LOT #42046 |
Starting Bid: $5,000
Tobias Lear Autograph Letter Signed...
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Description
During the Founding of Washington, D.C., Tobias Lear Oversees Publication of the Official Plan of the New Federal City
Tobias Lear Autograph Letter Signed ("Tobias Lear").
Two pages of a bifolium with integral address leaf, 7 3/4 x 9 1/4
inches; [Mount Vernon]; February 23, 1792. Docketed on the address
leaf.An important letter relating to the founding and early planning of the United States capital. Tobias Lear, private secretary to George Washington, writes to William Young regarding the proposed publication of the plan for the new "federal City," requesting that an accurate version be prepared for inclusion in The Universal Asylum and Columbia Magazine. In full:
"Sir
As soon as the plan of the federal City is ultimately determined upon and approved of, you will be furnished with a sight of it, in order to have a plate prepared for the Universal Assylum & Columbian Magazine. Some circumstances have occurred to prevent the execution of this plan as soon as was expected. But I am in hopes that the obsticles to its completion are now nearly removed, and that the permanent plan will soon be determined upon.
It will be a desireable thing that a perfect & correct plan of the city should be published in the Columbian Magazine as well as in other useful publications of a similar kind. But should an incorrect one be brought before the public in that way, it would only serve to mislead the public mind with respect to the City, and could reflect no credit on the work in which it may be published. For this reason the friends of the proposed establishment are as desirous as you can be that you should be furnished with a correct plan.
I am, Sir
with esteem
Your most obedt servt
Tobias Lear."
The U.S. Constitution in 1789 had provided for a federal district under the exclusive jurisdiction of Congress, and in 1790 the Residence Act authorized the establishment of the new capital along the Potomac River. In 1791, Pierre Charles L'Enfant was appointed to design the city that would become Washington, D.C., and his ambitious plan soon became central to public interest and debate.
L'Enfant first presented his plans for the city to Washington in June 1791, and the President, impressed with their ambition, submitted them to Congress that August. Progress, however, soon slowed. L'Enfant insisted that the design be executed as a unified whole, which strained the limited budget and complicated the procurement of materials, including sufficient sandstone for the planned public buildings. At the same time, tensions arose between L'Enfant and surveyor Andrew Ellicott, who in early 1792-near the date of this letter-questioned the accuracy and handling of the plans provided to him. These delays, combined with growing public uncertainty about the form and future of the capital, likely prompted Lear's effort to ensure that only an accurate and authoritative plan would be published.
An interesting and highly significant document from the earliest phase of Washington, D.C.'s development.
Condition: Overall very good. Evenly age-toned with flattened folds. Some edgewear and separations at the fold lines, touching text but not affecting legibility; Lear's signature is large and bold. Remnants of sealing wax on the verso, with just a touch of loss where letter was opened.
Auction Info
2026 June 19 The John H. Freund Americana Collection Signature® Auction #6331 (go to Auction Home page)
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