7034

John Jay Handwritten Draft Letter

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Autographs Start Price:NA Estimated At:8,000.00 - 10,000.00 USD
John Jay Handwritten Draft Letter

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Auction Date:2017 Oct 26 @ 18:00 (UTC-5 : 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
Handwritten draft letter, unsigned, one page both sides, 7.75 x 12.5, December 16, 1800. Draft letter to Sir John Sinclair, written as governor of New York, in part: "They who feel an interest in the honor of this country cannot fail of being gratified by every mark of respect to the memory of our late president. The tribute of the commendation paid to his merits by so many respectable persons in Great Britain is no less honorable to them than to him; and I very sincerely concur with you in wishing that the best understanding may always subsist between our two nations. The facsimile copies of the letters appear to me to be well executed, but I am not certain that the taste of this country is such as to produce a considerable demand for them. I shall immediately put the cards and subscription papers into the hands of such persons here…as I think most likely to promote the object of them." Jay then launches into a lengthy discussion of farms, planting, and profit, concluding: "The more food Great Britain produces the better; and it is plain that by cultivating all your wastelands, and by still greater improvements in husbandry, the quantity annually produced may and will be exceedingly augmented; yet…it is not quite clear to me that Great Britain can always continue to produce more food than she will consume…Consider the rapidity of population on this country and in some parts of your extensive empire. Your manufacturers must increase and they must have food." The draft has several corrections made in Jay’s hand. In fine condition.

Sir John Sinclair was a Scottish politician and influential writer on finance and agriculture; he had corresponded with Washington extensively during his presidency, typically on the subject of the British Board of Agriculture, of which Sinclair was the first president. After Washington's death, Sinclair collected his letters and had them published in London under the title "Letters from His Excellency George Washington, president of the United States of America, to Sir John Sinclair, bart. M.P. on agricultural and other interesting topics." The volume included eight facsimiles engraved from the original letters so as to exactly reproduce Washington's handwriting. In the preface to the book, Sinclair eloquently wrote: 'I hope that these letters will not only furnish much satisfactory information to the reader, as containing the sentiments of General Washington on agricultural and other important subjects, but will also display, to peculiar advantage, the character of the much respected author; and with the profits of the publication I trust it will be in my power to pay a proper tribute of respect to the memory of one, who, thought the immediate cause of the separation between Great Britain and America, yet is the person to whom, in a great measure, is to be ascribed the good understanding which now so happily subsists between the two countries.' In this fantastic letter, Jay promises to help promote Sinclair's book in America—though he is unsure of its commercial viability—and thoughtfully weighs in on a number of agricultural topics. A wonderful association piece connecting John Jay, John Sinclair, and George Washington, all of whom had a tremendous impact on world affairs in the late 18th century.