Robert Morris letter signed ("Robt Morris"). One page of a bifolium, 7.5" x 9.25", Office of Finance, [Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]; January 2, 1783. Docketed. Robert Morris, Superintendent of Finance for the U.S., sends a letter to Benjamin Franklin in France, carried by a French General serving as messenger. Letter from Morris to Benjamin Franklin in France, carried by French General Marquis de Chastellux (1734-1788), who was to report to Franklin on various subjects that Morris did not want to commit to paper. At the time of this letter, Franklin was in France, serving as the American ambassador to that country and was involved in peace negotiations with Great Britain to end the Revolutionary War. The Treaty of Paris was signed on September 3, 1783, with Franklin as one of the signatories. The letter reads, in full: "The Bearer of this Letter is the Chevalier de Chattellux [Chastellux] who sails to Morrow Morning for France. There are many things which I am desirous of communicating to you, but which I have now sufficient time to commit to paper, and still less to put in Cypher. I have therefore entered very much into the Detail of our Situation with General Chattellux, and requested him to communicate to you the Result. His attentive observation in this Country will also enable him to place before you a more complete state of it, than could be easily written, as he will be able to answer Questions which might not even suggest themselves to me." Signed, "Robt Morris". Robert Morris (1734-1806), widely known as the "financier of the American Revolution," was a signer of the Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation and the Constitution. He served as the Superintendent of Finance from 1781 to 1784 and is considered, along with Alexander Hamilton, to be a founder of the United States financial system. It was Morris who recommended Hamilton for the post of Secretary of the Treasury after declining it himself. After the Revolutionary War he became deeply entrenched in land speculation and formed a partnership with John Nicholson to create the North American Land Company. It proved a spectacular disaster for both men. Morris was imprisoned in debtors' prison for three years and was only released in 1801 after the passage of the Bankruptcy Act of 1800. Nicholson himself died there in 1800. Also included is a steel engraving of Morris by Phillip Brown. Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) was an American polymath; he was active as a writer, printer, publisher, inventor, statesman, diplomat and political philosopher. Franklin was one of the drafters and signers of the Declaration of Independence, and the first U.S. Postmaster General. He also served as U.S. Ambassador to France from 1776 to 1785. François Jean de Beauvoir, Marquis de Chastellux, was a French military officer who served as a major general in the French expeditionary forces led by General Comte de Rochambeau during the War of American Independence. Being on General Rochambeau's staff for the duration of the war, Chastellux acted as the principal liaison officer between the French commander in chief and General George Washington. His book Travels in North America, in the Years 1780-81-82 was published in New York in 1828. Condition: Brittle. Near complete separation along integral fold. One corner of second sheet separated, yet extant and fixed to first sheet; paper attachment at same corner of verso. Edgewear with splitting starting at some folds. A few folds reinforced on verso with archival tape. Toned in uniform block on recto. HID03101062020 © 2022 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved

Buyer's Premium per Lot:
25% on the first $300,000 (minimum $49), plus 20% of any amount between $300,001 and $3,000,000, plus 15% of any amount over $3,000,001 per lot.