The United States Constitution–Signed Official Ratification Copy and Related Documents

The United States Constitution– Signed Official Ratification Copy and Related Documents September 28, 2024 Auction

The United States Constitution– Signed Official Ratification Copy and Related Documents September 28, 2024 Auction

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For all of us here at Brunk Auctions, it is a great honor to bring to market the extraordinary documents in this catalog. This Ratification copy of the Constitution- the only known copy in private hands- is the manifestation of the most crucial element of the great experiment launched by the Founding Fathers: the connection point between government and the will of the people. In a time of monarchs, they chose democracy of "We the People". Among the most important documents ever offered at auction, the Constitution offered here embodies the launching of our great modern democracy. — Andrew Brunk

Asheville, North Carolina auction starts at 2:00 pm EDT preview in Asheville and New York by appointment brunkauctions.com Please contact the gallery to register - 828-254-6846 Terms of sale available online

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hen the Signers of the Declaration of Independence proclaimed the self-evident truth that “all men are created equal,” they knew those words described an aspiration, not a reality. Still, they put their lives on the line for the novel idea that a government should exist for the benefit of its citizens rather than its rulers. In 2026, we will celebrate America’s 250th anniversary. While July 4, 1776 is considered our nation’s birthday, we note that the Declaration of Independence, the greatest break-up note in history, did not actually establish a government.

That government began with the Articles of Confederation – a loose affiliation among thirteen sovereign states, with a very small and strictly limited federal government. Signer of the Declaration Joseph Hewes’ copy of the first printed draft of the Articles, from July 12, 1776, is the first lot offered here.

The Continental Congress revised and adopted the Articles in November 1777, but it did not go into effect until all 13 states had ratified in 1781. The deficiencies of the system were immediately apparent, and another universal truth soon became evident: Independence is not enough. To be free and secure people also need food, shelter, community, civil society, rule of law, and justice. As Thomas Paine wrote in Common Sense, the little pamphlet that made Independence happen, “Government, like dress, is the badge of lost innocence… For were the impulses of conscience clear, uniform and irresistibly obeyed, man would need no other lawgiver…” The failures of the Articles are too legion to catalog here.

A convention met at Annapolis to consider strengthening the Articles but failed to agree on any fixes.

A last-ditch effort resulted in a Federal Convention meeting in Philadelphia starting in May of 1787.

The job of what is now known as the Constitutional Convention was to propose improvements to the existing system, but the delegates soon realized that the Articles could not be fixed. They started from scratch, creating a blueprint for a new system designed to help citizens and the nation meet the challenges of the day. The focus went from independence to interdependence. Recognizing that liberty and governance are always balancing acts, the new government was designed with separation of powers and checks and balances to navigate between humility and hubris, faith and doubt, ideals and interests, dogma and compromise.

The work of the Convention was completed on September 17. The first copies of the proposed Constitution, printed for the delegates to distribute, were ready on the 18th. That morning, the secretary to the Convention, William Jackson, took the Constitution, along with cover resolutions signed by George Washington, to Congress in New York. After heated debate, on September 28, the Confederation Congress accepted the Convention’s plan to send the Constitution to the states for ratification. 100 copies of the Constitution, Washington’s two cover resolutions, and Congress’ ratification resolution, were printed on September 28 for that purpose. An exceedingly rare copy of that imprint, signed by Charles Thomson under the Congressional ratification resolution, is the last lot offered here. This true official edition of the Constitution as it went to the states for ratification was the archetype used by each of the states for their respective ratification process.

Over the next ten months, ratification battles led to vigorous debate. Ultimately, fear of a government too powerful for its own citizens was overcome as people felt the consequences of living under a government too weak to deal with real problems.

The American Constitutional Experiment was designed not as a static artifact of history, but as an ever-improving technology—a system for applying knowledge to solve problems. Thus, the process of amendment was not just included, but was a central feature without which ratification would not have succeeded. Constitutional democracy is never easy and will never be perfect—but it remains the best technology ever devised to address issues of governance and society.

1501 Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union Between the Colonies...

