John Quincy Adams
Washington D.C., March 12, 1825
J.Q. Adams Patent for Ships and Train Propellers! An Important Invention Key to Building America! Also Signed by Henry Clay!
John Quincy Adams, boldy signed 2pp patent, Washington D.C. March 12, 1825, as President, Henry Clay as Secretary of State, and William Wirt as Attorney General. The patent is issued to John Turner for his invention of propellers and propelling levers used to power ships, trains, carriages and more! According to the patent, "Turners circular propelling levers" provide a "new and useful improvement for propelling all kinds of machines put in motion by water, steam, horse, manual, or any other power." The document has light foxing, a minor loss of parchment along folds and corners well away from signatures, and sports the original decorative embossed paper seal neatly affixed with original light red ribbons. A strong Adams and Clay signature. Also accompanied by the full description of patent and a note written by a descendant of Turner elaborating on the patent. The incredibly historic document measures 11.5" x 15.25".

John Quincy Adams, the sixth President of the United States, and Henry Clay, his Secretary of State and a formidable politician in his own right, shared a complex and strategically important relationship that shaped the course of American politics in the early 19th century. Their association is most famously remembered for the "Corrupt Bargain" of the 1824 election. In that highly contested election, no candidate secured a majority of electoral votes, sending the decision to the House of Representatives. Clay, who was Speaker of the House at the time and had his own presidential ambitions, threw his support behind Adams. This pivotal move helped Adams win the presidency over Andrew Jackson, who had received the most electoral and popular votes. Following his victory, Adams appointed Clay as his Secretary of State, a decision that many, including Jackson and his followers, viewed as a quid pro quo arrangement, although it was never proven. Despite the controversy, Adams and Clay worked closely to promote a vision of expansive federal economic policies and infrastructure projects, reflecting their shared nationalistic and developmentalist ideals.

At 3:00 on the morning of December 15, 1836, a Patent Office messenger sleeping in the building awoke to thick smoke emanating from the basement. He acted quickly, rousing his colleagues to make a desperate attempt to enter the portion of the building that housed the patent documents. Outside the patent room, they encountered blocked doors, heavy smoke, and unreachable windows. By the time the fire department arrived, it was too late; the Patent Office was doomed, and eventually burnt to the ground. An estimated 7,000 models, 9,000 drawings and 230 books as well as applications, correspondence, and patent copies were destroyed by the blaze. Some of these documents were recovered with the help of inventors who still held the original patents, but an examination of the records recovered by the Patent Office revealed that their efforts to restore the archive were not very successful.

Many of the destroyed patents were issued between 1790 and 1825, and had expired at the time of the fire, which made the recovery process even more difficult (Early Un-numbered U.S. Patents, 1790-1836). Of the estimated 10,000 patents issued before 1836, only 2,800 were ever recovered (Dood, Kendall S., Patent Drawings: Milestone Documents in the National Archives). Very few of the recovered patents are extant today and are in fact much scarcer than presidential land grants, ships papers, and many other forms of signed presidential documents.

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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11.5" x 15.25"