Lot #133

[George Washington] Printed Proclamation of the Jay Treaty

Description

Original issue of the Federal Gazette & Baltimore Daily Advertiser from Friday, March 4, 1796, five pages (including single-sided supplement), 13 x 20, which contains the entire text of the Treaty of Amity, Commerce, and Navigation, Between His Britannic Majesty and the United States of America, commonly known as the Jay Treaty, which was a 1794 treaty between the United States and Great Britain that averted war, resolved issues remaining since the Treaty of Paris of 1783 (which ended the American Revolutionary War), and facilitated 10 years of peaceful trade between the two countries in the midst of the French Revolutionary Wars. The text, which starts on the second page and continues into the supplement page, reads, in part: “By George Washington, President of the United States of America. A PROCLAMATION, Whereas a Treaty of Amity Commerce and Navigation, between the United States of America and his Britannic Majesty.” In fine condition, with some scattered light staining and paper loss.

Entered into on November 19, 1794, the treaty did not take effect until February 29, 1796, after being ratified by the U.S. Senate (1795) and then the British Government. This issue published the entire text of the treaty only five days after it took effect. Interestingly, the supplement also publishes (vertically) the ‘Gold and Silver Coinage at the Mint of the United States, from its Establishment to the close of October 1795.’

Auction Info

• Auction Title: Fine Autograph and Artifacts
• Dates: #689 - Ended April 17, 2024