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John Hancock

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Autographs Start Price:NA Estimated At:8,000.00 - 10,000.00 USD
John Hancock

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Auction Date:2016 May 11 @ 18:00 (UTC-05:00 : EST/CDT)
Location:236 Commercial St., Suite 100, Boston, Massachusetts, 02109, 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
Remarkable partly-printed DS, signed “John Hancock, President,” one page, 13 x 10, July 1, 1775. As president of the Continental Congress, Hancock appoints Stephen Kimbal Esquire as “Captain of a Company in the 14th Regiment, commanded by Col’. Hitchcock in the army of the United Colonies, raised for the defence of American Liberty, and for repelling every hostile invasion thereof.” Prominently signed at the conclusion by Hancock, and countersigned by Secretary Charles Thomson. In fine condition, with professional repairs to a couple of tears, and a few old tape remnants in no way affecting signatures or presentation.

With the war underway and Bostonian unrest at a boiling point, patriot brass began to organize its leaders in preparation for the forthcoming revolution. On May 24, 1775, Hancock was unanimously elected as president of the Continental Congress, and George Washington, less than a month later, was named commander in chief of the colonial armies only days before the Battle of Bunker Hill on June 17. Kimbal, the appointee, served as captain in Colonel Daniel Hitchcock’s Rhode Island Militia when it helped campaign the Siege of Boston in August of 1775. Of further interest is the document’s mention of twelve colonies instead of thirteen, with the lone absence of Georgia due to the colony’s late decision to send delegates not being made until July 8, 1775; the Province Georgia was the lone colony to not send delegates to the first Continental Congress, due to their reliance on British protection from marauding Native American tribes. A fantastic document signed during the nascent stages of America’s quest for independence.