Highly important first draft as brought in by the committee, July 12, 1776 Philadelphia, eight pages of printed text on D & C Blauw watermarked paper, “Confederation” inked marginalia in the hand of Joseph Hewes, with “J. Hewes, Esq.” in ink at edge [filing docket not in Hewes hand], original full twenty proposed Articles, two folios 8-3/4 x 13-1/2 in., Evans #15148., good overall with expected handling, rust and other light staining, toning, folds, minute losses at folds, edge splits Provenance: A Historic Edenton Family Collection Estimate: $100,000 - $200,000 Forming a Nascent American Government “The said colonies… hereby enter into a firm League of Friendship with each other, for their common Defense, the Security of their Liberties, and their mutual and general welfare…”

The Journals of the Continental Congress, immediately after reviewing the text of the proposed Articles (printed in full in the present document), then passed a resolution (not printed here) ordering the printing of this very document.

“Resolved, That eighty copies, and no more, of the confederation, as brought in by the committee, be immediately printed, and deposited with the secretary, who shall deliver one copy to each member: That a committee be appointed to superintend the press, who shall take care that the foregoing resolution [unfinished] That the printer be under oath to deliver all the copies, which he shall print, together with the copy sheet, to the secretary, and not to disclose either directly or indirectly, the contents of the said confederation.”

Preparing for independence, in 1775 Benjamin Franklin drafted a plan of government. That sat for nearly a year, until June 11, 1776, after Richard Henry Lee offered his motion for independence. A Congressional committee was then appointed to formulate an official draft. Penned by John Dickinson, it drew much from Franklin’s work. The proposal created a loose confederation among the thirteen states, each retaining its

own sovereignty, joined by a very weak central government with strictly limited powers.

The main difference between Franklin’s draft and the final text was in representation. Franklin proposed a democratic approach, with each colony sending a number of delegates to Congress in proportion to its population, and each member having a vote. Instead, the Articles favored the smaller states, allowing each state to appoint between two to seven delegates, but together they would have only one vote per state. After much revision, the Continental Congress adopted the Articles in November 1777, but it had to be ratified unanimously by the states to go into effect. Virginia was the first, in December 1777. North Carolina ratified in April 1778. Others delayed due to disputes over claimed Western lands, or fear of central authority and of each other.

Finally ratified by all of the states by March 1781, the Confederation was inherently flawed in several ways. There was no chief executive and no separation of powers. Acts required the approval of nine states, but changes to the Articles had to be unanimous. Perhaps most importantly, Congress could not levy taxes, instead having to resort to requesting requisitions from the states and loans from abroad. The Continental Congress also lacked the authority to establish uniform regulations for foreign and domestic commerce. States went their own way in setting import duties and in paying down revolutionary debt. The inconsistent policies increased tension between the states and deteriorating financial prospects for the Congress.

When the Annapolis Convention of 1786 convened to work toward new commercial agreements between states, nationalists Alexander Hamilton and James Madison called for a broader convention, to be held in Philadelphia in 1787 to discuss improving the Articles. Congress concurred, calling on the states to send delegates. Once the Convention met, the delegates quickly agreed on the need to discard the Articles of Confederation and to draft an entirely new frame of government.

This printing of the Articles of Confederation, the closest draft of a new American government necessitated by the Declaration of Independence proclaimed little over two weeks prior, is exceedingly rare. We have found no record of any copy appearing on the market.

It is worth mentioning that a copy of the next printed iteration of the Articles of Confederation, from 1777, with the word “States” replacing “Colonies” in Article II, resides with the North Carolina State Archives, generously gifted by the same family offering this present example.

This lot was viewed by representatives of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources and the Department does not at this time have reason to believe that the Lot contains any out-of-custody public records.

