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Sale 43
Lot 116
Apollo 11, 1969, FLOWN LUNAR MODULE Timeline Book (10.5x8.5") This complete book consists of three-ring pages (with original slightly rusted snap rings) Nos 1-23 ("Flight Plan") and pages Nos 1-15 ("Rendezvous Timelines and Relative Motion Trajectories") and front and back card covers. It is THE book actually created by NASA for Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to use during their lunar stay. It covers every minute from the time they entered the Lunar Module until they redocked with the Command Module in lunar orbit (with the exception of their EVA which is detailed in its own Checklist). This unbelievable document is filled with handmade notes, notations and check marks made during man's first visit to the lunar surface.
The front cover is printed: "Apollo 11, LM Timeline Book / Part No: SKB32100080-388 / S/N 1001". The consignor has written inside the front cover, in blue ink: "This LM Timeline book was carried and used aboard Lunar Module "Eagle" by Neil Armstrong and myself during the first lunar landing. It contains our mission timeline during "Eagles" stay at Tranquility Base during July 20-21, 1969. The Timeline continues through our return to Mike Collins in "Columbia" who remained in lunar orbit". It is signed "Buzz Aldrin / Apollo XI Lunar Module Pilot".
What can we say about this lot except to say that it is comparable to one of Columbus' charts used when he discovered the New World. In fact, that is exactly what Neil and Buzz accomplished during their trip to the lunar surface. Virtually pristine condition, unique and irreplaceable. This document is of the highest importance to the American "Experience", to the history of mankind, and to collectors who can appreciate owning the best of the best.
Estimated Value $350,000 - 500,000.
Ex. the astronaut Buzz Aldrin collection.
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Lot 244
Harrison, William Henry (1773-1841) 9th President of the United States (1841). Partly printed DS ("W H Harrison") as President, 1p, 10" x 15¾", Washington, 1841 March 25. Countersigned by Secretary of State Daniel Webster ("Danl Webster"). Two days before he became bedridden and ten days before his death, President William Henry Harrison appoints Thomas B. Johnson "Marshal of the United States for the Territory of Iowa." The document is expertly and imperceptibly reinforced on verso; some toning, mostly along edges and folds, and there are a couple of tiny, almost pin-prick, areas of paper loss along folds, one at the top of the document in the title, affecting the first "r" in "Harrison," but not touching the fine signature, which is clear and dark. Webster's signature is a little light, but legible, and the Presidential Seal at lower left is intact and in fine condition.
Ironically, President John Tyler, who became President upon Harrison's death, had to renominate Johnson on June 17, 1841 because this March 25, 1841 appointment was made during a congressional recess and was never approved by the U.S. Senate, as required by the Constitution. The Senate had adjourned sine die (without definitely fixing a day for reconvening), on March 15, 1841, so President Harrison's appointments after that date had to be resubmitted by President Tyler in 1843.
The Daniel Webster Collection at Brandeis University contains ten letters from February 4-March 23, 1841 to Secretary of State Webster recommending Johnson to be appointed Marshal of Iowa, the last one being from Johnson himself! Two dates later, President Harrison named him U.S. Marshal for the Iowa Territory. The "Journal of the House of Representatives" records that on May 27, 1850, Indiana Congressman William J. Brown presented "The petition of Thomas B. Johnson, praying compensation for services rendered by him as marshal of Iowa," leading one to suppose that Johnson was never paid for his two years as U.S. Marshal.
William Henry Harrison came from a famous family. His father, Benjamin, was Governor of Virginia and a Signer of the Declaration of Independence; his grandson, Benjamin, would become the 23rd President of the United States. W. H. Harrison died at the age of 69 and was a fairly prolific writer throughout his life, so many of his letters and documents prior to the presidency were saved; however, while there are documents signed by Harrison as President in the National Archives, only a few are known to exist in private hands. William Henry Harrison is the rarest of all Presidential signatures.
Estimated Value $60,000 - 70,000.
