Books and Manuscripts

Braintree, (Massachusetts), August 25, 1764. 3 3/8 x 7 5/8 in. (85 x 193 mm). Promissory note, in a secretarial hand, to Peter Boylston Adams, younger brother of second president John Adams, for the sum of ten shillings and eight pence; annotated by John Adams at bottom: "This was paid Sept 26th 1766", also annotated by Peter on verso. Creased along center from original fold; scattered spotting. Lot includes an engraved portrait of Adams.

A rare glimpse into the beginnings of a Founding Father. When the loan was made on August 25, 1764, John Adams was a 28-year-old newly-minted lawyer who would marry Abigail Smith two months later. When he paid Peter in full, two years later on September 26, 1766, he had just had the first of his six children, was recently appointed a selectman in Braintree, and had begun his rise to prominence with his opposition to the Stamp Act the previous year. A rare survival.