1502 Draft Circular Letter from Joseph Hewes, et al. to the Inhabitants of North Carolina [June, 1775] hand written notes containing excerpts from an early drafted letter from William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, and Richard Caswell to the inhabitants of North Carolina, alternate wording and some visible redactions, appears to be writing of Joseph Hewes and perhaps one other hand on watermarked paper (SI? or SL?) 9 x 14-1/2 in. (one folio and one loose leaf), considerable wear, splits, tears, staining, foxing, bold ink bleed through, pest damage and other issues throughout, one leaf lined with laminated tissue, entire grouping could benefit from professional restoration Provenance: A Historic Edenton Family Collection Estimate: $4,000 - $6,000 source: https://docsouth.unc.edu/csr/index.php/document/csr10-0011 This enigmatic draft should prove ripe for research for Founding Document scholars as well as students of early Federal and North Carolina history. Importantly, the full document encouraged coordination between the North Carolina committee and the Continental Congress.

Joseph Hewes (1730-1779), a native of New Jersey educated at Princeton, became a successful merchant after the French and Indian War. At the age of 30, he moved to Edenton, North Carolina, expanding his mercantile enterprise and entering politics. A few days before his wedding, Hewes’s fiancée died suddenly. He remained a bachelor and left no children to inherit his sizeable estate. At the start of the American Revolution, Hewes put his entire fleet at the disposal of the Continental Navy. He then served as Secretary of the Naval Affairs Committee of the Continental Congress. John Adams later recalled that Hewes “laid the foundation, the cornerstone of the American Navy.” In collaboration with John Adams and Samuel Adams, Hewes was one of the strongest advocates of independence in the contentious early months of 1776, forcing him to sunder ties with the Quakers.

This lot was viewed by representatives of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources and the Department does not at this time have reason to believe that the Lot contains any out-of-custody public records.

1503 1787 Foreign Affairs Letter and Treaty Draft [John Jay] [John Adams] Office for Foreign Affairs, April 6th, 1787 : The secretary of the United States for the Department of Foreign Affairs, in pursuance of the order of Congress directing him to report the draft of a letter to the states, to accompany the resolutions in his reports of 13th October last, on a letter of 6th March, 1786, from the honorable John Adams, Esq; reports the following...; along with five printed folio pages Treaty of Amity and Commerce draft, n.d.; largest approximately 14 x 8-3/4 in., separations and losses at fold intersections, creasing, toning, staining, numerous annotations and inscriptions Provenance: A Historic Edenton Family Collection Estimate: $2,000 - $4,000

1504 The Journal of the Convention of North Carolina at Hillsborough circa 1788, printed by Robert Ferguson of Hillsborough, pp. 1-10 covering July 21-31, separately numbered pp. 1-16 covering August 1-4, front cover signed “Samuel Johnston”, a combination of folio and loose leaf pages, approximately 6-1/2 x 8 in., good overall, some foxing, folding, corner and edge wear, discoloration, and one visible correction in marginalia (Mr. Joseph “Gaitier” corrected to Gautier) Provenance: A Historic Edenton Family Collection Estimate: $7,000 - $10,000 At the convention, debate continued for two weeks, but supporters failed to assuage Antifederalists’ fears that the Constitution would one day concentrate power at the national level and enable the government to chip away at states’ rights and individual liberty. The possibility of abuse of the powers of levying taxes, appointing government officials, and instituting a strong court system was of particular concern. The Antifederalist majority concurred with delegate William Gowdy of Guilford County, when he remarked: “Power belongs originally to the people, but if rulers be not well guarded, that power may be usurped from them.” With the hope of effecting the incorporation of a bill of rights into the U.S. Constitution, the delegates voted 184 to 84 neither to ratify nor to reject the Constitution, and North Carolina remained out of the Union until the first Federal Congress passed the Bill of Rights, which led to North Carolina calling a second convention at Fayetteville.

Exceedingly rare. We have found no record of any copy appearing on the market.

This lot was viewed by representatives of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources and the Department does not at this time have reason to believe that the Lot contains any out-of-custody public records.

