Partly-printed DS as president, signed “M. Van Buren,” one page, 20.75 x 16.5, October 30, 1839. Four language ship’s paper issued to “William H. Whitfield, master or commander of the Ship called John Howland …lying at present in the port of New Bedford bound for Pacific Ocean and laden with provisions, stores, and utensils for a whaling voyage.” Signed in the center by Van Buren and countersigned by Secretary of State John Forsythe. In very good condition, with a few partial separations along intersecting folds, one fold through a single letter of signature, old reinforcement to reverse of central vertical fold, a few edge chips, and scattered mild toning. The white wafer seal is intact.
Two years after receiving Van Buren’s authorization to sail, the John Howland rescued a young man who played an unrecognized part in the opening of Japan, a person who would later save the pride of the navy. Whitfield and his whaling ship had rescued five friends from a five-month exile on an uninhabited Japanese island after their fishing boat became wrecked. One of the men, 15-year-old Nakahama Manjiro, chose to stay with the ship and return to the United States, where he was eventually enrolled in a Fairhaven, Massachusetts school.
After sailing the world and traveling across America, Manjiro decided in 1851 to return to his homeland, even at the risk of his life, for the Exclusion Edict of 1638 decreed that ‘He shall be executed who went to a foreign country and later returned home.’ Immediately thrown into prison and questioned for months. Manjiro’s testimony fascinated officials, particularly his description of ships that moved swiftly over the sea without the assistance of wind or sail. In the end, he was released and served as a government advisor and official who helped create its modern navy. As fate would have it, Manjiro’s expertise on the high seas helped save the Japanese warship Kanrin Maru from a watery grave in 1860 as it sailed to the United States and encountered a typhoon. A unique presidential document with a link to one of Japan’s most honored residents. Oversized. Pre-certified John Reznikoff/PSA/DNA and RRAuction COA.
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