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Lot 345
Franklin, Benjamin (1706-1790) American statesman, philosopher, author, inventor, printer, and scientist; signer of the Declaration of Independence. DS ("B Franklin") as Commissioner to France, 2pp, 12½" x 8", Passy, France, 1872 August 7. Franklin vouches for the fact that a naval commission as Captain in the U.S. Navy was issued to Gustavus Conyngham (c. 1744-1819), the famous "Dunkirk Pirate." The commission had been seized by the French in 1777 when his ship, the Surprise, his crew, and his prizes were seized while in the French port of Dunkirk. Franklin boldly signs his name to the document, which reads:
"I do hereby certify whom it may concern, that the Commissioners of the United States of America at the Court of France, did issue on the first Day of March One Thousand Seven hundred & Seventy Seven, to Captain Gustavus Conyngham a Commission of Congress appointing him a Captain in the Navy of the said States and to command a Vessel then fitting out at Dunkerque on their Account to cruise against their Enemies, in which Vessel he took the English Packet Boat going from Harwich to Holland. But their [sic] being no War at that Time between France & England, and the Clandestine Equipment of an armed Vessel in a French Port to cruise against the English being therefore an unjustifiable Proceeding, he was apprehended by Order of the French Government and his Papers seized, among which was the said Commission, which was never restored, and cannot now be found. It is therefore at the Request of the said Capt. Conyngham, and to ascertain the Fact that such a Commission was issued to him, I give this Certificate at Passy, this 7th Day of August, 1782. B. Franklin Minister Plenipotentiary from the United States of America at the Court of France."
Irish-born American naval officer Gustavus Conyngham was in command of a small ship called the Charming Peggy from September 1775, when he sailed for Ireland with a cargo of flax seed, intending to return to the U.S. with military supplies. He purchased the supplies in Holland, as planned, but the British consul in Ostend was informed of the military cargo, and prevailed upon the Dutch government to prevent the sailing of Conyngham's ship. The stranded Conyngham escaped to Dunkirk.
The American commissioners at the Court of France appointed Conyngham Captain in the U.S. Navy, filling out one of the blank "commissions for fitting out privateers in France" signed by the President of Congress and dated March 1, 1777, and gave him command of the lugger Surprise, partly owned by Congress and partly by William Hodge, a Philadephia merchant in France. The ship was fitted out with ten guns and went to sea about May 1, returning almost immediately to Dunkirk with two prizes, one of them an English mail packet from Harwich. The British expressed their outrage to the French (the Treaty of Utrecht, concluded between France and England in 1713, expressly closed the ports of either power to the enemies of the other), and the French had no choice but to order the arrest of Conyngham and his crew, taking his papers from him and seizing the ship.
The American commissioners obtained Conyngham's release and he was appointed Captain in the Continental Navy under a new commission (dated May 2, 1777) and given command of the 14-gun cutter Revenge. Conyngham wreaked havoc with the Revenge, taking 60 prizes in just 18 months and creating panic in Engand. Insurance rates went up--boats running between Dover and Calais had to pay ten per cent--and travelers were afraid to go to sea. Prints were issued in London and Paris, referring to him as the "Dunkirk Pirate" and caricaturing him as a ferocious pirate with a belt full of pistols and a sword in his right hand.
Within 18 months, he had taken 60 prizes, his cruises (often from Spanish ports) taking him as far away as the Azores and the Canary Islands. On February 21, 1779, he returned to Philadelphia and his ship was fitted out as a privateer. Setting sail again, he was captured by the British naval vessel Galatea on April 27, 1779, off New York. He was sent to Mill Prison, Plymouth, England in irons, from which he escaped on his third try (November 3, 1779), and he embarked from Holland on John Paul Jones' flagship, the Experiment. The vessel was taken by the British on March 17, 1780 and Conyngham found himself in Mill Prison for another year; he was exchanged shorly before news of peace arrived.
After the war, Conyngham returned to the merchant service. He tried to re-enter the Navy but failed. He also failed to get compensation for his services during the war; however, Benjamin Franklin, who, when Conyngham was captured, had said, "He has done so much harm to the enemy that he can expect no mercy at their hands," intervened on his behalf and Conyngham's March 1, 1777 naval commission as Captain in the Navy was restored on August 7, 1782 by means of the letter offered here.
The letter is written on laid, watermarked paper. Ironically, the watermark on one page shows a robed Britannia seated beside a rampant lion within the enclosure of a picket fence; Britannia supports a spear holding a hat; to the left of the spear is "Pro Patria"; on the other page is "GR" below a crown. Fine, with a magnificent, large and bold signature of Franklin and the red wax seal intact at the left. There are a few small edge splits at folds and mounting remnants down one edge of the verso of the integral blank leaf. The letter is housed in a handsome blue slipcase with red leather labels printed in gold. A significant and utterly fantastic document showing the American government helping a privateer who was of immense aid to the American cause during the Revolutionary War.