1505 Charles Thomson Signed Congressional Ordinance Defining His Own Duties as Secretary of Congress Congress of the Confederation, Charles Thomson, Printed Document Signed, “An Ordinance for the Regulation of the Office of the Secretary of Congress,” March 31, 1785, 1 p., 7-3/4 x 12-3/4 in., Evans# 24779, light toning, foxing, singular pinhole at edge of first page Provenance: Swann Auction Galleries, May 4, 2017, Lot 69, Private Collection Estimate: $6,000 - $10,000 As Secretary of Congress nine years earlier, Thomson and Congress President John Hancock had been the only two men to sign the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. Thomson played a key role in the new national government, as the Secretary of the Continental and Confederation Congress from 1774 to 1789. “...He shall transmit to the several states, all acts, ordinances, resolutions and recommendations of Congress—correspond with the states, for the purpose of receiving communications from them, relative to the execution of the same, and make report to Congress— keeping a book in which shall be entered copies of all such letters and communications...” “...He shall authenticate all acts and proceedings of Congress not specially directed to be authenticated by their president—and keep a register of all treaties, conventions, ordinances and permanent acts of Congress...”

Charles Thomson (1729-1824) of Pennsylvania served as Secretary of the Confederation Congress throughout its entire fifteen-year existence. His role was more than merely clerical, and some considered him as essentially the “Prime Minister of the United States,” particularly when Congress was not in session. This ordinance clarified his duties. Because the Secretary of Congress was to “authenticate all acts and proceedings of Congress,” Thomson signed the ordinance. Later, under the new federal government, the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the United States House of Representatives assumed many of the responsibilities previously held by Thomson.

Thomson was born in Ireland to Scots-Irish parents. After his mother’s death, his father decided to emigrate to Britain’s American colonies. His father died at sea, and Thomson and his brothers were separated in America. A blacksmith in Delaware cared for him, and he received an education in Pennsylvania. In 1750, he became a Latin tutor. During the years of protest against the Stamp Act and Intolerable Acts, Thomson became a leader of Philadelphia’s Sons of Liberty. Most importantly, he served as secretary to the Continental Congress through its entire history, from 1774 to 1789.

Very rare. We are aware of only one other signed copy appearing on the market, at R & R Auction, July 27, 2024, where it sold for $12,972.50 Thomson and the Declaration of Independence For an act or resolution of Continental Congress to be official, only the president and secretary of Congress had to sign. Congress voted to pass the Declaration of Independence, John Hancock and Charles Thomson signed, and it went directly to John Dunlap’s printing shop. The location of the original July 4th Declaration manuscript has not been recorded since. Later in July, after New York changed its vote to make approval unanimous, Congress ordered the engrossed "unanimous Declaration which was not officially related to its passage". The signers affixed their “John Hancocks” on August 2, 1776.

Thomson and the United States Constitution As secretary of the Confederation Congress, Charles Thomson was the only person to sign official copies of the Constitution sent to the state to launch the ratification the process. See lot 1509.

1506 Letter from Samuel Johnston to George Washington with Response, 1789 Broadside printed letter with Johnston’s letter of May 10, 1789 and Washington's response, from June 19, 1789, on single leaf of watermarked paper, approximately 8-1/2 x 13-1/2 in., considerable staining and losses to periphery, folds, creases, some thin areas Provenance: A Historic Edenton Family Collection Estimate: $1,000 - $2,000 “Though this state be not yet a member of the union under the new form of government, we look forward with the pleasing hope of its shortly becoming such; and in the common interest and affection with the other states, waiting only for the happy event of such alterations being proposed as will remove the apprehensions of many of the good citizens of this state, for those liberties for which they have fought and suffered in common with others…. And in the mean while, may the state of North Carolina be considered, as it truly deserves to be, attached with equal warmth with any state in the union, to the true interest, prosperity, and glory of America….”

George Washington took his country’s presidential oath of office in April of 1789. Prior to North Carolina’s second Constitutional Convention, which ratified the federal Constitution, President Washington responded to the Governor (Samuel Johnston) and the Council of the State of North Carolina. “[I am] gratified by the favourable sentiments which are evinced in your address to me, and impressed with an idea that the Citizens of your State are sincerely attached to the Interest, the Prosperity and the Glory of America. I most earnestly implore the Divine benediction and guidance in the councils, which are shortly to be taken by their Delegates on a subject of the most momentous consequence, I mean the political relation which is to subsist hereafter, between the State of North Carolina and the States now in Union under the new general Government.”

