{"product_id":"1776-thomas-lynch-jr-the-rarest-signature-of-any-declaration-signer-extraordinary-march-1776-autograph-letter-signed","title":"1776 Thomas Lynch Jr.—The Rarest Signature of Any Declaration Signer—Extraordinary March 1776 Autograph Letter Signed","description":"\u003cp class=\"PDq2pG_selectionAnchorContainer\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThomas Lynch Jr. (1749–1779), signer of the Declaration of Independence from South Carolina. Autograph letter signed “Thomas Lynch,” Charlestown, South Carolina, March 1, 1776. One page, approximately 8 × 10¼ inches, with integral address panel. Addressed entirely in Lynch’s hand to George Laurence Eaton, Esquire.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"PDq2pG_selectionAnchor\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eAn extraordinary Declaration-era letter\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWritten during the opening months of the American Revolution—and only four months before the adoption of the Declaration of Independence—this complete letter bears what is arguably the rarest signature among all 56 signers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLynch writes:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“I am happy to extend to you the enclosed letter on his Excellys. account. I shall explain to my Father the visit and the reason. With great esteem I have the honor to be your friend.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThomas Lynch”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/blockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe address panel is directed to:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“George Laurence Eaton Esquire, Charlestown”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/blockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt also bears the delivery notation:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“The politeness of James Coggeshall, Esq.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/blockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe letter’s reference to “my Father” is particularly evocative. Thomas Lynch Sr. was himself a prominent Revolutionary statesman who had represented South Carolina in the Stamp Act Congress and the First and Second Continental Congresses. In February 1776, only weeks before this letter was written, the elder Lynch suffered a devastating stroke while serving in Philadelphia.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThomas Lynch Jr. was subsequently chosen to join the South Carolina delegation. He presented his credentials in Philadelphia on April 24, 1776, voted for independence, and signed the engrossed Declaration on August 2. Although his father remained a congressional delegate, paralysis prevented the elder Lynch from adding his own signature. The Lynches were the only father and son to serve together in the Continental Congress.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eSoldier, statesman and signer\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBorn at Hopsewee Plantation in South Carolina in 1749, Thomas Lynch Jr. received an unusually distinguished education at Eton College, Cambridge University and the Middle Temple in London. He returned to South Carolina in 1772 and soon entered public life.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs tensions with Britain developed into war, Lynch served in South Carolina’s Provincial Congresses and was commissioned a captain in the First South Carolina Regiment. While recruiting troops in North Carolina, he contracted a severe fever from which he never fully recovered. Nevertheless, he traveled to Philadelphia to care for his incapacitated father and represent South Carolina in the Continental Congress.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLynch signed the Declaration before his twenty-seventh birthday. His congressional service was brief because of persistent illness. In December 1779, Lynch and his wife sailed from South Carolina aboard the \u003cem\u003ePolly\u003c\/em\u003e, intending to travel to France in search of a healthier climate. Their vessel disappeared at sea, and no trace of them was ever found. Lynch was only thirty—the youngest Declaration signer to die.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eThe rarest autograph among the signers\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThomas Lynch Jr.’s autograph is widely regarded as the rarest of all the Declaration signers when surviving substantive manuscripts are considered. Button Gwinnett has traditionally held that distinction among collectors, but most surviving Lynch autographs are ownership signatures clipped from books formerly in his library.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA scholarly census cited by Sotheby’s recorded only \u003cstrong\u003etwo autograph letters signed by Lynch\u003c\/strong\u003e, compared with numerous clipped book signatures. Nearly all surviving signed documents are held by institutions. Thus, a complete letter written and signed by Lynch is vastly more important and desirable than the small clipped signatures normally encountered.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is not merely the signature of a Declaration signer. It is a war-dated letter written shortly before independence, mentioning Lynch’s father and bearing what is arguably the rarest signature among the 56 signers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eCondition\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe letter is in \u003cstrong\u003efragile, heavily compromised but historically intact condition\u003c\/strong\u003e, entirely consistent with a manuscript approaching 250 years old:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eOverall age toning and discoloration, with darker staining along the original folds.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eInk is substantially faded throughout, although much of the text, address and Lynch’s signature remain discernible under careful examination.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNumerous horizontal and vertical folds, several of which have separated or are substantially weakened.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMultiple edge losses, chips and irregularities, including losses at the right edge and lower corners.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSeveral small holes and internal paper losses, including losses affecting portions of the text but apparently not removing Lynch’s full signature.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSignificant splitting and fragmentation at fold intersections.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eEvidence of extensive earlier stabilization or reinforcement, with narrow support strips or tissue visible along several folds and edges.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eProjecting tabs and reinforced areas are visible around the perimeter.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe address panel and delivery notation remain present.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLynch’s signature is faded but identifiable and substantially complete.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe condition is undeniably fairr; however, the extreme rarity and historical significance of the manuscript outweigh its physical faults. For a Thomas Lynch Jr. autograph letter—one of only a tiny number believed to survive—preservation of the complete letter, date, place, address panel, historical content and signature is remarkable.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Signature Documents LLC","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52749004046618,"sku":null,"price":425000.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/2221\/0931\/files\/lynch_document1_b0a97a4c-da96-4558-b845-a5de31f8b4f2.webp?v=1787853216","url":"https:\/\/www.thearchiveauthority.com\/products\/1776-thomas-lynch-jr-the-rarest-signature-of-any-declaration-signer-extraordinary-march-1776-autograph-letter-signed","provider":"Signature Documents LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}