Third-person ADS, signed within the text, "John Adams," one page, 6.25 x 2.5, 1769. Handwritten receipt by Adams accounting for legal fees for services rendered from April 1769 to April 1771, headed "Mr. Luke Lombard to John Adams," amounting to a total of £5.19.8. Attractively double-matted and framed with a portrait, plaque, and coin to an overall size of 17.5 x 11.5. In fine condition.
Most interestingly, the dates on this document surround one of the signal events of the American Revolution and of John Adams' legal career: the Boston Massacre, which took place on March 5, 1770. A devoted believer in the right to counsel and the presumption of innocence, Adams thought that all men were entitled to a fair trial and deserved equal justice-and so he defended the British soldiers who perpetrated the massacre against charges of murder. His success in the trials-Adams secured the acquittal of Captain Thomas Preston and six British soldiers, with the remaining two convicted only of manslaughter rather than murder-elevated his reputation as a competent attorney even further. A boldly penned autograph document from the principled founder.
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