This lot was viewed by representatives of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources and the Department does not at this time have reason to believe that the Lot contains any out-of-custody public records.

1507 Constitution of the United States Pamphlet, 1791...

Signed on the title page by North Carolina Governor Samuel Johnston The Constitution of the United States of America; As Proposed by the Convention Held at Philadelphia, Sept. 17, 1787 and Since Ratified by the Several States, printed in Philadelphia by John Fenno, 1791, title page signed “S. Johnston”, marble design cover inscribed by an unknown hand “Constitution of the United States”, 5 x 8 in., considerable wear, staining, delicate binding, thin areas or losses, pest damage at periphery, discoloration Provenance: A Historic Edenton Family Collection Estimate: $5,000 - $10,000 A rare Constitution imprint signed by Governor Samuel Johnston, who was responsible for leading North Carolina through the difficult ratification process.

This lot was viewed by representatives of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources and the Department does not at this time have reason to believe that the Lot contains any out-of-custody public records.

George Washington Crossing the Delaware

1508 after Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze (German/America, 1816-1868) Washington Crossing the Delaware, unsigned, bears old label fragment verso (see below), oil on canvas, 12-1/8 x 18-1/8 in.; fine reproduction carved gilt wood frame, 17 x 23 in., crackle; frame with wear Provenance: Kennedy Gallery, New York, NY; Hillard Shar, New York, NY; descended in the family; Larry Shar, New York, NY Estimate: $25,000 - $35,000 According to Dr. Graham C. Boettcher, this is likely a 19th century German copy after Leutze’s 1851 version of Washington Crossing the Delaware. This is the artist’s second version of his most famous work, which can be seen in the Metropolitan Museum of Art and measures approximately 12 x 21 feet. A third, much smaller version (40 x 68 in.) of the same scene set the record for American historical Painting at auction when it sold for $45 million in 2022. Also interesting to note, according to Dr. Boettcher, the script of the fragmentary note is consistent with 19th century German writing, and the title used in it, Washingtons Über]gang über den Delaware, is the German title the painting carried in the 19th century.

1509 The Printed Archetype of the United States Constitution...

Sent to and Used by the States for Ratification - Signed by Secretary of Congress Charles Thomson One of the Official Signed Ratification Copies of the Constitution, The Only Located Privately Held Copy “We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common Defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America...”

[UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION – ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION CONGRESS] Broadsheet, Printed Document, from September 28, 1787 run of just 100 copies, four-page folio printed in New York by John McLean for Dunlap and Claypoole of Philadelphia (who held the contract as ‘official printer’ of the Confederation Congress), double column of text, set at a slight tilt on watermarked paper, with original uneven top and bottom edges, signed “Chas Thomson Sec’y” at bottom of fourth page immediately following the ratification resolution of the Confederation Congress, light period marginalia in graphite “Adopted it must be & shall be”, and elsewhere “Taylor” with other flourishes by an unknown hand, 11 x 15-3/4 in. Evans #20817, good overall with expected wear, heavy central horizontal fold causing edge splits at each side, foxing, light staining or toning, marginalia which include marks seemingly checking off in affirmation Following the full text of the Constitution and the Convention's resolutions sending their proposal to the Confederation Congress in New York, this printing adds Congress’ September 28, 1787 resolution officially launching the ratification process.

“Resolved, unanimously, That the said Report, with the Resolutions and Letter accompanying the same, be transmitted to the several Legislatures, in order to be submitted to a Convention of Delegates chosen in each State by the people thereof, in conformity to the Resolves of the Convention made and provided in that Case” Of the 100 archetype Constitutions originally printed by McLean, only a fraction were signed by Charles Thomson, the Secretary of the Congress. Until now, only eight or nine of those signed copies were known to have survived the ages. (The only prior auction appearance of a signed ratification copy of the Constitution was in 1891. We don’t know if that copy still survives, and if it does, whether it is now among the eight known institutional copies).

