George Mason clipped signature ("G Mason"). Small slip, 2" x .75", no place; no date. Excessively scare signature from George Mason, staunch proponent for the Bill of Rights. The clipped signature reads in full: "G Mason. for / the Company." The "company" is presumably a reference to the Ohio Company of which Mason served as treasurer from 1752 until his death. George Mason (1725-1792) was a politician and planter from Virginia who authored the Fairfax Resolves, the Virginia Declaration of Rights, and the Virginia Bill of Rights and Constitution. Mason was a neighbor of George Washington's and the two men served as members in the House of Burgesses before the Revolution. They remained friendly until the Constitutional Convention of 1787 when Mason refused to sign the Constitution due to, among other things, its lack of a bill of rights. He ultimately voted against its ratification in the Virginia Congress, a decision which cost him the friendship of Washington and other prominent political figures, and he retired from public life and returned to his home of Gunston Hall. However, his efforts were duly rewarded in 1791 when James Madison, utilizing Mason's writings on the subject, drafted the Bill of Rights. He remained a harsh critic of the Federalist Party until his death in 1792. Condition: Minute soiling on verso. HID03101062020 © 2022 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved

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