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175

George Washington

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Autographs Start Price:NA Estimated At:15,000.00 - 18,000.00 USD
George Washington

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Auction Date:2010 Sep 15 @ 22:00 (UTC-05:00 : EST/CDT)
Location:5 Rt 101A Suite 5, Amherst, New Hampshire, 03031, United States
ALS - Autograph Letter Signed
ANS - Autograph Note Signed
AQS - Autograph Quotation Signed
AMQS - Autograph Musical Quotation Signed
DS - Document Signed
FDC - First Day Cover
Inscribed - “Personalized”
ISP - Inscribed Signed Photograph
LS - Letter Signed
SP - Signed Photograph
TLS - Typed Letter Signed
Remarkably well-preserved ALS signed “Go: Washington,” one page, 7.5 x 9.5, March 24, 1799. From his Mount Vernon home eight months before his death, Washington writes to Dr. William Thornton, an architect who designed the United States Capitol. In full: “I received your letter of the 18th instant a day or two ago, previous to wch, I had desired Col. Lear to remain in the City as long as he could derive benefit from your friendly prescription to his Understanding. It, or more properly they, stand so much in need of skilled assistance, that an entire derangement may take place without it. Enclosed is a letter (put under this cover for surety of its getting to hand) for him. I sent him two other a day or two ago.” Double cloth-matted with a small likeness of Washington and a typed page featuring biographical notes and a transcript of this letter to an overall size of 34 x 18.5. In fine, clean condition, with intersecting folds, a small spot of foxing, light soiling, and rounded extreme lower right corner tip; the two horizontal folds were at one time completely and cleanly separated, and have been expertly, professionally, and archivally repaired and reinforced on the reverse.

After serving two terms in office as the nation's first commander-in-chief, Washington retired from the presidency in March 1797 and returned to his Mount Vernon, Virginia, homestead, where he oversaw the operation of his farm and a newly formed distillery. During this period, he also partook in another passion: architecture. In his post-presidential life, Washington helped design a pair of rental houses in Federal City—later Washington, D.C.—with Thornton, this letter’s recipient, overseeing their construction. Thornton was an amateur architect who had been responsible for submitting the original plan for the Capitol Building, the portion which now houses Congress. That plan was praised by Washington and Thomas Jefferson for its “grandeur, simplicity, and beauty.”

As the project continued to take shape, Washington must have sent his personal secretary, Tobias Lear—the “Col. Lear” mentioned here—to check on events and “to remain in the City as long as he could derive benefit from your friendly prescription.” Less than nine months after composing this letter, Washington became ill but still spent several hours inspecting his farms in inclement weather. He died on the evening of December 14, 1799. This is an exceptional Washington letter, both in its content and its exceptional condition.
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