Lot 79: CHARLES B.J.F. DE SAINT-MEMIN (FRENCH 1770-1852). PROFILE PORTRAIT ENGRAVING OF PETER SAILLY AND THE ORIGINAL COPPER PLATE, TOGETHER WITH SAILLY'S FRENCH PASSPORT,1784.

CHARLES B.J.F. DE SAINT-MEMIN (FRENCH 1770-1852). PROFILE PORTRAIT ENGRAVING OF PETER SAILLY AND THE ORIGINAL COPPER PLATE, TOGETHER WITH SAILLY'S FRENCH PASSPORT,1784. Peter Sailly (1754-1826), a French immigrant, settled in Plattsburgh, New York, where he became a merchant and fur trader. He held a series of state and local public offices before serving in the U.S. Congress from 1805-07. Engraving on paper, diameter 2 1/8 inches. In a circular beaded brass frame. Copper plate 2 3/4 x 2 1/2 inches. The handwritten passport dated "Versailles, le 24 Novembre 1784" and signed "Louis" (Louis XVI).
Literature: For an illustration of the crayon portrait, now in the collection of the Clinton County Historical Association, see Ellen G. Miles, "Saint-Memin and the Neoclassical Profile Portrait in America," p. 384, no. 720.
Est. $2,000-$4,000