The 30 Minute Rule begins July 8 at 7:00 PM EDT. An Initial Bid Must Be Placed By July 8 at 6:00 PM EDT To Participate After 6:00 PM EDT
Seven handwritten documents by English statesman David Hartley the Younger (1732–1813), appointed by King George III as His Britannic Majesty’s Minister Plenipotentiary to negotiate with the United States on matters of American independence and related post–Revolutionary War issues. Hartley is best remembered as one of the signers of the 1783 Treaty of Paris, the historic agreement that formally ended the American Revolutionary War and recognized the independence of the United States. The archive totals eight pages, ranging in size from 7 x 4 to 8 x 12.75, most undated but circa 1778–1783.
- Handwritten draft of a letter to King George III, April 10, 1778, requesting that he establish a pre-treaty proclamation stating that all persons born in America shall be considered as natural born subjects. In full: "That an humble Address be presented to his Majesty, that he will graciously be pleased to instruct the Commissioners appointed to treat, consult & agree upon the means of quieting the disorders now subsisting in certain of the Colonies, Plantations & Provinces of North America, to establish as a Fundamental, previous to any treaty, & from which they shall not have liberty to depart, that all persons born in either in Great Britain, Ireland, or in the Colonies Provinces & Plantations of North America, shall be considered as natural born subjects, & enjoy all rights & privileges as such, throughout all the said dominions in common, in the manner heretofore accustomed."
- Handwritten manuscript headed, "Terms of Negotiation, May 1779," in part: "1. That Commissioners be appointed to treat consult and agree upon the final settlement and pacification of…present troubles in America upon safe honorable…terms subject to the ratification of Parliament…2. That any one of the said Commissioners may be empo[wered] to agree as a preliminary to a suspension of all hostilities by sea & land for the certain term of ten years. The withdrawing of the British forces is not proposed as a preliminary but is reserved as the first article of the negotiation. The condition against w[hi]ch this sh[oul]d be set in balance on the other side must be a stipulation for the security of the friends of the British government in America. 3. That any one of the aforesaid Commiss[ione]rs may be empowered to a…a second preliminary, to suspend the operation of any & all…Parl[iamen]t respecting America during the term of the tro[ubles.] 4. That a truce for the aforesaid term of years be agreed to a…Between Great Britain & France—5. That the general treaty shall be set on foot for negotiation as soon as may be after the signing the aforesaid preliminaries. 6. That any of the articles of the negotiation may take effect as soon as agreed to by the parties in the Course of the negotiation without waiting for the final conclusion of the treaty."
- Handwritten manuscript incorporating his surname in the third-person, in part: "Lord North consented to Mr. Hartley's proposition for endeavoring to procure from the American Plenepotentiary or plenepotentiaries some opening that they w[oul]d be willing to commence & parley on Propositions of Peace between Great Britain and America and supposed the terms w(hi)ch Mr. Hartley had in view w[oul]d be something like a tacit cession of Independence to America with a truce for a certain term of years to serve as a basis for a general treaty of accommodation & final Settlement. This last application of Mr. Hartley to Lord North (on the 20th of April 1779) after several previous conferances on the subject is the ground of the present confidential communication with Dr. Franklin as he did to Lord North that an auspicious beginning to a negotiation is 'dimidicum facte' Mr. Hartley's Ideas of the probable course of the negotiation w[oul]d be to the following Effect. Five Commiss[ioner]s (or any three of them) to be appointed on the part of his Brittanick Maj[est]y to treat consult and agree upon the final settlement & pacification of the present troubles upon safe honorable & permanent terms subject to the ratification of Parliament. That any one of the aforesaid Commiss[sioner]s may be empowered to agree as a preliminary to a Suspension of all Hostilities by Sea & Land for a certain term of five or seven years."
- Handwritten motion for the presentation of copy of the cessation of hostilities, in full: "That an address be presented to his Majesty that he will be graciously pleased to give orders that there be laid before this house a Copy of the Declaration relative to a Cessation of Hostilities with the United States of North America w[hi]ch was agreed to and signed on the 20th of Jan[ua]ry 1783 by the Commissioners of his Britannic Majesty & the Commissioners of to United States of America."
- Handwritten motion for the presentation of copy of the cessation of hostilities, in full: "That an humble address be presented to his Majesty, that he will be graciously pleased to give orders, that there be laid before this house, a Copy of the Declaration relative to a cessation of hostilities with the United States of America w[hi]ch was agreed to and signed on the 20th of January 1783 by the Commissioners of his Britannick Majesty, and the Commissioners of the United States of America."
- Handwritten note, in full: "Declaration relative to a Cessation of Hostilities with the United States of N.A."
- Handwritten copy of a Resolution of Congress for a Constitutional Convention in order to revise the Articles of Confederation, composed by Charles Thomson, Secretary of the Continental Congress, and copied in Hartley's hand for the records of the British Government. In part: "Feb. 21 1787 in Congress. Whereas there is provision in the articles of Confederation & perpetual union for making alterations therein by the assent of a Congress of the united states, and of the legislatures of the several states and whereas experience has evinced that there are defects in the confederation, as a mean to remedy which several states, and particularly the state of New York, by express instructions to their delegates in Congress, have suggested a convention for the purposes expressed in the following resolution, and such convention appearing to be the most probably means of establishing in these states a firm national government. Resolved that in the opinion of Congress it is expedient that on the second Monday in May next a convention of delegates who shall have been appointed by the several be held at Philadelphia for the sole & express purpose of revising the articles of Confederation & reporting to Congress & the several legislatures such alterations & provisions therein as shall when agreed to in Congress and confirmed by the states render the federal Constitution adequate to the exigencies of government & the preservation of the union. Charles Thompson [sic], Secretary."
In overall very good to fine condition, with paper loss to the "Terms of Negotiation" document affecting several areas of text.
These documents trace the difficult diplomatic passage from Britain’s attempt to preserve imperial unity to its reluctant recognition of American independence. Written largely during the closing years of the Revolutionary War and its aftermath, they show David Hartley working at the center of peace efforts, proposing suspensions of hostilities, terms of negotiation, protections for Loyalists, and formal parliamentary access to the declaration ending hostilities with the United States. Especially significant are Hartley’s 1778 appeal to King George III concerning the status of Americans as natural-born subjects, his 1779 “Terms of Negotiation,” and his later motions relating to the January 20, 1783 cessation of hostilities—papers that directly anticipate the Treaty of Paris, which Hartley signed for Great Britain later that year. The inclusion of Hartley’s handwritten copy of Congress’s 1787 resolution calling for the Constitutional Convention further extends the archive’s importance beyond the Revolution, linking Britain’s peace negotiator to the early constitutional development of the newly independent United States.
This item is Pre-Certified by PSA/DNA
Buy a third-party letter of authenticity for
(inquire for price)
*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.
Third-party authentication service applies only to signatures and handwriting, and does not cover the addition of sketches, artwork, musical quotations, etc.
