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Peter Stuyvesant

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Autographs Start Price:NA Estimated At:10,000.00 - 15,000.00 USD
Peter Stuyvesant

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Auction Date:2014 Mar 12 @ 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
Last Dutch Director-General of the colony of New Netherland (1612–1672) who was a major figure in the early history of New York City. Manuscript DS, in Dutch, signed at the conclusion, “P. Stuyvesant,” one page, 16.5 x 13, September 14, 1662. Land grant issued to Dirck Teunissen, in part (translated): “On behalf of the Lofty members of the States General [Dutch parliament] of the United Netherlands and the Noble Lord Governors of the chartered West India Company Amsterdam Department, Director-General of New Netherland…together in the Noble Lords' Council, bear witness to and testify that we today on the below-mentioned date have allowed and permitted a plot of land to Dirck Teunissen, situated in the area of the village of Bergen, to the north-easterly side of Tieleman van Vleeck. It concerns a double lot with a width of thirty rods on the north-west dividing line, with a length from the road up to the riverbank, the size of the valley bordering that same land…a garden situated between Casper Steijnmits and Douwe Harmensse with a width of eight rods stretching from the road up to Frederick Philipse. [All this] on the explicit terms and conditions that he, Dirck Teunisse (or whoever should later receive his right), shall recognise and obey the Noble Lords' Council named earlier as his lords and patrons under the sovereignty of the Lofty members of the States General and here the Director-General and the Council in all, as good inhabitants are expected to do, and shall adhere to payments of a tithe for the benefit of the patron Lords and such other expenses and justifiable demands as applicable to all inhabitants of the land…owner of the aforementioned plot of land, with this full authority and a special order to build on and use the aforementioned plot of land as he would be allowed to do with other lands and effects passed down to him through an inheritance.” Document is also docketed in English in the lower left, and dated April 2, 1764. In fair to good condition, with intersecting folds all repaired and reinforced on the reverse, one through a single letter of signature, Stuyvesant’s signature faded and light, but still mostly legible, a few small areas of paper loss and ink erosion, a couple areas of paper replacement to corners, and edges, and staining from adhesive along bottom.

Under the leadership of Stuyvesant, the village of Bergen was officially established in 1660 after brutal battles with the Native American population. Partially removed from the jurisdiction of New Amsterdam—making it the oldest autonomous municipality of New Jersey—it quickly developed into a thriving township. First appearing in records in New Amsterdam in 1650, Dirck Teunissen was party to several lawsuits—the most serious of which, seemingly unproven, involved an accusation of impropriety between him and his step-daughter—before moving to this plot of land in Bergen in 1662. This incredibly rare land grant—issued just two years before the colony would be seized by England, divided, and renamed New York and New Jersey—is a phenomenal piece of history, a document marking the adventurous spirit that made the Hudson River Valley and its surrounding areas what they are today. Only a handful of documents signed by Stuyvesant have appeared at auction in the last quarter century, making this fine example highly desirable.