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New York City CHARTER 1786 Signed Robert Morris

Title: New York Charter & Corporation Laws
Publisher: Samuel and John Loudon, Printers to the State
Printing Year: 1786, signed in two places by Robert Morris

Details/Condition: Bound in its emerald green paper boards with three-quarter leather and handwritten title, this antique text is an exceedingly scarce or unique privately bound set of legal printings that twice bears the original owner signature of Robert Morris, possibly the same Robert Morris who was a signer of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution and one of the key founders of the financial system of the United States.
Robert Morris, Jr. (January 20, 1734 – May 9, 1806) was an American merchant and a signer to the United States Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the United States Constitution. Morris was known as the Financier of the Revolution, because of his role in securing financial assistance for the American side in the Revolutionary War. Ironically, he was sent to debtor's prison in later life. Morris's portrait appeared on US $1000 notes from 1862 to 1863 and on the $10 silver certificates from 1878 to 1880. Along with Alexander Hamilton and Albert Gallatin, Morris is considered one of the key founders of the financial system in the United States. Morris and Roger Sherman were the only two people to sign the three significant founding documents of the United States, the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the U.S. Constitution.
Institutions named in honor of Morris include:
Robert Morris College Robert Morris University Robert Morris Elementary School, Batavia, NY Robert Morris Elementary School #27, Scranton, PA Mount Morris, New York, location of a large flood control dam on the Genesee River, was named in honor of Robert Morris.
The first printing is entitled "Laws and Ordinances, Ordained and Established by the Mayor, Aldermen and Commonality of the City of New-York", which was published in the mayoralty of James Duane. This document presents the full text, attractively typeset in characteristic fancy 18th-Century typefaces, of several laws passed by the early government of New York City. One such law is in regards to the observance of the Sabbath, and prevents commerce from occurring on that day. The second document bound in this volume is the Charter of the City of New York, which was confirmed under the reign of George the Second in 1730. Both of these documents were printed in 1786 by Samuel and John Loudon, who were prominent governmental and legal publishers as well as the producers of an early American newspaper based in New York State. This outstanding work is boldly signed in ink twice by Robert Morris, the presumed owner of this volume; one signature is found on the title page of the Laws and Ordinances document, and the other is found on the subsequent page (the first page of laws). The volume shows some external age/wear, with a detached but intact front board, and is solidly bound with clear, mildly age toned pages free of marks, marginalia, or tears. The two signatures are crisp, clear, and inscribed on well-preserved pages. The book measures approximately 8" x 13". Shipping cost (within the U.S.) for this lot will be: $4.50