Single sheet (178 x 102 mm); portrait (76 x 64 mm). Type-metal cut portrait of George Washington ("His Excellency...Commander in Chief of the Armies of the United States of America"), head and shoulders, within a martial surround of flags, wreaths, and cannon; verso with text beginning “…happened to any army…” (punch holes in margin, a few tiny tears near corners).

THE PORTRAIT OF GEORGE WASHINGTON IDENTIFIED BY CHARLES HENRY HART AS PAUL REVERE’S LONG-LOST “SMALL ENGRAVING.”

The present portrait appeared on p.7 of Weatherwise’s Town and Country Almanack for the Year of our Lord 1781, published in Boston by John McDougall & Co. in late 1780 or early 1781. The unsigned cut has long been associated with a tantalizing reference in Paul Revere’s correspondence to an engraving of Washington of his own making. In October 1781, Revere wrote to his cousin Mathias Rivoire in France announcing the American victory over the British and enclosed “a small engraving” of Washington, explaining, “it is said to be a good likeness, and it is my engraving.” Rivoire subsequently acknowledged receiving the portrait, describing it as “an engraving of General Washington, representing a gallant warrior.”

In his 1904 Catalogue of the Engraved Portraits of Washington, Charles Henry Hart addressed the identity of Revere’s otherwise unknown engraving, calling it “the print that has so far eluded me.” Hart argued that previous searches had concentrated on finding a small copperplate portrait signed by Revere, overlooking the fact that Revere also engraved extensively on type-metal. He identified the present Weatherwise portrait as the likely missing engraving, noting that it appeared in Boston in the same year Revere sent the portrait to Rivoire. Hart further observed that its ornamental border was characteristic of Revere’s engraved work on silver and closely resembled the headpiece of the Royal American Magazine, which Revere engraved. The portrait itself follows Charles Willson Peale and may have been copied from John Norman’s sheet almanac for 1780.

Hart consequently concluded that the present type-metal portrait of Washington “may be accepted as the Revere ‘small engraving,’” unless the attribution should be disproved by the discovery of a copperplate portrait bearing Revere’s name as engraver. Although the attribution remains unproven, Hart’s identification, supported by the chronology, medium, and stylistic evidence, provides a compelling case for Revere’s authorship.
The same block was subsequently reused for Washington’s portrait in The New-England Primer and remained in use until about 1798, when, remarkably, an impression from the block appeared with the caption “John Adams, President.”

VERY RARE: According to available online auction records, we can trace no other example of this engraving at auction since 1924, when a complete copy of the almanac was sold by the American Art Association. Brigham, pp.155-157 (plate 50); Drake 3303 (almanac); Evans 16979 (almanac); Hart, pp.xv-xvi; Wick 6.