Lot 1112: WASHINGTON, George. Engraved document signed ("G:Washington") as President, countersigned by

WASHINGTON, George. Engraved document signed ("G:Washington") as President, countersigned by Henry Knox, Mount Vernon, 1 January 1784. 1page, oblong folio, (15 3/8 x 21 3/4 in.), accomplished in manuscript PRINTED ON FINE PARCHMENT. A CERTIFICATE OF MEMBERSHIP IN THE SOCIETY OF CINCINNATI. Elaborately engraved by Jean-Jacques André Le Veau (1729-1786) AFTER AN ORIGINAL DESIGN OF PIERRE CHARLES L'ENFANT (1754-1825) as drawn by Augustin-Louis La Belle (1757-1841); with complex allegorical vignettes surrounding the calligraphic text: naval warships under sail, Brittania and a British lion fleeing bolts of lightning from an American eagle, and circular medallic emblems of the Society of the Cincinnati, the ink accomplishments slightly faded, WASHINGTON'S SIGNATURE VERY STRONG AND DARK (unusual for this document). In truth, a superlative example of a document almost invariably found in quite mediocre state. Washington and Knox certify the membership of Ephriam Kirby, "an ensign in the late Armies of the United States."

SOCIETY OF CINCINNATI MEMBERSHIP FOR AN AMERICAN ENSIGN

The Society of Cincinnati, as the elegantly engraved text proclaims, was "...instituted by the Officers of the American Army, at the period of its Dissolution...to commemorate the great Event which gave independence to North America," and "for...inculcating the Duty of laying down in Peace arms assumed for public defence..." The Society, open to all former officers of the Continental Army and its foreign allies, was founded with Washington's approval by Henry Knox, Jedidiah Huntington and Baron von Steuben. Its constitution was formally adopted on 13 May 1783. The order was named after "that illustrious Roman, Lucius Quintius Cincinnatus," who had left his prosperous farm on two occasions to take up arms in defense of his homeland. Washington agreed to become president of the Society; Alexander Hamilton filled the post after Washington's death.