Handsome partially printed DS, boldly signed “Go: Washington,” one page on vellum, 19.5 x 14, December 10, 1785. A beautifully engraved certificate of membership for the Society of the Cincinnati. In part: “Be it known that Christian Senf Esquire Colonel of Engineers is a Member of the Society of the Cincinnati; instituted by the Officers of the American Army, at the Period of its Dissolution, as well to commemorate the great Event which gave Independence to North America, as for the laudable Purpose of inculcating the Duty of lying down in Peace Arms assumed for public Defence, and of uniting in Acts of brotherly Affection, and Bonds of perpetual Friendship.... I, the President ... have hereunto set my Hand at Mount Vernon ... in the Tenth Year of the Independence of the United States.” Countersigned by H[enry] Knox as secretary. The Society of Cincinnati was founded in May 1783 as an exclusive fraternal organization for officers who had served at least three years in the Continental military, as well as high-ranking officers in the French military. (Membership was later offered to eldest male heirs of original members and, more recently, to descendants of officers who served during the Revolution.) Washington was elected as the first President General of the Society in December 1783 and served until his death in 1799, when he was succeeded by Alexander Hamilton. The recipient named in the present document, Swedish-born John Christian Senf (1750–1806), was state engineer of South Carolina who oversaw, among other projects, the construction of the Santee Canal, one of the first major canals in the United States. The document is housed in an original period leather and marbled-paper case with sliding lid, the leather embossed with the name “Senf” and a vignette of a bugler on horseback. The case bears expected wear and rubbing to the extremities, with leather losses to top panel of lid. The document has expected heavy intersecting folds (away from signature), and “Go: W” is just a shade lighter than the remainder of the extremely bold signature; it is, otherwise, in fine, fresh condition. Society of Cincinnati certificates were almost invariably displayed with great pride by their owners and their heirs, subjecting them to centuries of exposure, fading, handling, soiling, even worse misfortunes. The inevitable result is that the vast majority of surviving certificates are quite conspicuously worn, partially or wholly illegible, and generally rather unattractive. All the more extraordinary, then, is the magnificent preservation of the present example. More than two centuries after the fact, Senf’s foresight in carefully folding and storing his own certificate, deliberate or not, has resulted in the finest Society of Cincinnati document we’ve ever seen—indeed, one of the brightest, cleanest, most splendid examples ever to be offered for sale. Auction LOA John Reznikoff/PSA/DNA and R&R COA.
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