Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library

Commemorative Ribbon Marking Death of Lafayette
1834
Maker not marked
USA: Massachusetts, Boston
Silk, ink
Overall: 6-1/2"h x 2-1/2"w
Loaned by the Grand Lodge of Masons in Massachusetts
GL2004.7564

White ribbon with scalloped sides and raw top and bottom. Printed in black in the center is an image of drapery around a medal showing a bust image of Lafayette. Text above and below reads, "Lafayette. / Died / May 21st 1834 / aged 76 yrs."

Lafayette died in Paris in May of 1834. The next month the United States House of Representatives resolved that members wear a badge of mourning for thirty days as a sign of respect and “recommended to the People of the United States to wear a similar badge for the same period.” Some Americans wore ribbons, like this one, which was printed for the occasion. This ribbon was sold at various Boston bookstores as a fundraiser for a planned Lafayette memorial.