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John Adams

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Autographs Start Price:NA Estimated At:7,000.00 - 7,500.00 USD
John Adams

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Auction Date:2010 Nov 10 @ 19:00 (UTC-5 : 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
Revolutionary War-period ALS, one page (apparently the self-contained final page of a longer letter), 7.25 x 8, no date [but Passy, France, October 1778]. Adams, the newly arrived Commissioner to the Court of France, writes to Edmé-Jacques Genet, relaying information provided to him by Cotton Tufts in August of 1778. In full: “The French Fleet, has taken many valuable Prizes from the Enemy, among which is a Vessel loaded with military Stores, having among other Things six large Mortars, with Shells Suitable for them. These came very Seasonable for driving out of their Holes, those Pests of Mankind that have so long plagued America, for which [pr]eparations are now making, and if the French Fleet in Conjunction with that of the United States should prove Superior to the British, I flatter myself, it will be shortly effected. The News of the Prize of military Stores, mentioned in the foregoing Extract, I have not Seen any where else. The Letter is from a good Authority. You may do with it what you please.”

Professionally silked and repaired in corners, laid onto a slightly larger sheet. Double matted and framed with a color portrait of Adams, to an overall size of 24.5 x 18. In good condition, along with the aforementioned repairs, upper corners are singed affecting first letter of text, red wax seal remnant covering a couple letters of text, some offsetting to ink, and possibly slightly trimmed edges.

The fledgling United States of America lacked arms and allies in its fight against the British —but it didn’t lack spirit. In its most desperate hour, the US turned to France, a nation with no interest in the conflict, but one that Benjamin Franklin was capable of persuading to participate, at first covertly...and then overtly. Several months earlier, our new French allies opened an essentially single-handed front against the British Navy, prompting Adams to send this correspondence praising the French for their victories. He clearly shows his revolutionary ideals and his disdain for the enemy, “those Pests of Mankind that have so long plagued America.” France’s entry into the war not only evened the military strength with Britain and its allies, but also greatly tested the military might of the British Empire and her allies. This page was likely intended for use as pro-American propaganda in a French journal. Oversized.
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