Estimated Value $35,000 - 50,000.
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Lot 121
Apollo 11, 1969, FLOWN Commemorative Cover. This cover has a multicolor NASA Manned Spacecraft Center Stamp Club cachet and a Webster, TX, Aug 11, 1969 cancel on it. Below the cancel is a black rubber three-line handstamp that reads: 'Delayed in Quarantine at Lunar Receiving Laboratory M.S.C. - Houston, TX". The cover is boldly signed by the crew, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins and has an additional notation at the upper left "EEA-13, Carried to the Moon on Apollo 11" in the consignor's hand.
The cover was flown onboard the flight of Apollo 11 and returned to earth on July 24th, but, due to fears that the lunar environment might contain pathogens dangerous to terrestrial life, both the astronauts, and anything that they came in contact with during the flight that may have been exposed to lunar dust, went into three-week quarantine at the Lunar Receiving Laboratory after they returned to earth. That included both themselves and the covers they carried to the Moon in the Command Service Module. Therefor the covers could not be officially cancelled until they, and the astronauts, were released from quarantine on 11 August. The Webster, TX post office was the closest post office available to the Lunar Receiving Laboratory on 11 August.
A typed certificate of authenticity on multicolor Buzz Aldrin personal letterhead stationery is included that reads: "This NASA Manned Spacecraft Center Stamp Club commemorative postal cover was carried to the Moon during July 16-24, 1969 on the Apollo 11 mission. The lunar module Eagle made the first manned lunar landing on July 20, 1969. The cover has been in my private collection since 1969 and was signed by the Apollo 11 crew, Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and myself. I have written on the cover that is was "Carried to the Moon on Apollo 11" and added my initials "EEA" with the number 13, which is my personal serial number of this group of covers". The certificate is signed: "Buzz Aldrin / Col. USAF (Ret.) / Gemini XII Pilot /Apollo 11 Lunar Module Pilot".
An important piece of historical memorabilia in immaculate condition.
Estimated Value $15,000 - 25,000.
Ex. the astronaut Buzz Aldrin collection.
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Lot 265
(Lincoln, Abraham) Gold-headed Presentation Cane. A 36" walking stick with a 2½" gold head and a wooden, black-lacquered body with a brass tip. The cane bears three separate engravings. The original one, one on the head, says: "J.A. McClernand To Hon. A. Lincoln June 1857". A 3/4"gold band just below the original 2½"gold head is engraved "Presented to the Revd. Jas. Smith, D.D.BY THE FAMILY OF THE LATE PRESIDENT LINCOLN in memoriam of the high esteem in which he was held by him and them as their pastor and dear friend. 27th April 1868"; and a 1" gold band, 5" below the first one, is engraved: "Bequeathed by the Rev. Dr. Smith, U.S. Counsul, Dundee, to the Right Hon. John Bright Hill, in recognition of his tried friendship to the United States." Housed in a custom-made wooden box, 41" x 4¼" x 4¼".
John A. McClernand (1812-1900), the future Union general, was admitted to the Illinois bar in 1832 and worked on many of the same cases that Lincoln did, sometimes on the same side and sometimes on opposing sides. In Lincoln Day By Day (Vol. II: 1849-1860), McClernand's name appears twice during the chronology for June, once on June 8th, as lawyer for the defendant in Tallman v. Harvey, while Lincoln represented the plaintiff; and on June 11, Lincoln and McClernand were appointed by the court as defense attorneys in U.S. v. Andrew J. Sloan. The outstanding event of June for Lincoln was his speech in the House of Representatives against the Dred Scott decision. We don't know the motivation for this gift, whether for a particular reason, or just out of respect for a colleague.
The Reverend Dr. James A. Smith (1801-1871), a native of Glasgow, Scotland, was pastor of the Presbyterian Church in Springfield, Illinois, beginning in 1849. At the time of the death of Lincoln's second son, Edward Baker Lincoln (February 1, 1850), Mary Todd Lincoln attended the Protestant Episcopal Church, where the Reverend Charles Dresser, who had married the Lincolns, was minister. Since Dresser was out of town at the time, Smith was asked to officiate at the services, which were held at the Lincoln's home. Mrs. Lincoln began attending the Presbyterian Church and became a member on October 13, 1852; Tad Lincoln was baptized there on April 4, 1856. Lincoln sometimes attended services with his family but never formally joined. Lincoln was often away riding circuit, but he paid $50 annually for the rent of Pew No. 20. Lincoln read a book written by Smith called The Christian's Defense I in 1843, and Smith was often a guest in the Lincoln home.
