$1,300
Estimate: $1,500 - $2,500
The Collection of Victor Niederhoffer part II
Auction: September 19, 2019 11:00:00 AM EDT
No place, May 13, 1794. 4to, one page. Autograph letter, signed in ink "John Jay" to his wife "My dear Sally" (Sarah Livingston). Manuscript in ink on verso, from another hand, "From Mr. Jay from on board the Ohio May 13 1794." Manuscript strong and clear; creasing from original folds.
An endearing letter of domestic life written in the midst of a great historical moment. Written by Jay to his wife Sally while aboard the ship Ohio during an unexpected weather delay "near the watering place," (somewhere off the eastern seaboard). Jay was en route to negotiate with the British to help quell the first great diplomatic challenge of the new nation. The resulting controversial agreement known as the Jay Treaty was hoped to put an end to trade and territorial disputes, but would help galvanize support in opposition to the Federalists, and eventually lead to the War of 1812.
Writing of domestic matters, Jay asks his wife to give love to his children (his eldest Peter Augustus would soon join his father in Britain as his personal secretary), while also indicating that he has "nothing new to tell", but expects "a letter from me will be welcome" once they land in England. The political drama on the horizon provides a context of great weight to this quotidian domestic affair. This letter is not published in The Correspondence and Public Papers of John Jay, edited by Johnston.