Vol. XIX, No. 4221  •  Published by Samuel Relf, No. 29 Chesnut-Street, Philadelphia

An original, complete four-page issue of a leading early-republic Philadelphia daily, printed during Thomas Jefferson’s first term — and carrying two events of genuine historical weight.

The contemporary death notice of Martha Washington. Under an Alexandria, May 25 dateline, the paper reports that on Saturday, May 22, 1802, at noon, “Mrs. Washington terminated her well spent life” following seventeen days of a severe fever. The moving account describes the former First Lady taking the sacrament from Dr. Davis, imparting her last advice and benedictions to her weeping relations, and calling for a white gown she had set aside as her final dress — closing with the tribute that she was “the worthy partner of the worthiest of men.” This is a true first-report obituary of the nation’s original First Lady, printed just five days after her passing at Mount Vernon.

“Toussaint Surrendered.” A prominent dispatch reports the surrender of Toussaint Louverture to General Leclerc’s French expeditionary army in Saint-Domingue (Haiti) — a pivotal moment of the Haitian Revolution — describing the fighting at Port Français, the terms of capitulation, and Toussaint’s retirement to his plantation, printed only weeks before he was treacherously seized and deported to France, where he died in 1803.

The masthead carries a banner quotation adapted from Washington’s Farewell Address, warning that any measure tending to dissolve the Union “ought to be considered as hostile to the Liberties and Independence of America.” The foreign columns add extensive coverage of the Definitive Treaty (the Treaty of Amiens) between Britain and France, with dispatches from Paris, Petersburg, and Amsterdam.

Rounding out the issue is a rich cross-section of Federalist-era daily life: ship arrivals at the Port of Philadelphia, mercantile and import notices for Madeira wine, India goods, coffee and dry goods, a $100 reward for stolen linen, real estate and “country seat” offerings, boarding-school advertisements, and patent-medicine ads including the Cordial Balm of Gilead and Lee’s Windham Bilious Pills.

Condition: Toned and lightly age-browned with edge wear and minor chipping along the margins, typical fold lines; clean, complete, and fully legible — a solid, displayable original.

A genuine 220-year-old newspaper uniting the death notice of Martha Washington with major Haitian Revolution and Treaty of Amiens content — a rare convergence of First Family and Atlantic-world history in a single issue.  [ss] [ph:L]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

THIS ITEM, AS WITH ALL OTHER ITEMS AVAILABLE ON OUR WEB SITE,

MAY BE PURCHASED THROUGH OUR LAYAWAY PROGRAM.

CLICK HERE FOR OUR POLICIES AND TERMS.

THANK YOU!