Description:

Humphreys David 1752 - 1818

A lovely ALS by David Humphreys regarding quasi-war with France.

Bi-fold signed letter on laid paper, 7.25" x 8.75 with the second page inlaid to another page. Handwritten recto and docketed to last page, with the other pages blank. Neatly signed by David Humphreys. Dated 'Madrid April 13th, 1799" and signed by him as "D. Humphreys". Expected folds, with a few faded small stains. Last page shows paper restoration to a 1" blank section, not affecting text. Accompanied by documented provenance as noted below.

David Humphreys, an American Revolutionary War colonel and aide de camp to George Washington (and an zealous entrepreneur who brought Merino sheep to America) penned this lovely ALS during the US preparations for a quasi, undeclared war. During this period, Humphreys's role was the American minister to Portugal and then to Spain, with this letter penned while stationed in Madrid. The undeclared war was fought almost entirely at sea between the United States of America and the French Republic from 1798 to 1800. After the toppling of the French crown during the French Revolutionary Wars, the United States refused to continue repaying its debt to France on the grounds that it had been owed to a previous regime. French outrage led to a series of attacks on American shipping, ultimately leading to retaliation from the Americans and the end of hostilities with the signing of the Convention of 1800 shortly thereafter.

His letter is shown in full below:

"Madrid April 13th, 1799

Sir,

I was duly favored with your two letters of the 13th of January and 2nd instant: the former enclosed your commission as Consul of the U.S. at Barcelona, which was without loss of time transmitted to this Minister of State accompanied by an official letter, for the purpose of obtaining the (illegible) To this office the Spanish Minister gave me a speedy answer, immediately communicated to Mr. Walsh. Mr. Young tells me the delay has happened in the office of Interpretation where they promise to return the translation to the secretary of the Council of Commerce tomorrow - this council is to report upon it to the Department of State.

It only remains for me to thank you for the intelligence you have communicated, and to add that I have just learned from the United States that within six months 300 sail of merchantmen had been armed, and that we have 40 vessels of war in the West Indies.

I am with due consideration,

Sir,

Your ...

D Humphreys"

Provenance: This item was recently discovered in an extra illustrated volume of "History of the City of New York" by Mary L. Booth, New York W. R. C. Clark, 1867. Originally two volumes, the monumental task of expanding the work to 21 volumes by none other than Emery E. Childs esquire of New York City. In volume 1 of this work exists a lovely india ink Drawing of Mary L. Booth along with a notation "presented by her to E E C" in pencil. Next to the title page we find an original letter of Booth to Childs dated April 4, 1872 " I am in receipt of your favor of the 4th inst., and am grateful to hear that you are taking the trouble to illustrate my History of the City of New York in the manner you describe. I shall be happy to see you, should you favor me with a callas I am usually in my office during business hours and should be pleased to facilitate your Enterprise by any means in my power".

It is assumed that the book took several years to assemble at which point, presumably through Childs, it made its way to Senator Charles B. Farwell of Chicago who took the seat of John A. Logan in 1887. Farwell had an extensive library that fortunately survived the great Chicago fire in 1871 having been housed in his Lakeside home. In the American Bibliopolist of November 1871 there is an article about the devastation to libraries caused by the tragedy . "Mr C. B. Farwell's library is also fortunately far out from the city, at his country house, and is safe, The same remark will also apply to the extensive collection of books and curiosities belonging to Mr. E. E. Childs." This establishes the Chicago connection between Childs and Farwell.

Accepted Forms of Payment:

American Express, MasterCard, Money Order / Cashiers Check, Paypal, Personal Check, Visa, Wire Transfer

Shipping

Applicable shipping and handling charges will be added to the invoice. ***PLEASE NOTE: IF YOU WOULD LIKE YOUR SHIPMENT TO BE SENT TO AN ADDRESS OTHER THAN THE ONE YOU HAVE ON FILE WITH INVALUABLE, YOU WILL NEED TO INFORM US OF THIS AS SOON AS PAYMENT IS SUBMITTED FOR YOUR WINNINGS*** Shipping and handling costs are competitive as we maintain discounted contracts with FedEx. If you have any questions, contact University Archives prior to bidding. After payment has been made in full, University Archives will ship your purchase within 5 business days following receipt of full payment for item. We currently ship via FedEx but if your purchase is shipping to a P.O. Box, we ship via USPS. All items are insured. We ship from our offices in Westport, CT. We may opt to use a third party shipper for very fragile, bulky or oversized items. Items requiring third party shipping will be denoted in the item description. Packages shipped internationally will have full value declared on shipping form. International buyers will be responsible for any customs fees incurred.

Please remember that the buyer is responsible for all shipping costs from University Archives' offices in Westport, CT to the buyer's door. Please see full Terms and Conditions of Sale.

University Archives

You agree to pay a buyer's premium of 20% and any applicable taxes and shipping.

View full terms and conditions

Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $99 $10
$100 $299 $20
$300 $499 $25
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $2,999 $200
$3,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 + $5,000