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Magnificent 1820 Inaugural Address by Pennsylvani

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Historical Memorabilia Start Price:475.00 USD Estimated At:900.00 - 1,200.00 USD
Magnificent 1820 Inaugural Address by Pennsylvani
<B>Magnificent 1820 Inaugural Address by Pennsylvania Governor General Joseph Hiester on Silk</B></I> Dated 1820, silk printed broadside, "INAUGURAL ADDRESS DELIVERED BY GEN. JOSEPH HIESTER." Choice extremely fine. Large in size, measuring 16.75" x 9.5". This impressive address is printed on silvery-white silk, and framed to 19.5" x 12". Ornately designed in a large, two-column presentation by General Hiester, <I>"on his induction to the Governmental Chair of Pennsylvania."</B></I> Minor stains along left edge and top center do not detract from the overall beauty of this piece. This address is dated December 19, 1820 and signed in print at the conclusion by the general, <I>"JOSEPH HIESTER."</B></I> Nice printing of a Federal period heraldic eagle at top, its wings spread wide. An impressive display piece, well printed on silk and ready to hang. These silk political broadsides were widely produced during the 1820s-1840s, but this is one of the earliest we have seen. Silk is particularly vulnerable to deterioration, and one rarely sees an item of this type in such choice condition. Joseph Hiester (1752-1832), Governor of Pennsylvania (1820-1823). Wounded as a militia captain, he was held captive on a British prison ship during the American Revolution. He served five years in the state House of Representatives, four in the state Senate, and then fourteen years in Congress (1780-1805), and attended the State Constitutional Convention of 1789-1790. In 1807, he was commissioned as a major general in the Pennsylvania militia. After 1810, he became an "Old School" or "Independent" Jeffersonian Democrat. Defeated for governor in 1817, "the old general" was elected governor in 1820 at the age of 68. His administration was known for reducing expenditures and corruption, appointing men on their merits without regard for political or social affiliation, and aiding the expansion of public education. Known as "Old German Grey," he declined to run for a second term. Lot:255