Full free frank, measuring 8.75 x 7.75 unfolded with a 5.25 x 3 center panel, addressed in another hand to "Melancton Smith, Esq, New York," and franked in the lower left, "Free, A. Hamilton." Hamilton's office, "Treasury Department," is penned in the upper right in another hand, and the panel bears 'Free' and 'Dec 29' stamps. A date notation to another panel indicates the year as 1791. In very good condition, with creasing, toning, and old repairs and reinforcements to tears and seal-related paper loss.
New York merchant Melancton Smith was Hamilton's primary debate rival during the New York state Constitutional ratification convention; once the Constitution was ratified and Hamilton became the first secretary of the Treasury, he arranged commercial relationships with Smith on behalf of the new federal government.
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