Although Dr. Smith left Springfield in 1856 for employment with the American Sunday School Union, he remained in contact with the Lincoln family and is known to have visited the Lincolns in the Executive Mansion in June 1861. When Smith's son, Hugh, was appointed Consul at Dundee, Scotland, Dr. Smith went with him; when his son resigned shortly thereafter because of ill health, Dr. Smith took over his duties and, after appealing to Mrs. Lincoln, was appointed Consul at Dundee on February 18, 1863. After Lincoln's death, Mrs. Lincoln remained in contact with Smith. During the three years that she and Tad spent in Europe (1868-1870), they visited Smith in Scotland for several weeks during 1869.
John Bright (1811-1889), the third recipient of the cane, was a member of Parliament, a Quaker, and a great orator. He was instrumental in the repeal of the repressive corn laws and in the passage of the 1867 Reform Act, which enfranchised two million additional men. He admired the style of government in the United States, so much so that he was sometimes referred to in the House of Commons as the Honorable Member for the United States. During the American Civil War, he took the side of the North because of the issue of slavery, which was abhorent to him. It was surely Bright's known admiration and friendship for the United States that motivated Dr. Smith to bequeath to Bright his precious relic from the venerated and martyred President Lincoln.
Estimated Value $10,000 - 15,000.
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Lot 289
Washington, George (1732-1799) 1st President of the United States (1789-1797). ALS ("Go: Washington") as President, 2pp, recto/verso of one sheet, with integral leaf docketed by Tobias Lear on verso, Georgetown, 1791, Mar. 28. To his secretary, Tobias Lear (who is unnamed in the letter). Incredibly fresh for a letter over 216 years old; one slight mend at upper left corner.
Washington was in Georgetown to attend a conference finalizing the boundaries for the new District of Columbia, which was decided two days later. In this very rare letter to Tobias Lear, Washington complains about the man he had hired to manage some of his frontier land in western Virginia and Pennsylvania, Col. John Cannon. The President had heard nothing for months from Cannon, whose job it was to secure proft from rentals and the sale of timber and agricultural products. Washington had a great knowledge of commodity values and we see from this letter that he was not a man to be trifled with. He writes with great agitation to Lear to complain of this agent who had obviously cheated him.
In part: "…I return some letters to be filed; one from Colo. Blaine to be given to Genl. Knox, to be acted upon as he pleases; he is as well acquainted with the man as I am, & knows the want of such a character better than I do; another letter from Colo. Cannon, which I may venture to say proves him to be, what I will not call him; and I need never look for any Rents from him. I pray you to say to him, if he does not come to Philadelphia during my absence, that his own statement, given at New York, does not justify his pres[en]t report - and that I am too well acquainted with the prices of grain and the dem[an]d for it last year in his own neighbourhood to be imposed upon by such a tale as his letter exhibits. In a w[or]d that I am by no means satisfied with his treatment of me; for sure I am I shall get nothing from his but assurances of improvement, whilst he is either applying my Rents to his own use, or suffering the tenants to go free from the payment of them.
One of the Pads to the Waggon harness was left, it seems, at Mr. Clarks - send it by the stage to Alexsandria; if it comes too late the matter will not be great. I am not able to say yet, how long I shall be detained at this place, where I arrived before breadfast this morning. I am - Your affect[ionat]e Go: Washington."
The President adds a P.S.: "I send with my best remembrance a Sermon for Mrs. W[ashingto]n - I presume it is good, coming all the way from New Hampshire, but do not vouch for it not having read a word of it. It was one of your Enclosures."
Estimated Value $20,000 - 30,000.
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Lot 119
Apollo 11, 1969, FLOWN Flight Plan Checklist Page (11x8.5") This two-sided printed page (page # 3-53 and 3-54) from the consignor's flight plan was used by him in the Command Module during the flight and has several check marks on page 3-53 and numerous pencil notations and check-offs on page 3-54, all made during the flight of Apollo 11.
