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Lot 163
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William Penn phenomenal partial ADS, signed
William Penn phenomenal partial ADS, signed
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Description:

Penn William

William Penn phenomenal partial ADS, signed

 

Partial autographed signed document, 6" (at the longest point), x 2". Dated "Amsterdam ye 4 mo 1686", and signed by William Penn as "Wm Penn", visable creasing and flaws.

 

A phenomenal dated document, signed and dated by William Penn only 3 years after his famous and in part controversial Treaty with the Indians at Shackamaxon. Penn is said to have arrived at the mouth of the Delaware River on October 27, 1682, and first set foot on Pennsylvania soil at Upland (Chester, Pa.) the day after.  In 1863, barely 3 years earlier than this signed partial document, William Penn’s “memorable treaty with Tamanend and other Delaware chiefs, of the Turtle Clan, under the great elm at Shackamaxon, within the limits of Philadelphia," was romantically created. Unarmed, clad in his somber Quaker garb, William Penn addressed the assembled Native Americans, uttering the following which will be admired throughout the ages:

 

“We meet on the broad pathway of good faith and good-will; no advantage shall be taken on either side, but all shall be openness and love. We are the same as if one man’s body was to be divided into two parts; we are of one flesh and one blood.”

 

The reply of Tamanend, is equally noble:

“We will live in love with William Penn and his children as long as the creeks and rivers run, and while the sun, moon, and stars endure.”

 

There is no actual record of the “Great Treaty,” the treaty made familiar to many by Benjamin West’s painting and Voltaire’s allusion to it “as the only treaty never sworn to and never broken.” The lack of agreement among historians as to the time when the event took place also adds to the confusion of its authenticity.

 

By this period of 1863, the population of Pennsylvania was largely increased by a steady influx of immigration from Germany, Holland, and Scandinavia, as well as the British Isles. Penn was fully occupied in settling the newcomers on the land, and surveying.  However a dispute with Lord Baltimore about the boundary on the Maryland side compelled his return to England in 1864. This important partial signed document is from that period and is shown in part below:

 

" … above mentioned one throusand acres of land --- and his heirs dated ye 17th July 1685. To this --- own hand as follows viz. acknowledg --- in my presence.

Amsterdam ye 4 mo 1686     Wm Penn"

 

According to the historian C. Hale Sipe, the “Great Treaty” was “preserved by the head chiefs of the Turtle Clan of Delawares for generations", and  The “Great Treaty” at Shackamaxon occupies a “high and glorious place in the Indian history and traditions of Pennsylvania and the Nation. Though the historian labors in vain to establish the date, the fact of the treaty remains as inspiring to us of the present days as it was to the historians, painters, and poets of the past.” The incredible reverence of Penn and his Treaty with the Indians was memorialized even during the British occupation of Philadelphia during the Revolutionary War. General Simcoe posted a sentinel at the "Treaty Tree' so that it would not be harmed. Many of the trees in the area were being felled not only by the troops for firewood, but also by the local population. Even the British General recognized that this one mighty tree was honored and even revered as a living memorial to a unique historical moment.

 

The importance of this period, and Williams Penn's significance in his contribution to the 'New World" cannot be over stated. This scarce, signed, partial document by William Penn reflects that period during the great immigration, and Penn's incredible relations and efforts with the native Indians. For the next nearly 400 years, "the moment of the "Treaty", and direct relics of the "Treaty Tree" have become highly collectible. Even John Quincy Adams had a snuff box made of its wood given to him as a gift.


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