Books and Manuscripts

No place, July 24, 1762. Single sheet, 7 x 5 1/4 in. (177 x 133 mm). Autograph letter, signed by Signer of the Declaration of Independence from Virginia, Carter Braxton, to Nicholas Bayard, regarding the trade of sugar, rum, and other goods. Left margin unevenly excised, affecting text, but not signature; a few light stains. In mat and in frame, unexamined out of frame, 13 1/4 x 11 3/4 in. (336 x 298 mm).

Carter Braxton (1736-1797) was a successful merchant prior to the Revolution, but once it began he invested a large amount of wealth in the Patriot cause by loaning money to the Continental Congress, financing privateers, and selling American products to European markets. Like other Founding Fathers who did the same, Braxton found himself with substantial debt at war's end, and spent the rest of his life settling with his creditors. Nicholas Bayard hailed from a prominent New York family, who operated the mercantile firm Bayard & Son.