Collectibles

Item Description

Our country will soon be celebrating its 250th birthday in 2026! This unique, beautifully handcrafted pen, made from wood from a 1897-98 restoration of Independence Hall, will only grow in value as our country's 250th birthday approaches!

What a gift for the American History lover in your life: A pen crafted from wood, "from the room where it happend:! 

This beautiful handcrafted ballpoint pen is made from wood obtained from the 1927 and 1950 reconstructions of The White House, made available at the time by the U.S. Government to help fund the renovations (see story below)! Donated by the one-of-a-kind company: History Salvaged, Bob DeMartino Founder & CEO!

Independence Hall - HS Elegant II Fountain Pen

• Handcrafted Fountain Pen featuring not only Original Construction 1723 Independence Hall American Chestnut Witness Wood® but collector quality Rhodium hardware with 24K Gold plate accents and a Swarovski Crystal clip with a solid silver Liberty Bell finial.
• Featuring the only documented original construction Witness Wood® ever removed from Independence Hall, acquired by the History Salvaged along with documentation dating back to the 1898 restoration and renovation of the Birthplace of America, Independence Hall, Philadelphia, PA. 
• Engraved - Independence Hall
• Made in the USA
• Each pen is individually handcrafted and therefore may vary in look and feel
• Certificate of  Authenticity Included

Brief History
History Salvaged acquired the only documented ORIGINAL 1723 Construction Witness Wood® ever removed from Independence Hall.  

This Witness Wood® includes pieces of the beams that supported the floor when both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were debated and signed. These Independence Hall Witness Wood® beams and railings had once felt the footsteps and touch of George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and John Adams, among others.

Provenance - Independence Hall
Completed in 1735 as the Pennsylvania State House, it took two years to build Independence Hall home of the 1st Continental Congress and the Declaration of Independence and where the Constitution was debated and put to paper.

During the renovation of Independence Hall in 1897-98, 16 of the original beams holding up the floor on which the giants of the era debated the future of the 13 Colonies were replaced under the supervision of the project manager and superintendent of the Independence Hall, Samuel Reeves. Rather than discarding the beams, Reeves retained possession of the old timbers.

In 1912 Reeves sold the beams to John S. McQuade a builder and member of the Philadelphia City Council for the purposes of cutting them up and making “relics”, but McQuade stored the beams for 12 years and in 1924 sold them to two brothers, Walter and Clarence Deisroth owners of a paper box company in Philadelphia.

The Deisroth’s reduced some beams to 100,000+ slivers and sold them as souvenirs during the Sesquicentennial Exposition of 1926.

In 1956 the Deisroth’s company went into bankruptcy and at auction Mr. Henry Gouse a retired sales engineer and the Mid-Atlantic Tennis Champion of the 1940s bought the wood at auction. Along with what was left of the timbers thousands of chips and 20 gallons of sawdust, a byproduct of producing the 100,000+ slivers was included in the lot.

Grouse stored the beams in a barn on his property on the outskirts of Philadelphia where he made gavels out of some of the beams and presented them over the years to President Eisenhower, President Nixon, Winston Churchill, Charles de Gaulle, and other political leaders.  Grouse also donated 4 of the remaining beams to Independence Hall and the National Park Service (now the operator of Independence Hall) as confirmed in National Park Service letter acknowledging “the gift”.

In 1975 Gouse was in his 80’s and his ex-wife “reluctantly” sold the remaining woodpile to an artist and attorney from whose estate the History Salvaged was able to acquire this Witness Wood®.

Mrs. Grouse only sold the Witness Wood® because of the high cost of living and her struggling economic situation, she simply could no longer afford to keep the timbers and sold the Witness Wood® with the understanding that it would not be desecrated.

The new owners subsequently cut up much of the wood again into slivers, producing thousands of history cards and memorabilia that were sold during the Bicentennial in 1976 all over the country and in many major department stores.

The remnant wood has remained drying out and deteriorating in storage since the 1970s until History Salvaged recent acquisition.

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All pens are handcrafted by Master Pen Craftsman and are made in America.

Each is individually handmade and each varies in look and feel both in grain and shape.

Each pen in the numbered Limited Edition arrives in a presentation box and includes a Certificate of Authenticity with custom tamper proof corresponding hologram, history, and provenance 

Generously Donated by:  
Bob DeMartino
History Salvaged, LLC
PO Box “76"
West Creek, NJ 08092
www.HistorySalvaged.com 

Mission Statement Of History Salvaged
History Salvaged began with a simple goal: the reclamation, salvaging and repurposing of wood and other natural materials from historic sites throughout the United States that would otherwise be discarded and lost to history.

We work primarily with Witness Wood® and timbers removed from historical buildings and sites during the renovation and preservation of existing structures as well as with trees and branches that have fallen in storms, or are removed for safety reasons or expanded construction.

With the challenges facing all of us in the 21st Century and as the Greatest Generation and Baby Boomers age, the relationship with our fore fathers and national identity seems to be fading. We are committed to preserving our national identity and preserving sites, buildings and materials that have not only witnessed but have been part of that national identity.