORY" CAPTAIN WILLIAM DRIVER
19th Century
Captain William Driver, from Salem, Massachusetts, is credited with nicknaming the American flag "Old Glory". Dirk's hilt with an eagle-form pommel and a carved whalebone grip. Extensively embellished gold and leather scabbard engraved on one side "G Wodsworth to Capt Driver" and on the other "P. Augier Calcutta". Blade unmarked.
Length 25.75".
Provenance:
The Collection of Chuck and Jan Deluca.

Notes:
In 1824 William Driver's mother and other women of Salem sewed a 24-star flag to commemorate his appointment as a master mariner and captain of his ship the Charles Doggett. He coined the flag "Old Glory", and it accompanied him on his 20-year career sailing to China, India and throughout the South Pacific. He also had it with him when he rescued 65 descendants of the survivors from the H.M.S. Bounty from Tahiti to Pitcairn Island. He later settled in Nashville, Tennessee, and when the state seceded from the Union, Driver had "Old Glory" sewn into a quilt for safekeeping. "Old Glory" is now exhibited at the Smithsonian Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.

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age; these issues will likely not be mentioned in the condition report. Please contact Eldred's before the auction with any condition questions. Questions about condition will not be answered after purchase. Condition reports are provided as a courtesy, and we are not responsible for any errors or omissions. Important note on frames: Frames are not guaranteed to be in the same condition as they are in the item photograph. Due to handling and shipping, many frames, especially antique ones, are prone to losses. If you have questions about the condition of a frame, please contact us prior to the auction.