JOHN FITCH, Signature on a Debtor Bond, 1777

AutographsExceedinginly Rare Signature of “John Fitch”
Granted The First U.S. Patent for the Steamboat

JOHN FITCH, Clockmaker, Brassworker, Silversmith, and Inventor of the Steamship in the United States.
Partly-printed Document Signed and completed in brown ink, “John Fitch” and “Eleazer Carey”, on fine laid paper, 12” x 7”, with wax seals secured by three quarter inch paper squares, dated October 10, 1777, Connecticut, Choice Very Fine. The document is an agreement to substitute servitude in the American Army for a large monetary debt, in part: “John Fitch and Eleazer Carey-- Both of Windham in the County of Windham in the State of Connecticut-- are holden and stand bound unto the Honourable John Hancock Esqur. The sum of five thousand Dollars... if the above-bounden... shall well and truly execute... in the American Army... then this present Obligation to be void and of none Effect.” Countersigned by the witnesses Vinc Eldermin and Joseph Baker. Usual folds, even toning; else very good. No separations or repairs. An unusual historical document.

On August 26, 1791, John Fitch was granted a United States patent for the steamboat. Four years earlier, on August 22, 1787, John Fitch demonstrated the first successful steamboat, launching a forty-five-foot craft on the Delaware River in the presence of delegates from the Constitutional Convention.
John Fitch (1743 to 1798) built the first recorded steam powered ship in the United States, in 1786. The first successful trial run of his steamboat was made on the Delaware River on August 22, 1787, in the presence of delegates from the Constitutional Convention. Fitch was granted a patent on August 26, 1791, after a battle with James Rumsey, who had created a similar invention. Fitch’s idea would be turned profitable by Robert Fulton, decades later. In the autumn of 1777, Fitch sold beer and tobacco to the British— George Washington greatly despised him for this.