Lot 122 email save

George Washington Autograph Letter Signed UACC PAD

Sign In to see what this sold for

1st U.S. President, Commander in Chief of the Continental Army, President of the Constitutional Convention and Signer of the U.S. Constitution. Autograph Letter Signed, dated February 20, 1796, Philadelphia, two pages, 7.5" X 8.75". Like Rome, Washington D.C. was not built in a day. It began as an idea: a glorious "Federal City" that would be under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Congress, on territory ceded from Virginia and Maryland. The 100-square-mile tract, situated at the confluence of the Potomac and Eastern Branch Rivers, would include a residence for the President and a meeting place for Congress. It would be European in design, with broad tree-lined avenues, imposing statues and monuments, and expansive open spaces. Elaborate homes would be built for dignitaries. This utopian vision was officially set in motion on July 16, 1790, when President George Washington signed the Residence Act. The two-fold aims of this Act were (1) to establish the District of Columbia and (2) to move the seat of the federal government from New York City to Philadelphia until 1800-the projected year in which the new district would be ready for use by the three branches of government. President Washington commissioned the French engineer, Major Pierre Charles l'Enfant (1755-1825), to design a plan for the new capital. Although l'Enfant was ultimately dismissed from the task-ostensibly due to differences with the President about property speculation prior to the city's completion-the layout of Washington, D.C. today remains much as l'Enfant envisioned it. George Washington, himself, would never serve as Chief Executive in the city that bears his name; our 2nd President, John Adams, was the first to take up residence at the White House (referred to then as the "President's House"). He did so in 1800, as scheduled.In this extraordinarily significant letter, handwritten from Philadelphia in the sixth year of the new capital city project, President George Washington directly references "lands to be rented in the vicinity of the Federal City, or to be sold." His esteemed correspondent is the U.S. Minister to Great Britain, Thomas Pinckney, who would soon be the Federalist candidate for Vice President. Washington writes of entrusting Pinckney with important documents regarding land development, which the foreign minister will then distribute to prospective buyers "so as not to saddle those Gentleman with the Postage." For all intents and purposes, the President is also doing Pinckney a great personal service by supplying him with this advanced notification, which "puts it in your power to say (if enquiries should be made of you) for lands to be rented in the vicinity of the Federal City, or to be sold, that you are possessed of information that may merit attention." Washington then shifts gears to discuss his Mount Vernon estate. He describes the rental arrangement of his land, as it pertains to the wheat crop, and concludes the letter with a pessimistic view of the future: "I have very little expectation of accomplishing the Renting part of my plan for next year; nor would I attempt it at all, with the slovenly farmers of this country, if there was a tolerable well grounded hope of getting them for any other; where husbandry is better understood, and more rationally practiced." One wonders if Washington is simply recounting his plight to Pinckney as a friend, or if his words serve more of an advisory role-cautioning the foreign minister, prior to a hasty investment in the Federal City, on the potential drawbacks of extensive land ownership.Washington writes in his hand in full, "Dear Sir: Permit me to intrust the enclosed dispatches to your care, and to request that they may be forwarded agreeably to their directions; but by private conveyances, rather than by the Mail; as I am not disposed to saddle those Gentlemen with the Postage. Having come to the resolutions which are implied in the enclosed printed notification, I take the liberty of transmitting them to you; for no other purpose, believe me, than merely to put it in your power to say (if enquiries should be made of you) for lands to be rented in the vicinity of the Federal City, or to be sold, that you are possessed of information that may merit attention. As Wheat is the Staple commodity of the part of the country in which my Mount Vernon estate lies, I mean to fix the rent in the lease (giving privileges contained in the printed publication) to be discharged in failure of that Crop in Cash, at the price it bears in the market. I have very little expectation of accomplishing the Renting part of my plan for next year; nor would I attempt it at all, with the slovenly farmers of this country, if there was a tolerable well grounded hope of getting them for any other; where husbandry is better understood, and more rationally practiced. With great esteem & regard, I am Dear Sir Your obed't & affect''"Signed, "Gø Washington" in dark-brown ink. The edges are crisp, the surface is clean, and there is no evidence of the customary paper loss that affects many surviving documents of the period. A few minor professional repairs to the folds. In terms of its provenance, this very letter sold as Lot 361 in a Charles Hamilton Galleries sale on December 11, 1969. The hammer price was $3,200. To put this figure into perspective: in the same Hamilton sale, a General Order No. 9 signed by Robert E. Lee (which in today's market brings $100,000-$150,000) fetched $1,350! Here is a George Washington letter of great historical importance, written in his hand from Philadelphia, addressed to statesman Thomas Pinckney, referencing the "Federal City" by name, and deserving of a place of honor in the very finest presidential or political autograph collection.

