Partly-printed DS, signed “Sam. F. B. Morse, President,” one page on vellum, 10.75 x 8.75, June 14, 1831. A certificate for C. R. Leslie as an honorary member of the National Academy of Design. Charles Robert Leslie (1794–1859), born in London to American parents, attained fame for his paintings of biblical and historical scenes and for a series of works bases on Don Quixote. Leslie moved to the U.S. in 1833 to take up a post as teacher of drawing at West Point. Less than a year later, discouraged by his wife’s poor health, and encouraged by a lucrative commission, Leslie returned to England, where he remained for the rest of his career. Morse, together with eminent fellow artists Asher B. Durand and Thomas Cole, had founded the National Academy of Design in 1825. At the time of signing, Morse was in Europe to study art masterpieces and was at the height of his own career as a painter; in the same year, he commenced his most ambitious and best-known work, Gallery of the Louvre, which reproduces 41 Old Masters in miniature. In the same year, Michael Faraday and Joseph Henry conducted research on electromagnetic phenomena that was the direct inspiration, in the following year, for Morse’s conception of a single-circuit, electro-magnetic telegraph. Countersigned by John L. Morton and Wm. Dunlap. The handsome embossed paper seal remains intact. Two vertical folds (touching “President”) and mild soiling with a few faint, tiny spots, otherwise fine condition. Unusual in this format! RRAuction COA.
