LOT Old Heritage Auctions  /  2006 October Grand Format Autographs #629  / 

25270

Thomas Paine- Rare 1783 ALS to Robert Morris

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:2,000.00 USD Estimated At:8,000.00 - 10,000.00 USD
Thomas Paine- Rare 1783 ALS to Robert Morris
<B>Revolutionary Author Thomas Paine, A Rare 1783 Autograph Letter Signed</B></I> "<I>T. Paine</B></I>". One page with docketing and integral address leaf, 6.5" x 8.25", Borden Town [New Jersey], February 27, 1783, to Declaration of Independence Signer Robert Morris who has handwritten a notation on the back "<I>Borden Town 27 Febry. 1783 Thos. Paine Esq.</B></I>" It reads: "<I>I just now reached this place after a most troublesome and fatiguing journey of bad weather and bad roads. and to add to the difficulties of it I fell ill of a fever which detained me in a little Dutch House destitute of every convenience for ten days. I shall stay at this place a day or two and hope after that to see you well in Philadelphia. Please to present my compl[limen]ts to Mr. G[eorge] - M[ason] and Mr. Livingstone. I am your obt...</B></I>" Thomas Paine was born in England in 1737 and came to America in 1774 through the encouragement of Benjamin Franklin who he had met in London. Paine almost didn't survive the voyage as typhoid fever struck the ship; he had to be carried off the ship in Philadelphia by Franklin's own personal physician and took six weeks to recover. Possibly, this left him in more susceptible to fevers such as mentioned in his letter. On January 10, 1776 he published his landmark work <I>Common Sense,</B></I> an incendiary pro-independence monograph that sold more than a 100,000 copies. It was instrumental in convincing many colonists, including George Washington and many framers of the Declaration, to seek our independence from Britain. This present letter written to Robert Morris, best known as the "Financier of the Revolution," ties together two men who are massively responsible for this country's successful birth as an independent and free nation. <BR><BR>The letter has excellent provenance. A manuscript note on the verso from the original owner, dated 1851, states, in part: "<I>This letter was presented to me by Miss Sally Morris, granddaughter of Robert Morris. I have consented to part with it to Mr. Davies only with the view of rendering more perfect his invaluable collection of autographs...Robert W. Landis</B></I>" It is in fine condition with original mailing folds, a tiny area of foxing at the lower left. The writing is clear and legible and the signature is large and bold. This would be a worthy and wonderful addition to any collection.
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