Guaranteed Authentic Forever - Buy With Confidence.

Offered by:

Thispiece is offered by Max Rambod Inc, one of the nation's largest and most respected dealers of original historical autographs

Over the past 2 decades, we have sold and authenticated thousands of autographs in all categories including US Presidents, Vintage Hollywood and famous people in all fields. We are one of the top autograph dealers in the world. Make sure to view our page for more information about Autographs our Guarantee and Our Company.

ALLAUTOGRAPHS ARE GUARANTEED AUTHENTIC FOREVER.

Max Rambod Inc. is a member of PADA (Less than 50 dealers in the world have been accepted to PADA), we have been a member of UACC for 15 years, and an ebayseller for 8 years, Manuscript Society member for 15 years, IADA Registered Dealer, and former author of The Autograph Collector Magazine'scolumn on authentication, and we were a Sotheby's associate . During the time period that Sotheby's held auctions on the Internet, on Sothebys.com we were one of the few Licensed Sothebys.com Associate Dealer. Licensed Sothebys.com Associate Dealers were required to be specialists in the fields in which they offered property and to provide a Guarantee of the Authenticity and Condition of the property they sold. Our clients include Museums, Universities, and many major collectors anddealers who are captivated by our authentic material.

If you have any question about this great item please call or email us at least one day prior to the auction day, we have between 500 and 1000 lots in each auction so we will be very busy on the last day and unable to respond to inquiries on auction day, but we would be more than happy to do so on any day before the auction day

.We stand behind every autograph we sell with our unconditional guarantee of authenticity. WE will refund 100% of your money if it is ever proven that this autograph item is not authentic. So you can buy withconfidence.

If you have any questions please email us at max@maxrambod.com during weekdays. Please see Max Rambod's other guaranteed authentic autographs on eBay

TERMS OFAUCTION: PLEASE READ THE TERMS AND CONDITION OF THIS AUCTION, IF YOU BID ON THIS LOT YOU ARE ACCEPTING THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS. Please also remember that we must receive payment from winning bidder within 7 business days. If auction closes on the weekend Please note that we will contact you on the Monday following the closing of this auction (we are closed during weekends). Note that some scans may be in in black and white. Postal Money Orders preferred. Personal checks will have to clear for 10 business days before mailing. We accept VISA and Master Charge through PayPal.com. All sales are final. US funds Only. NO COD's. Item(s) are shipped via UPS ($15.50) or Federal Express for items priced above $1500.00 (Fed Ex charges are $38.50) all items also have an Shipping insurance fee of $3 for items priced below $300, Insurance for items valued above $300 will be $7.5 plus 0.03 percent of the value, but insurance fee will be less than what the postal insurance rate would cost. Please wait for your Invoice before making payments. All International shipping via Registered Mail is $29 plus insurance on all items. CA residents add 8.25% sales tax to all orders. Please wait for your Invoice before making payments. We have between 500 and 1000 lot in each auction so invoices will be sent out within 10 days of the sale. Thank you for participating at our auction.

Catalog #: 50
Inventory #: 13109