Sold For $58,243
*Includes Buyers Premium
Significant DS, signed “Th: Jefferson,” three pages on two sheets, 9.25 x 14.5, February 21, 1793. Official printing of an act passed by the Second Congress of the United States during its Second Session, headed, "An Act to promote the progress of Useful Arts, and to repeal the act heretofore made for that purpose." The act begins: "Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That when any person or persons, being a citizen or citizens of the United States, shall alledge that he or they have invented any new and useful art, machine, manufacture or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement on any art, machine, manufacture or composition of matter, not known or used before the application, and shall present a petition to the Secretary of State, signifying a desire of obtaining an exclusive property in the same, and praying that a patent may be granted therefor, it shall and may be lawful for the said Secretary of State, to cause letters patent to be made out in the name of the United States." Prominently signed at the conclusion in ink by Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson. In very good condition, with complete separations to the central horizontal folds, and a small docketed area clipped from the right side of the last page, none of which affects Jefferson's large signature.
The Patent Act of 1793 was a foundational revision of the United States’ early patent law, replacing the more limited Patent Act of 1790. It simplified the application process by removing the requirement for a board review—a process which had been headed by Thomas Jefferson—and instead allowed any applicant to receive a patent if they submitted the proper paperwork and paid a fee, leaving questions of originality and infringement to be resolved in the courts. Jefferson, then serving as Secretary of State, played a central role in drafting and shaping the act. His influence is seen in the act’s emphasis on utility, originality, and public benefit—principles that continued to guide American patent law for generations.
This item is Pre-Certified by PSA/DNA
Buy a third-party letter of authenticity for
$250.00
*This item has been pre-certified by a trusted third-party authentication service, and by placing a bid on this item, you agree to accept the opinion of this authentication service. If you wish to have an opinion rendered by a different authenticator of your choosing, you must do so prior to your placing of any bid. RR Auction is not responsible for differing opinions submitted 30 days after the date of the sale.
