Description:

Frederick William II of Prussia
Berlin, Kingdom of Prussia, Holy Roman Empire, August 7, 1793
Frederick William II, King of Prussia Signed War of the First Coalition-Dated Invalid Pension For Aristocratic Officer
MDS

A 2pp manuscript document in German signed by Frederick William II (1744-1797), King of Prussia and Elector of Brandenburg, as "Fred Wilhelm" near the top of the second page. August 7, 1793. Berlin, Kingdom of Prussia, Holy Roman Empire. Secretarially inscribed on laid watermarked bifold folio-sized paper featuring a delightful band of decorative spirals, flourishes, and curlicues at the letterhead. Bearing a 2.875" diameter red wax and blind-embossed paper seal at the center of the second page. Docketed at the bottom of the second page. The third inner page and outer leaf are blank. Expected wear including flattened transmittal folds, some with tiny breaks. Discoloration from the seal found at the center of the first page, with scattered former collector's pencil inscriptions. Else near fine. 8" x 13.375." Provenance: Ex-The Rendells, 1979.

The document has not been fully translated, but concerns the grant of an invalid pension to an officer named Hans Friedrich von Winterfeldt of the Ansbach-Bayreuth Dragoon Regiment. A good candidate for this invalided soldier is Hans Friedrich von Winterfeldt (1761-1819), who eventually died in Brandenburg. The von Winterfeldts were a propertied aristocratic family seated at Damerow and Nemitz in modern day northeastern Germany. More research is definitely needed!

The margravate of Ansbach-Bayreuth - located in Bavaria - had been sold to Frederick William II just two years earlier, in 1791, and it was formally annexed in January 1792. Troops from the Ansbach-Bayreuth region had famously served as mercenaries in the American Revolution.

This military pension document dated from the War of the First Coalition (1792-1797). In this conflict, the newly minted French Republic repulsed numerous invasion attempts by neighboring European powers, all of whom rejected its political ideology, and coveted its territories. Prussia, Austria, and Great Britain attacked--and fomented rebellion within--the French Republic. Prussia reached a separate peace with the French Republic in 1795.

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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  • Dimensions: 8" x 13.375"
  • Medium: MDS

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