Description:

Pickering Timothy

Timothy Pickering Aids New Indian Agent

 

TIMOTHY PICKERING, Letter Press Copy of Autograph Letter Signed, to Colonel David Henley, November 26, 1795, “War Office,” [Philadelphia]. 2 pp., 8" x 12.5". Thin paper has wrinkles and some tears on folds; repair to split on verso of second page; one significant hole from ink; some damage to text, but signature is clear and bold.

 

Excerpt

 

“The Bearer Mr James Byers Junr. is appointed Factor to conduct the Indian trade to be carried on in behalf of the United States in the Territory Southwest of the river Ohio. I have conceived that Tellico Blockhouse will be the most proper Station. As a military station it will be secure; as advanced of the settlements it will be convenient; and the Indians are already accustomed to resort thither for friendly conferences and negociations.”

 

Tellico Blockhouse was a military fort and trading post approximately 30 miles southwest of Knoxville, constructed in 1794-1795 at the confluence of the Tellico and Little Tennessee Rivers. There, the Overhill Cherokees traded furs and food for manufactured items.

 

Timothy Pickering (1745-1829) was born in Massachusetts and graduated from Harvard College in 1763. Admitted to the bar in 1768, he became register of deeds in Essex County. He represented Salem in the Massachusetts General Court and served as a justice in the County Court of Common Pleas. On April 8, 1776, Pickering married Rebecca White of Salem. After leading a regiment early in the Revolutionary War, Pickering accepted George Washington’s offer to become adjutant general of the Continental Army in 1777. In August 1780, the Continental Congress selected Pickering as Quartermaster General, a position he held until July 1785, when Congress abolished the entire department. After the war, Pickering tried several business ventures without much success. In 1787, he was a member of the Pennsylvania convention that ratified the U.S. Constitution. In 1791, President Washington appointed Pickering as Postmaster General, and he continued to serve in Washington’s cabinet and that of John Adams for the next nine years—as Postmaster General until 1795, as Secretary of War for a brief time in 1795, and then as Secretary of State from 1795 to 1800. After Pickering objected to plans to make peace with France, President Adams dismissed him in May 1800. A passionate Federalist, Pickering represented Massachusetts in the U.S. Senate from 1803 to 1811 and in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1813 to 1817. Charged with reading confidential documents in an open Senate session, Pickering was censured by the United States Senate in January 1811. After failing to win re-election in 1816, Pickering retired to his farm in Salem, Massachusetts.

 

David Henley (1749-1823) was born in Massachusetts and set fire to British-occupied Charlestown on January 8, 1776. Later that year, he led troops in Massachusetts and became lieutenant colonel of the Fifth Massachusetts Regiment in January 1777. In November 1778, General George Washington selected Henley as his spymaster to gauge British capabilities. Henley retired from the army in 1779. President Washington appointed Henley in 1793 as Agent of the Department of War for the Southwest Territory, in Knoxville, Tennessee. He later served as a clerk in the War Department.

 

A letterpress is the author’s own ink and exact writing pressed onto another sheet. Outside of institutions these are very rare.

 

The "copying press" was a timely invention by James Watt, a Scottish engineer better known for his development of the steam engine.

 

The press was eventually integrated into none other than George Washington's management of records. Soon other busy government officials followed in Washington’s footsteps. Scottish engineer James Watt and English engineer Matthew Boulton had formed a partnership headquartered in Birmingham, England to manufacture steam engines. In the course of his work, Watt found the hand copying of business letters, drawings, and design specifications had become increasingly burdensome. In 1780 Watt patented an invention that copied all of his business papers. Washington received his machine just two years later in the latter half of 1782.

 

Watt discovered a method of applying plain moistened paper with pressure to a freshly written letter so the ink from the original would be offset onto the copy paper. Watt patented two models, a rolling press and a screw press. The rolling press consisted of two superimposed parallel rollers mounted on a frame that was clamped to a table. Springs within the frame helped control the pressure of the rollers when they were turned by a lever. The letter to be copied was placed on a board, covered by a thin piece of dampened copying paper and then by a felt-like cloth. The board was passed through the rollers slowly one way and then rolled back through again. The screw press was based on the same principle but involved screwing two blocks of wood or metal together, rather than using rollers.

 

Through the years, improvements in unsized copying paper produced sheets that were tissue thin so the reverse image could be seen through the paper and be read in a normal fashion. The copy machine was accompanied by dampening and wetting boxes, vials for measuring spring water, and dampening brushes, all to moisten the copy paper. Watt also developed special inks that produced durable, clear originals. Sponge paper was used to dry the original letter after the copy was made, and oiled papers could be placed on the letter board in order to increase the pressure of the rollers if needed.

 

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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