Featured Julius White Brigadier General Civil War Letterpress signature stamp

Hello all,

My wife and I go to a lot of estate sales and I'm always on the lookout for antiques and unique items.

Last week, I found a signature stamp for Julius. White (the period is in the stamp). After some research, I found a Julius White, Brigadier General for the Union during the Civil War. I found a document online with his signature and there was a period between his first and last name as well.

The metal is all lead, including the letterpress type that is set in the channel. I've included a photo that I've flipped so you can read the signature as it is backwards in reality. These letters are all stuck together, having been compressed for quite a while. The threads are machined, but certainly not modern. Width is about 1-3/4" and height with handle is 2-1/2" Wood has tiny holes.

He was an attorney before the war and then had served as Ambassador for Argentina after the war. It may be reasonable to presume that these positions would be more likely to need a signature stamp than a General, but the anchors and the shield kind of threw me.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

Mark

 

Hi, Mark, and welcome!

This is not my area of expertise, but my first thought was that this is not a signature stamp, but rather, a name stamp (i.e. something to indicate ownership, rather than to "sign" a document.)

The individual letters were already "made" and were simply grouped together to spell out the owner's name. (I have had my own "name stamp" - nowhere near this fancy - since I was a little kid. It's what I used to use to stamp my name in books, etc.)

The design on this one is lovely, but I honestly don't think it would provide a "legal signature" for anyone.

 

I agree, because wouldn't the design around the name also be printed? I like it!

Oh, and Welcome to Antiquers!

 

Welcome to the forum, sabre123.
It is a beautiful stamp, but wouldn't the name come out back to front?

 

AJ, Sabre said he has flipped the photo.

 

I have my own EX Libras stamp..but it makes an impression...no ink.

 

I can't see this being for anything official. That gizmo is independent of the name, and I expect you could order that pattern (maybe others were also available) with any lettering that would fit. It's an interesting thing. I don't know how common the name Julius White may be, but the pattern might have appealed to someone with a nautical background.

 

I agree with everyone.

 

Is there something stamped on the handle?

Judging from an attempted close-up, even if there is, it's illegible:

 

You've backed out the thumbscrew that would ordinarily be screwed in tight to hold the letters in place, right?

 

Sorry for the late reply. First, thanks everyone for taking a look as well as the warm welcome! I appreciate it. I'm on my phone, so I may lose my place a little in the thread replies.

It does seem reasonable that it's more of a name stamp than a formal signature. Like I said, the shield and anchors kind of had me thinking (hoping) military.

Yes, I've backed out the thumbscrew. I wanted to see if the type came out. Doesn't. It's stuck hard. There are spacers to center the type in the slot, more so on the opposite side of the screw.

Nothing on the handle at all.

The letters do stick out about 1-16" to 1/8" from the design. You'd really need to press and roll around to get that to print.

Appreciate that auction link for the knife. That script lettering was very popular and shares some similarities with the stamp.

Again, I appreciate the comments and I'm thrilled that I found such an active and welcoming forum.

 

Ah, thanks for that. My reading skills have been somewhere around the zero mark since my last encephalitis.

 

I found a 19th century "name stamp" that has letterpress type. Different construction, but it's more than I've been able to find to this point, so I thought I'd post:

https://picclick.com/Antique-19th-Century-Adjustable-Type-Name-Stamp-Press-263800522236.html

 

I tried loosening the type letters and they're welded together. I got the end spaces to separate using an Exacto blade, but it was difficult and I gouged a little of the soft lead.

 

I think the writer of this blog post might have some insight: https://utahquiltappraiser.blogspot.com/2018/01/1840s-antique-signature-quilt-part-2.html

 

Nice find! I will look into this. Thank you.

 

Maybe General White did some quilting in between battles. LOL. A big thank you to Jivvy for cracking this one. Also, I did contact the owner of the Utah Quilt Appraiser blog and she did get back with me.

She even found a stamp that has the anchors and shield motif:
https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nDLeC0Gv...O0tMZnWepJfe4moczACPcB/s320/jones+cherubs.JPG

Evidently those stamps were very popular in the mid-1800s. Her reply, "The stamps were used on a lot of signature quilts in the 1840s and 50s especially in the Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland area."

So there we have it, folks.

Thank you again to all who replied.