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Lot 1021: Arthur Middleton

Est: $25,000 USD - $30,000 USDPassed
RR AuctionAmherst, NH, USDecember 15, 2012

Item Overview

Description

Signer of the Declaration of Independence from South Carolina (1742-1787). A radical Whig, Middleton was one of the more vocal members of the South Carolina's Council of Safety and was known for his ruthless treatment of Loyalists. Middleton was imprisoned in 1780 when the British captured Charleston and spent a year in custody in St. Augustine. Rare war-dated ALS, signed with his initials, "A. M.," three pages on two 7.75 x 12.75 sheets, October 29, 1782, Baltimore. Addressed in his hand on the transmittal panel to Charles Pinckney (1757-1824) in Philadelphia. Middleton pens a witty and lengthy letter describing his southward journey home after serving in the Continental Congress since 1781. He also takes time to praise John Hancock and advises his young correspondent to visit him in South Carolina as soon as he had "sown a few more of your young Oats."Middleton writes, in full, "We arrived here last Evening after a tolerably agreeable Journey; considering bad weather, Stumps, Stones craggy hills &ca. we have met with some hairbreadth Scrapes, but came off without accident having got over the worst of the road, we now expect to rode upon Carpets, & outride the Wind-Poor Elliott the first day or two rode upon Pins, now & then damn'd the Sulky, then the blind Horse, then the Liquor Case, (the bottom having jolted out) & Bobby came in for a few Cases-Upon this, as upon all similar Occasions, I recommended Patience, & we now have nothing to do but to think & talk of our Friends, to laugh at difficulties, see our Horses well fed, eat when we can get it & Sleep when we don[']t forget it. In accord we are now in a good train, with a prospect of quick Journey-I inclose you a Letter [not present] to Mr. Hancock; he was a very benevolent worthy man. & took pleasure in doing Kindnesses-I make no doubt he Continues the same unless his government may have Soured his Temper, which is not very probable, as Dignities confer[e]d upon a man of Sense, generally tend to humanize, & I hope you will find it so-Remember me affectionally to the major & his family; tell him I think he will judge right in taking the other road, we have found this hitherto much more broken & disagreeable than I expected-let him know the Two Horses he spared me are well, the large Horse is either a little lame, or shams[?] it but goes very well. & the white foot is too good to run with the rest, as he chooses to draw the whole weight himself, so that he is confused to the sue of George, who had the honour of being nearly starved in the Tower[?]-Acquaint the Major I shall depend upon him his driving directly to the Ashley River where we will make the best preparations for his reception the Times will admit of-I fear he will not find Hay or blades, but hungry Horses will eat Straw-He must not Omit bringing Mrs. M. F. I shall expect-pray make my Love to her, & to Miss Polly my respects to the old Lady, & Compliments to all in the House with you-Mrs. M. F.'s light shines every night to that we see her good works, we have not yet consulted the Bundle of good things, but often think & talk of her without their Assistance, we shall apply to it when we get into the Wilderness- there is a manner of conferring favours, which renders them infinitely more gratefull [sic], there were stolen upon us, & I shall not easily forget them; The Lantern shall be dedicated to the bona Dea, & the Sun, in my Museum; if I have one left-Don[']t forget to acquaint Mrs. Morton (the fat House keeper) if she should call, that the first money I can Tape[?] & Scrape together after I get home shall be forwarded to her-I shall say nothing more to you upon the subject of your Projects; I spoke my mind freely, as I wish you happiness; I know your Father will expect to see you before you embark for Europe, & under that Idea, I make [?] of seeing you in Carol[ina] as soon as you have sown a few more of your young Oats-But go where you will, you are [illeg] of my good wishes, & it will give me pleasure to hear from you-We leave this in a few minutes, & I have not time to correct this scrawl-your [illeg.] eye must therefore excuse Errors of the Pen &ca. Believe that there are not many, but the Hear of Your friend & Servant AM. PS: Elliot presents his Compliments to all in your circle-Nothing new here, either foreign or from the South Adieu-I shall write to Mr. Izard when I have more to say to him." In very good condition, with intersecting folds, nearly complete separation along the hinge, and scattered overall light soiling and staining. A marvelously informal and chatty letter revealing the dynamism of Middleton's personality. Both Pinckney and Middleton had been taken prisoner at Charleston, South Carolina. Pinckney later became an influential delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1787. Examples of Arthur Middleton's autograph are extremely rare. Among the Signers of the Declaration of Independence, he is the third rarest. A search of American Book Prices Current and Americana Exchange reveals only 32 examples of his autograph in any form appearing at auction since 1974. Of those, only seven were war-dated ALSs.Listed in J. Fields, The Autographs of Arthur Middleton, Manuscripts: The First Twenty Years, 85-104, listing the present letter as number 30.

