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Lot 267: John Trumbull Signed Letter 1795

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Lot  267: John Trumbull Signed Letter 1795
<b>Autographs</b><hr><b>Rare 'John Trumbull' Autograph Letter Signed</b>

<b>JOHN TRUMBULL, American Lawyer and Poet.</b>
Autograph Letter Signed 'John Trumbull,' September 2, 1795, Hartford, 7.75' x 7', Very Fine. A business letter certifying that 'I have received from Mr. William Wadsworth of Farmington Twenty One Pounds Eighteen Shillings... for my fees in one Action brought by Henry Champion Jr. against him & Samuel Whitman, on the Writ of Error brought from the Judgment therein, & on one Action brought by sd. Champion against said Wadsworth solely.' Light toning and foxing; mounting strip at lower edge of verso. Boldly written and signed in brown ink. Autograph Letters Signed by John Trumbull are so rare that none is listed in American Book Prices Current or Sanders.

Trumbull (1750-1831) is best known for writing 'The Progress of Dullness' in 1772, a poem of 1700 lines in octosyllabic couplets, and 'MÕFingal,' a work composed of some 3,000 lines and first published in 1782. 'MÕFingal,' which recounts the misfortunes of a Tory squire, was reprinted more than thirty times between 1782 and 1840. Trumbull passed his bar exam in 1773 and continued his studies under John Adams. He first held public office in 1789, as the stateÕs attorney for the county of Hartford; he was elected to the state legislature in 1792 and 1800. In 1801 he was appointed judge of the superior court of Connecticut and judge of the supreme court of errors in 1808, holding both positions until 1819. 'The Poetical Works of John Trumbull' was issued in two volumes in 1820.