Provenance: Passed down through generations at the historic Hayes Plantation in Edenton, North Carolina. Hayes Plantation sits on property purchased in 1765 by Samuel Johnston, who in 1787-1789 was Governor of North Carolina. He presided over North Carolina’s conventions where the Constitution was ratified. The main house at Hayes was completed by Johnston’s son in 1817 and is a National Historic Landmark. For more information on Hayes Plantation and its history in the Johnston and Wood Families, see ncpedia.org/hayes-plantation Estimate upon request Opening bid: $1,000,000 Please note, this lot will be offered without a reserve.

Among the documents discovered at Historic Hayes Plantation was a rare Dunlap, broadside of the Declaration of Independence, which the family sold in 1993 at Christie’s to Williams College for $412,500, setting a record at that time. So important was the Hayes Plantation treasure, that the library, including its documents, books, and archives were donated to the State Library, and recreated in full at the University of North Carolina. One can visit a replica of the room, exactly as it was found at the Plantation, at the Wilson Library at UNC Chapel Hill. The group of documents offered here, including the rare archetype copy of the Constitution, remained at Hayes undisturbed, until their discovery in 2022. Brunk Auctions is honored to have the privilege to offer this rare and important piece of American History at public auction.

One of the most important documents in all of history, this printing is deceptively simple in appearance, with none of the flourishes we are familiar with from the engrossed signed parchment at the National Archives in Washington, DC. In the words of James Madison, the Constitution, “...was nothing more than the draft of a plan, nothing but a dead letter, until life and validity were breathed into it by the voice of the people, speaking through the several State Conventions.” The idea that our new government would be born only after being affirmed by the voice of the people was in a way even more revolutionary than the Declaration of Independence – a document which had been proclaimed to-rather than ratified by-the People. By launching the ratification process, this humble looking archetype became the cornerstone of our modern democracy.

Without taking anything away from Philadelphia’s celebrated role as the birthplace of the Constitution, this document introduces to many the part that New York played as the seat of the Confederation Congresses and the birthplace of the United States of America under the Constitution.

In 1787, the greatest task the United States in Congress Assembled had was the ratification of the newly proposed Constitution. It fell upon Charles Thomson–the Secretary of the Confederation Congress whose signature is on this document–to see to that ratification.

The job of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia (then called the Federal or Philadelphia Convention) was to propose improve-

ments to the system under the Articles of Confederation. The Convention officially reported back not to the states, but to the Confederation Congress then sitting in New York. When the work of the Convention was completed on September 17th, the first copies were printed in Philadelphia (by Dunlap and Claypoole) for the Convention through the night. On the morning of September 18, 1787, William Jackson, the secretary to the Convention, took the Constitution as well as Washington’s signed cover resolutions and unsigned printed copies to deliver to Congress in New York. At some later point, the Convention printing became known as the “Official Edition,” but that moniker doesn’t account for the crucial step that was lacking to make it truly official – the action of Congress. After a couple days of heated debate, on September 28, Congress voted to follow the Convention’s request, and send the document without alteration to the states for ratification. It is that resolution, along with Thomson’s signature, that makes the present copy one of the true official editions of the Constitution as it went to the states for ratification. It was this document that was then reproduced by the states for each of their debates on ratification.

The Constitutional Convention’s Cover Resolutions The first resolved that the proposed United States Constitution be “laid before the United States in Congress assembled,” meeting in New York under the Articles of Confederation. It provided a succinct plan for them to send the Constitution to the states for ratification, and once ratified, to implement the new Federal government by electing representatives, convening Congress, and electing the first president. The second was a transmittal letter to the Confederation Congress. Hoping to avoid Congress and the states relitigating every hard-fought issue, Washington and the Convention acknowledged that every state, if considering their interests alone, would disagree on certain points, but that compromise was necessary for the greater good of all.

“It is obviously impracticable in the federal government of these states, to secure all rights of independent sovereignty to each, and yet provide for the interest and safety of all: Individuals entering into society, must give up a share of liberty to preserve the rest… It is at all times difficult to draw with precision the line between those rights which must be surrendered, and those which may be reserved... the several states as to their situation, extent, habits, and particular interests.

