Partly-printed DS, one page, 12.5 x 16, October 20, 1784. Ship’s registry for the sloop Janet issued to Ephraim Delano. Signed in the top left margin between the two paper seals, “John Hancock,” and countersigned by secretary John Avery, Jr. and naval officer David Trufant. Document has been professionally silked on the reverse. In very good condition, with scattered toning and soiling, several professional repairs and restorations to paper loss along intersecting folds and along edges, and short splits along fold edges.
Captain Ephraim Delano was a Massachusetts-born mariner who abandoned the sea for land to serve as a private in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. Afterward, however, the seas beckoned his return. Such documents reflected a desire by Hancock—and the newly formed United States—to strengthen its maritime commerce. Perhaps the most unique aspect of Delano’s lineage—and this document—is that the captain was a distant cousin of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, thus creating a link between Hancock, one of America’s founding fathers, and FDR, one of the nation’s greatest presidents. Pre-certified John Reznikoff/PSA/DNA and RRAuction COA.
This item is Pre-Certified by PSA/DNA
Buy a third-party letter of authenticity for
$100.00
*This item has been pre-certified by a trusted third-party authentication service, and by placing a bid on this item, you agree to accept the opinion of this authentication service. If you wish to have an opinion rendered by a different authenticator of your choosing, you must do so prior to your placing of any bid. RR Auction is not responsible for differing opinions submitted 30 days after the date of the sale.
