notables
Declaration of Independence
170. George Clymer Autograph Letter Signed. Signer of the Declaration of
Independence from Pennsylvania (1739–1813) who served as the first president of the Philadelphia Bank. ALS signed “Geo. Clymer,” one page, 8 x 9.75, November 4, 1803. Letter to banker and merchant Samuel Coates, in part: “I have waited a considerable time for the inclosed opinion of M. Thomas Gibson of the value of some lands which I would offer in security for my debt of 8000 to your bank. The tracts are ten, and contiguous, being 3050 acres, taken up about thirty years ago, and purchased by me twenty six or twenty seven.” In very good to fine condition, with toning to the left edge, minor loss along the vertical folds, and seal-related paper loss, and a tear, to the integral address leaf. Starting Bid $200
Franklin writes to America’s first great botanist: “I have sent over some Seed of Naked Oats, and some of Swiss Barley, 6 rows to an Ear” 171. Benjamin Franklin Partial Third-Person Autograph Letter Signed. Partial third-person ALS, with his surname written within the
text, “Franklin,” one page, 7.75 x 2, [January 1769]. The handwritten postscript of a letter from Ben Franklin to botanist John Bartram, in full: “P.S. Jan. 28. The Box is delivered according to Mr. Mich. Collinson’s Directions, at Lord Bute’s. Mr. Collinson takes it amiss that you did not write to him. I have sent over some Seed of Naked Oats, and some of Swiss Barley, 6 rows to an Ear. If you would choose to try some of it, call on Mrs. Franklin.” In very good to fine condition, with light staining to the left edge, and show-through from writing on the reverse (evidently a list of plants or crops, likely written by Bartram). The complete text of this letter—concerning a ‘box directed to the King’ and a proposed ‘Natural History of our country’—is transcribed as part of Franklin’s collected papers. The recipient, John Bartram, was described by taxonomist Carl Linnaeus as the ‘greatest natural botanist in the world.’ He founded ‘Bartram’s Garden,’ considered to be the first botanic garden in the United States, at his Philadelphia home in 1728. A unique piece of correspondence, demonstrating Franklin’s scientific interests. Starting Bid $200
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August 11, 2021 | NOTABLES
