Pennsylvania merchant and politician (1735–1778) who served as the first president of Pennsylvania. Revolutionary War–dated LS signed “Tho. Wharton, Jr., Pres,” penned in the hand of Timothy Matlack, one page, 8 x 12.5, Philadelphia, March 26, 1777. Letter to William Livingston, governor of New Jersey. In full: “Several prisoners from the State of New-jersey who are confined in the Goal [sic] of this city have petitioned for a hearing—But as the Council is wholly unacquainted with their cases, and it being a business not properly belonging to this state, we can do nothing in it, farther than to remind you of their situation by enclosing you a List of them as it is handed to us by the Keeper of the Prison—The State Prison is much crowded, and many of the prisoners sick, which renders it necessary to take every step which may be proper to lessen their number.” Intersecting folds with complete separation to central horizontal fold (repaired with archival tape on the reverse), and a few small edge chips and tears, otherwise very good condition; the integral address leaf, also repaired, is detached but present. The conditions of Philadelphia’s jails continued to descend into squalor over the course of a decade, prompting some of the city’s most prominent figures—Ben Franklin and Dr. Benjamin Rush among them—to form The Philadelphia Society for Alleviating the Miseries of Public Prisons in 1787, advocating for reform of harsh conditions and punishments for inmates. Philadelphia became the worldwide center of prison reform, with others adopting similar policies after observing their success. A letter with great associations between founding fathers—Wharton as Pennsylvania’s governor, Livingston as a signer of the Constitution, and Matlack as the engrosser of the Declaration of Independence—with important sociological content. RR Auction COA.
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