Bold franking signature, “Go: Washington,” on a 4.5 x 3 mailing panel addressed in his hand to Colo. Clement Biddle in Philadelphia. A contemporaneous ink notation on one of the marginal “flaps” dates the communication to January 20, 1799, while the panel itself bears a date (in another hand) of January 21 and the notation “Free.” Biddle (1740–1814), then a U.S. Marshal in Pennsylvania, had served directly under Washington as Commissary General at Valley Forge. In good condition, with panel affixed at corners to slightly larger piece of mat board, vertical folds (one through “G”; another, much lighter, through “t”), scattered light soiling, a few scattered spots and small tears (most confined to marginal flaps), and uniform light toning to edges, away from writing. The signature is quite dark and clear and is otherwise unaffected. Auction LOA John Reznikoff/PSA/DNA and R&R COA.
