1431404
Thomas Jefferson
James Madison
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Jefferson and Madison seek safe passage of the sailing ship Richard Caton
Thomas Jefferson, 1743–1826, 3rd President of the United States, 1801–1809, and James Madison, 1751–1836, 4th President of the United States, 1809–1817. Partially printed Document Signed, Th: Jefferson, as President, and James Madison, as Secretary of State, one page, 12" x 18", December 16, 1803. Countersigned by James Simons, Collector.
This ornate, scalloped-top vellum document is a pass for the sailing ship Richard Caton of Charleston, South Carolina. Jefferson requests that other powers “Suffer the ship . . . , of the burthen of Two hundred and Seventy one tons or thereabouts, mounted with no guns, navigated with Thirteen men, to pass with her Company, Passengers, Goods and Merchandize [sic], without any hindrance, seizure or molestation," because the ship appeared "by good testimony to belong to one or more of the Citizens of the United States and to him or them only." Jefferson has signed with a 2⅛" signature. Madisonʼs signature is 2½" long.
Both signatures are very strong. Jeffersonʼs is one of the nicest that we have seen on vellum, which tended not to absorb the ink very well. It has a bit of beading of the ink, which is typical of vellum, but it is not particularly apparent to the naked eye. Madisonʼs dark signature has a bit more beading but nonetheless is nice.
A large engraved image of a lighthouse on a small island with tall-masted ships, with their rigging and sails, on either side consumes the top third of the document. The larger ship at the right flies an American flag with 15 stripes.
The document has normal horizontal and vertical storage folds. The folds are well removed from the Jefferson signature, but one vertical fold barely touches the "M" in "Madison." The horizontal folds have a number of small holes, although those in the top fold are in dark portions of the document and not particularly noticeable. There is also moderate dampstaining around the lower left crossing folds and along the right end of the bottom horizontal fold, and there is a bit of edge chipping and minor paper loss at the lower right, affecting nothing. The paper and wax seal has been scraped off, although remnants of the original red wax remain. The date "1803" is written in pencil in a blank area, and a note in ink on the back says that the pass was surrendered at New York on September 17, 1804. Overall the piece is in very good condition.
Unframed.
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