Description:

George Washington
n.p., n.d.
George Washington FF To Elias Boudinot - Handsome Display!
Free Frank
A boldly signed free frank by George Washington (1732-1799), future 1st U.S. President, displayed in a handsome mat. The transmittal wrapper is free franked by Washington as "Free / Go. Washington" at lower left, and also engrossed by him as: "The Hon.ble / Elias Boudinot / Elizabeth Town / New Jersey" on the front cover. N.d., n.p. Bearing two philatelic hand-stamps including "FREE" at upper right. Expected wear including flattened transmittal folds and a few extra wrinkles. Minor ink haloing to Washington's recipient's name, else near fine, bold and dark. The sight size of the wrapper is 5.25" x 2.875." The Washington autograph is displayed above a biographical label below, and a fine high-quality reproduction of a Washington portrait at right. Not examined out of the mat. The overall size of the mat is 14" x 11" x .25." Ex-American Historical Guild.

Washington enjoyed a special professional and personal relationship with Elias Boudinot (1740-1824), the recipient of this free franked transmittal wrapper. Washington promoted Boudinot to the rank of Colonel in the Continental Army, appointing him commissary general for prisoners of war (both American and British) in 1777. A New Jersey delegate to the Second Continental Congress, Boudinot later served a 1-year term as President of the Confederation Congress from 1782-1783, and also served in the U.S. House of Representatives representing New Jersey's At-large district. Washington hand-picked Boudinot to serve as Director of the U.S. Mint in 1795, a position Boudinot would hold for a decade.

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.

WE PROVIDE IN-HOUSE SHIPPING WORLDWIDE!

  • Provenance: The Washington free frank is accompanied by purchase information from the American Historical Guild (New York) including: a receipt showing it was purchased for $7,175 on May 6, 1999; a Certificate of Authenticity dated May 6, 1999 signed by Guild president Howard Zerwitz; and a manila folder.
  • Dimensions: matted: 14" x 11" x .25"
  • Medium: Free Frank

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Shipping

Unless otherwise indicated, we do our own in-house world-wide shipping!

Applicable shipping and handling charges will be added to the invoice. We offer several shipping options, and remain one of the few auction houses that proudly provides professional in-house shipping as an option to our clients. All items will ship with a signature required option, and full insurance. Most items are sent via Federal Express, with P. O. Box addresses being sent through USPS. We insure through Berkley Asset Protection with rates of $.70 per $100 of value, among the lowest insurance rates in the industry. Our shipping department cameras document every package, both outgoing and incoming, for maximum security. In addition, we compare our shipping and handling rates against those of other auction houses, to ensure that our charges are among the lowest in the trade.

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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