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LOT #42047 |
Starting Bid: $5,000
Tobias Lear Autograph Letter Draft Signed...
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Description
Tobias Lear Declines Washington's Appointment, Choosing to Remain in Personal Service to the President
Tobias Lear Autograph Letter Draft Signed ("T. L").
Four pages of a bifolium, 7 3/4 x 9 3/8 inches; [Philadelphia];
April 5, 1792. Addressed to Washington, "The President of the U.
S." Signed with his initials at the conclusion, "T.L."
With numerous holographic emendations.A working draft of a letter from Lear to President Washington, in which Lear formally declines an offer for an unspecified appointment. The document, heavily revised in his hand, preserves the process by which he shaped a careful and deferential response to Washington's proposal. He writes, in part:
"...while my heart overflows with gratitude for this new instance of your kind attention to my welfare... [I] decline the acceptance of the appointment which you had the goodness to offer me.
And let me at the same time beg that you will not consider this determination as proceeding from the want of a due sense of your friendship. This additional proof...was not necessary to convince me of your regard, or to increase my attachment to a veneration of yourself. These have been long fixed, & I trust indelibly so.
When you opened this business to me yesterday, I mentioned a resolution I had formed not to engage in any public employment...in pursuance of this resolution I should have had no hesitation to have declined at the moment...but I conceived it to be a mark of respect due to your goodness to reconsider...and to reflect upon the offer you had made me...
But were I not to explain the extent of this resolution you might justly impute to me the want of the first & noblest of virtues - I mean the love of my Country & of mankind. When, therefore, I say that I have resolved not to engage in any public employment, I mean that I shall not do it for the sake of providing a support for myself & those dependent on me, nor merely with a view of advancing myself to posts of honor & becoming conspicuous...
Let me beg your patience for a moment longer while I observe that in my present situation I consider myself as rendering no small service to the public, and in a way peculiarly delightful to my feelings; for such is the importance of your life and your services to this country that the person who is so happy in his situation as to be able, by attention & assiduity...to alleviate the weight necessarily imposed upon you, is benefiting his Country, altho his services do not attract the attention of the public. And if my conduct hitherto has merited your approbation my reward will be complete, for an invariable adherence to honor, integrity, disinterestedness, and purity of views have ensured the approbation of my own feelings. If in any instance you conceive I have not acted with propriety...point it out without reserve, and let me correct my error..."
Lear had served as Washington's private secretary since 1785, accompanying him through the Constitutional Convention period and into the presidency. By 1792, he was responsible for much of the day-to-day handling of presidential correspondence and official business. The letter makes clear that Lear had already expressed hesitation when Washington raised the matter in conversation the previous day. He now confirms that decision, arguing that his continued service in Washington's household, managing correspondence and administrative burdens, constitutes its own form of public service.
A revealing document showcasing Lear's dedication to the President.
The recipient copy is printed in The Papers of George Washington, Philander D. Chase, editor, Presidential Series Volume 10, pages 219-221.
Condition: Very good; light, even toning and flattened folds. A few small separations at the fold lines, some touching text but not affecting legibility. Overall an attractive example.
Auction Info
2026 June 19 The John H. Freund Americana Collection Signature® Auction #6331 (go to Auction Home page)
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June
19th
Friday
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19th
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