It is interesting to note that each page is broken down into sections devoted to the required duties of the CMP (Command Module Pilot), CDR (Commander) and LMP (Lunar Module Pilot. There is a printed time line for both the CSM (Command Service Module) as well as the LM (Lunar Module). The consignor has signed both pages in blue ink. An important addition to any Space, Apollo or Lunar collection.
Estimated Value $7,500 - 10,000.
Ex. the astronaut Buzz Aldrin collection.
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Lot 169
Hemingway, Ernest (1899-1961) American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist; winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 1953 for The Old Man and the Sea and the 1954 Nobel Prize in Literature. An extensive archive consisting of approximately eighty letters from family, friends, his first wife, and acquaintances from his early years (1914-1928), with a few other letters, including one from his third wife, up to 1941. Hemingway kept this group of letters with him until his death. The letters are housed in two loose-leaf notebooks; the condition is generally very good to fine.
Included in the collection are fourteen letters from Hemingway's mother, Grace Hall Hemingway and father, Clarence Hemingway (he committed suicide in 1928), with references to Ernest's World War I war injuries and his recovery in a hospital in Italy in 1918. One ANS "G.H.H." addressed to "Lieut. Ernest Miller Hemingway, Section 4 Italian Ambulance Service, American Red Cross…." says, "…Write me all about your dear Red Cross nurse. Dougherty tells me you were quite devoted to one another…." Agnes von Kurowsky was Ernest's first love and their romance served as the basis of the love story in A Farewell to Arms, the most important novel to come out of World War I. In 1919, Clarence sends Ernest, among other things, "a new Underwood 'Black Ribbon'"; Ernest kept this typewriter with him his entire life.
Two letters, from The Saturday Evening Post and The Green Book Magazine, are rejections of E.H.'s earliest attempts at short-story writing, one letter offering specific criticisms to improve his work. There are five letters written by E.H.'s first wife, Elizabeth Richarson "Hadley" Hemingway, between Dec. 28, 1921 and Mar. 20, 1925 to E.H.'s parents. In 1922 she writes, "..It's so wonderful being married but you're only half of twice as big a personality!…I certainly love this child of yours and mine…." In Sept. 1923, she reports her pregnancy [their son John was born Oct. 10, 1923], and in April 1924 she writes that Gertrude Stein and Alice Toclaz are the baby's godparents: "[they] are wonderful godparents - over here every few days to see his progress and make the right suggestions at the right moments….Ernie…is making a great name for himself among literary people everywhere. Ford Maddox Ford, editor of the Transatlantic Review, the man who taught Joseph Conrad to write English, said to him yesterday…'Monsieur, you will have a great name in no time at all!. In March 1925, she reports the news that "Boni and Livwright had taken Ernest's book of short stories, In Our Time….He has a big fishing story, The Big Two-Hearted River coming out in the opening number of This Quarter, an American & English magazine that promises to do well over here. It is on sale in the states too. Also a story,The Undefeated (Bullfighter's tale) in Der Gruschnitt March or April number…."
Martha Gelhorn, E.H.'s third wife, wrote his mother from Cuba in 1941, referring to their trip to China and noting that "Ernest is…getting the first real rest now since he finished his book…." The book is probably Hemingway's 1940 novel, For Whom the Bell Tolls.
Estimated Value $25,000 - 35,000.
Ex Collection of Jonathan Goodwin.
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Lot 276
Roosevelt, Franklin D. Autograph Manuscript Speech Signed, 4pp on both sides of two sheets, each bearing the heading and address of his law firm, Roosevelt & O'Connor, 11" x 8½", New York, n.d. Fine.
An astounding example of FDR's political acumen in which he has his wife Eleanor deliver a speech crushing any chance a candidate, Richard E. Arnold, had of becoming County Chairman. This rare handwritten speech of the future, four-term President reads as follows:
"To the Democratic County Committee of Dutchess: I am asking Mrs. Roosevelt to read this only in the event of the candidacy of Mr.Richard E.Arnold for County Chairman at your October 1st meeting. I cannot support or recommend the support of Mr. Arnold for County Chairman for the following very simple reason: I believe that three (3) qualifications are essential in any one aspiring to be County Chairman: 1. Loyalty to the Organization. 2. Disinterestedness. 3. A determination not to enter into "deals" with Republican Leaders.