“In all our deliberations on this subject we kept steadily in our view, that which appears to us the greatest interest of every true American, the consolidation of our Union, in which is involved our prosperity, felicity, safety, perhaps our national existence. This… led each state in the Convention to be less rigid on points of inferior magnitude, than might have been otherwise expected; and thus the Constitution, which we now present, is the result of a spirit of amity, and of that mutual deference and concession which the peculiarity of our political situation rendered indispensable.

“That it will meet the full and entire approbation of every state is not perhaps to be expected; but… that it is liable to as few exceptions as could reasonably have been expected, we hope and believe; that it may promote the lasting welfare of that country so dear to us all, and secure her freedom and happiness, is our most ardent wish.”

Census of Thomson Signed Ratification Copies of the Constitution (Evans #20817) • Boston Public Library (Rare Books H.90.87 pb). Inscribed by John Quincy Adams at the head of page 1: “An original copy of the

Constitution of the United States, attested by Charles Thomson secretary to the Confederation Congress. Issued 28 September, 1787.” Donated by Charles Francis Adams in 1891. Separated into individual leaves; portion of lower left margin of each leaf is excised, with no loss to text. https://ark.digitalcommonwealth.org/ark:/50959/ms35v795h.

• Brown University (John Carter Brown Library, Rare Books ; MD8-13) • Brown University copy #2 • National Archives (Papers of the Continental Congress, Resolve Books, Item #122, pp. 98a+) • New-York Historical Society. Per Myers, but unconfirmed • New York State Archives/Library (copy 1) (George Clinton Papers) • New York State Archives/Library (copy 2) (Andrew Elliot Papers, SC 13349). Per Myers, but unconfirmed. The New York State Archives notes that both copies would have been heavily damaged by the fire of 1911, and may no longer be legible.

• North Carolina State Archives (Vault Collection, VC. 26) • Private hands. The present example • Additional census details are in our expanded online description Sales history of Thomson Signed Ratification Copies of the Constitution • C.F. Libbie, Jan. 6, 1891, lot 2107 - $400.

References • Bernstein, Richard B. Are We To Be A Nation? (Harvard University Press, 1987).

• Brigham, Clarence S. History and Bibliography of American Newspapers, Vol. II, pp. 942-944

• Davis, David Brion & Mintz, Steven. The Boisterous Sea of Liberty (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998).

• Myers, Denys Peter, The Constitution of the United States of America . . . (Washington, D.C., GPO: 1961).

• Rapport, Leonard. “Printing the Constitution: The Convention and Newspaper Imprints, August – November 1787” in Prologue:

The Journal of the National Archives. Vol. 2 No. 2, Fall 1970. pp. 69-90

• Seth Kaller, Inc. Private records and research.

This lot was viewed by representatives of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources and the Department does not at this time have reason to believe that the Lot contains any out-of-custody public records.

Please note, bidding for this lot only will be live in-person, by telephone, absentee bid, or on our internet platform Brunk Live only. This lot will not be offered on any other bidding platforms. To register, please call us at 828-254-6846.

For our terms of sale, please visit www.brunkauctions.com.

The September 28 auction of the United States Constitution will be the culmination of an exceptional three day auction.

Please join us British & Continental Auction, September 26, 2024, 10:00 am American & Southern Auction, September 27, 2024, 10:00 am Important Historic Americana, September 28, 2024, 10:00 am

September 26-28, 2024 Auctions Feature a remarkable selection of American, British, and Continental art and objects. Rare historic American maps, prints and documents in addition to the important selection in this catalog will be featured. Important 18th century American furniture from the storied 50 year collection of Constance and Dudley Godfrey of Milwaukee will be included, and from a Revolutionary and patriotic focused New England collection are rare prints and documents, early brass and ceramics, as well as furniture and accessories. American paintings range from an early Sanford Gifford, a rare watercolor by George De Forest Brush, and three important landscapes from the collection of Barbara Novak; to impressionist works by Theodore Butler, Ernest Lawson, and others, and include two works

by Andrew Wyeth including a rare male nude; Important Native American art features a Blackfoot War Shirt and a Santo Domingo Shield; important Southern, American and British silver, rare ceramics, maritime art and objects, textiles, and folk art round out this impressive offering.