Artist or Maker

Payment & Shipping

Payment

Accepted forms of payment: Discover, MasterCard, Money Order / Cashiers Check, Paypal, Personal Check, Visa, Wire Transfer

Shipping

Auction House will ship, at Buyer's expense

Auction Details

American Revolutionary War Collection of Richard Newell

by
RR Auction
December 15, 2012, 01:00 PM EST

5 Route 101A, Suite 5, Amherst, NH, 03031, US

Terms

Buyer's Premium

23.0%

Bidding Increments

From:To:Increment:
$0$99$10
$100$499$20
$500$999$50
$1,000$1,999$100
$2,000$4,999$250
$5,000$9,999$500
$10,000$29,999$1,000
$30,000$49,999$2,000
$50,000$199,999$5,000
$200,000+$10,000

Terms and Conditions

General Statements
All bidders who attend the sale must register and obtain a bidder card/number in order to participate in the auction. Absentee/telephone bidders must register by filling out and signing an absentee bid sheet and/or pre-registration form. Both forms are located online and in this catalog. The highest bidder acknowledged by the auctioneer shall be the purchaser and shall be considered to be the owner of record at the fall of the hammer. RR Auction charges a 20% premium to the buyer on the final bid price of each lot sold. Please note that a 2.5% convenience fee will be added to purchases processed by credit card or PayPal. For more detailed information refer to the Payment section below. Bidding on any lot indicates your acceptance of these terms, and all terms listed below.

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Buyers should register for a numbered bidding paddle at least
30 minutes before the start of the sale.


New Bidder Registration
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Bidding
The auctioneer accepts bids from those present in the salesroom, from telephone bidders, live internet bidders, or by absentee written bids left with RR Auction in advance of the auction. The auctioneer may also execute bids on behalf of the the seller up to the amount of the reserve. RR Auction reserves the right to reject any bid in order to protect a consignor's interest. An opening bid can be no less than half of the lot's low estimate.


Bidding Increments (for all forms of bidding)

Current Bidding Price Correct Increment

$100-500 $20
$500-1000 $50
$1,000-2,000 $100
$2,000-5,000 $250
$5,000-10,000 $500
$10,000+ $1,000
(or at auctioneer's discretion)


RR Auction will attempt to execute an absentee bid at the lowest possible increment while taking into account a lot's reserve. Absentee bids submitted on "no reserve" lots will, in the absence of a higher bid, be executed at approximately 50% of the low estimate. The auctioneer may execute absentee bids from the rostrum, clearly identifying these as absentee bids. Absentee bid forms are available in the catalog, at RR Auction, or online at www.rrauction.com. RR Auction offers absentee bidding as a convenience to our clients, but will not be responsible for errors or failures to execute bids.

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Pre-auction viewing
Pre-auction viewing is available by appointment at our offices,
and at The Crowne Plaza in Nashua, NH, on December 16, 8:00am-10:00am est RR Auction experts are available to give advice and condition statements at viewings.

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Reserves
Certain lots are subject to a confidential reserve. The reserve is the minimum price the consignor will accept, and will not exceed the lot's low estimate. The auctioneer may also execute bids on behalf of the seller up to the amount of the reserve. The auctioneer will not specifically identify bids placed on behalf of the seller. Under no circumstances will the auctioneer place bids on behalf of the seller at or above the reserve.

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Group Lots
In descriptions of group lots of two or more items, every effort is made to mention any obvious flaws. Bidders should note that group lot condition is given as a general statement or as a range, and that specific flaws to single items within the group may be omitted in the interest of catalog space. Questions about group lots, as well as about specific items within the group, should be addressed before the close of the auction to Stacey Jordan
(stacey.jordan@rrauction.com).

Successful Bids
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Note: If you are bidding through Artfact or any other 3rd party
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We do not send orders to PO Boxes; a street address is required.
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Order Total Shipping Cost
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Each signed item is unconditionally guaranteed genuine without time limit. If a lot is declared to be not authentic, we may ask the purchaser to supply the written opinion of one competent authority acceptable to us. We will refund the original purchase price after documentation has been submitted. The buyer's only remedy under this guarantee is the cancellation of the sale and the refund of the purchase price.




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Postponement
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Matted and Framed Items
We do not remove items from mats or frames. The given dimensions of items housed in a frame and/or mat indicate the sight-size only. Photographs used with matted and framed items are not subject to description or condition statements, nor are they considered a reason for return. Condition references only the item and not its mat or frame, and our terms of return apply only to the primary item and not the matting and framing. Any item that is removed from the frame cannot be returned. Returns are only accepted only in the unlikely event of an authenticity problem, or if the description of the item is incorrect.

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By placing a bid or otherwise participating in the auction, you are accepting all terms and conditions described above. You are agreeing to the alternative dispute of arbitration. Arbitration replaces the right to go to court, including the right to a jury trial. If any dispute arises regarding payment, authenticity, grading, description, provenance, or any other matter pertaining to the Auction, the Bidder or a participant in the Auction and/or R&R agree that the dispute shall go to binding arbitration in accordance with the commercial rules of the American Arbitration Association. A.A.A. Arbitration shall be conducted under the provisions of the Federal Arbitration Act with locale in New Hampshire. Any claim made by a bidder has to presented within one (1) year or it is barred. The prevailing party may be awarded reasonable attorney's fees and costs. An award granted in arbitration is enforceable in any court of competent jurisdiction.

General RR Auction Info
R&R Auction Company, LLC, d/b/a RRAuction
Licensed auctioneer: Carla Eaton, NH license #3029

Contact Information
5 Rt 101A, Suite 5?•?Amherst, NH 03031
Local/International: 1-603-732-4280
Local/Int'l fax: 1-603-732-4288
Website: www.RRAuction.com
Email bidding: Stacey.Jordan@RRAuction.com

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Any item in the auction can be viewed in our offices during normal business hours. Please call to set up an appointment.

Shipping Terms

Auction House will ship, at Buyer's expense