Description:

F.S. Key ALS as Young Lawyer & Prankster and Lover "burn this letter the moment you have read it"

A cheeky letter from 19-year-old Francis Scott Key to his longtime friend, John Leeds Kerr. 3pp of a bifolium, measuring 6.25" x 7.75", N.p., dated April 3, 1798. With flattened mail folds, along with some separations and chipping which have been repaired with archival tape. Minor loss of text, but the letter is still very legible. Light toning and ghosting of ink. Bold and clear signature. Very good overall.

A young Key describes his strained relationship with his uncle, his admiration for an unnamed lady (possibly his future wife, Mary Tayloe Lloyd), and a detailed account of a prank pulled on one of his female friends. Key had directed Kerr to burn the letter after reading it, but luckily for us, it was preserved as an amazing part of history - revealing that even distinguished historical figures were once teenagers. 

In part:
"I will thank you to deliver the inclosed [sic] letter to Goldsborough. I lately received a pressing invitation from him to visit Myrtle Grove. I should like very much to accompany Uncle Key, but he thinks I am so idle & worthless, that I would not propose it to him, upon any consideration. I met ---- this morning walking. She grows more beautiful & more engaging the more I become acquainted with her, I see her now pretty often. I desire you will burn this letter the moment you have read it & never tell to any person what I am now going to tell you. I ought not to tell it, but it is so good a thing I can't help it. I was some time ago at Mrs. Lloyds, Maria & myself were standing at the door about nine o'clock at night. Mrs. Murray's carriage drove to the door. We agreed to go to Mr. Cooke's in it. Accordingly we got in, & Maria proposed to me to hide myself under the seat of the carriage & that she would call Betsy in, & begin to talk to her. When we got there Maria asked for Miss Betsy, who came into the carriage & sat down, little thinking who was there. 'Betsy,' says Maria, 'have you heard that we are talked of all over town, about our romping in the mud this morning.' -'No,' replies Betsy, 'who told you?' 'Why' says Maria, 'Frank Key told me.' Betsy then began 'Well damn Frank Key nobody else saw us but him, I dare say he told it, damn his little soul. I wish I had him here I'd give it to him God damn him, I say - I'll pay him for it if I catch him. Is he at your house now' 'Here he is' says Maria. I then discovered myself which I was very near doing sooner for I could scarcely contain my laughter. She looked a little foolish for the first two or three times I saw her afterwards, but she appears to have got quite over it now. This is the way these pretty innocent looking creatures talk when by themselves…"

Francis Scott Key (1779-1843) was an American lawyer and amateur poet who witnessed the bombarding of the American forces at Fort McHenry during the Battle of Baltimore, September 13-14, 1814. When the smoke cleared on this crucial War of 1812 battle, Key saw the American flag still waving and was so inspired that on the way back home he wrote a poem describing his experience, a poem we now call the “Star Spangled Banner”. Key studied law under his uncle, Philip Barton Key. He went on to marry Mary Tayloe Lloyd on January 1, 1802, nearly four years after this letter was written. It is also possible that the Maria that Key was writing of was Anna Maria Murray (1776-1857) , the sister of Key's close friend Daniel Murray.

Philip Barton Key (1757-1815), who had been a Loyalist during the American Revolutionary War. Philip's entire battalion was captured by the Spanish Army and he spent a month in prison in Havana, Cuba before being paroled. After the war, he returned to Maryland and practiced law. He became a member of the Maryland House of Delegates from 1794 to 1799 and was elected Mayor of Annapolis in 1797, a post he held for one year.

John Leeds Kerr (1780-1844) was also a politician and a close, life-long friend of Francis Scott Key. He and Key both graduated from St. John's College of Annapolis and studied law. In 1806, Kerr became the Deputy State's Attorney for Talbot County and was later appointed agent of the State of Maryland in 1817. He eventually became a state senator, filling a vacancy left by the death of John S. Spence, and served from 1841 to 1843.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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