Last winter there arose a question of whether the party in this County should support the bill allowing N.Y.City to obtain a large area of land and water rights. What I am writing has nothing to do with the merit or lack of merit of this bill. Mr. Arnold was then a Democrat in the ranks, like most of us. He held no position of County or City Committee Chairman or State Committeeman. Yet when the bill was proposed he undertook to bring together the New York City Water authorities with Judge Gleason the Republican leader of this County. As a result the following deal was made: 1. Judge Gleason undertook to deliver Senator Webb and to help pass the bill through a Republican Legislature. 2. New York City agreed in return to give to Judge Gleason all the local patronage connected with land condemnation proceedings and the subsequent jobs connected with the reservoirs, aqueducts, etc. 3. It was further understood that Mr. Arnold should have in return one-third of Judge Gleason’s patronage to distribute as he saw fit.
Mr. Arnold may have thought thus to build up the Democratic party but he erred. First: In failing to consult any of the duly elected officials of the Party in the County. Second: In making a deal with the Republican leader. Third: In putting himself personally in the position of making possible large personal gain for himself in the legal patronage involved in condemnation proceedings.
If the voters of this County want N.Y.City to come in here, well & good. But if this happens every step of the proceedings should be put in the light of day. The Democracy of the County had better remain a minority party rather than gain in power by questionable methods that belong to a bye-gone age. Let us remain clean and keep our self-respect. Franklin D. Roosevelt."
With original Roosevelt & O’Connor envelope addressed in FDR's hand, "To the County Committee." Housed in a full crushed calf folder and boxed.
One of the great American Presidential artifacts in private hands.
Estimated Value $25,000 - 35,000.
Ex-Roosevelt family, Dr. A.S.W.Rosenbach, John Fleming, Bruce Gimelson, Private Collector.
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Lot 290
Washington, George. LS ("Go: Washington") as Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army, 1p, 13¼" x 8¼", Head Quarters [New Windsor-Newburgh, New York], 1782 Dec. 26. Written in the hand of Washington's aide-de-camp, David Humphreys, to Major [Benjamin] Tallmadge, ordering the division of the spoils of war from captured British armed boats. General Washington writes:
"Sir As a reward for the signal gallantry of Captain Caleb Brewster of the 2nd Regt. of Artillery, and the Officers & Men under his command, in capturing on the Sound two Armed Boats then in the service of the King of Great Britain and commanded by Captains Hoit and Johnson; you are hereby authorised to cause the said Boats with all the property taken therein, to be disposed of for the benefit of the Captors, and duly shared amongst them…."
Tallmadge (1754-1835) was a major in the 2nd Continental Light Dragoons; he was promoted to the rank of colonel and became George Washington's spy master, organizing a chain of spies (the Culper Spy Ring) based out of New York City and Long Island. In November 1780, Tallmadge and his dragoons rowed across Long Island Sound from Fairfield, Connecticut to Mt. Sinai, New York, then proceeded to the south shore where they captured and burned down Fort St. George and captured the soldiers in the fort. On their way back to Mt. Sinai, Tallmadge and his troops burned 300 tons of hay which the British had stockpiled for the winter; Tallmadge received a letter of thanks from General Washington for this action. The captured British spy, Major John André, was placed in Tallmadge's custody until André's execution. After the War, Tallmadge married a daughter of signer of the Declaration of Independence William Floyd, and settled in Connecticut where he was elected to Congress for eight terms.
The importance of Washington's Christmas offering cannot be overestimated. Formal hostilities with the British had ceased, but while the treaty was being concluded in Paris by Benjamin Franklin, John Jay, and John Adams, the troops had to be maintained as a safeguard against the British, who were still in New York. Morale in the Army was abysmal. The soldiers had not received any pay in months and some of them were owed as many as six years of back pay. An impoverished, ineffectual Congress could not come up with the money. The Articles of Confederation, ratified in 1781, gave the Congress power to maintain a wartime army, but not the power to levy the taxes needed to pay it, and many of the states were unwilling to levy those taxes. The Army's financial situation was desperate.
What pleasure, then, General Washington must have felt in being able to reward the soldiers who captured the boats with a tangible reward, and what even greater pleasure the soldiers must have felt in receiving it.
The letter is fine, written on laid, watermarked paper, with light show-through at the right edge from the seal (not present). An important letter from a pivotal time in American history. Our thanks to Ted Crackel and his colleagues at the Papers of George Washington for identifying David Humphreys as the writer of the letter.
Estimated Value $20,000 - 30,000.
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