Washington, George & Thomas Jefferson. Partly-printed Document Signed twice each by George Washington as President and Thomas Jefferson as Secretary of State, 2 pp., 15½ x 10 in., New York, June 11, 1793. Three-language ship's paper for Robert Service, master and commander of the ship Camilla, of the town of New York, burthen 372 tons, bound from Norfolk, Virginia, to Falmouth and laden with flour and staves. Countersigned by William Lindsay, Collector of the Port of Norfolk. The recto is in English and Dutch; large signatures of Washington and Jefferson are in the center of the page, with a white wafer seal to the left. On the verso, printed in English and French, Washington and Jefferson signed at the bottom, next to another white wafer seal. A third page, affixed with the original ribbons to the ship's passport, is signed by Norfolk mayor, Thomas Newton, certifying that the Camilla's owners are American. This is the first ship's passport we have seen with an attached sheet signed by the mayor of the city of port.
Good condition, with professional conservator restoration to some rips and minor holes and missing portion in bottom corner; some light toning and soiling and light creasing. White wafer seal on recto remains crisp and intact; seal on verso is soiled and cracked, but mostly intact. Cover sheet has infill at blank lower right edge. All signatures are clear and sharp. An early example of a ship's passport issued in 1793 and a rare double-pairing of Washington and Jefferson's signatures.
Estimated Value $20,000 - 25,000.
U.S. Presidents and First Ladies
