Lot 105: Signed as President William Henry Harrison, 24 March 1841

Signed as President William Henry Harrison, 24 March 1841 HARRISON, William Henry (1773-1841). Partly-printed document signed ("W. H. Harrison") as President, Washington, 24 March 1841. Countersigned by Daniel Webster as Secretary of State. One page, 378 x 298mm, on vellum with Great Seal of the United States affixed to the lower left (a few mounting remnants along left margin). The greatest presidential rarity: a document signed by Harrison during his brief, 32-day term in office. Harrison adds a bold signature to a scallop-top Mediterranean passport issued to the "Brig Mattapoisett" hailing from Mattapoisett, [Massachusetts], 149-ton Brig manned by a crew of 22 and carrying no weapons. Additionally signed by the Collector of Customs for New Bedford, Massachusetts. Harrison took the oath of office on 4 March in a driving rain, but the illness that soon befell him was likely not related to the inclement weather of his inauguration but to the polluted waters of the Potomac from which he took his drinking water. This document, dated only a week and a half before his untimely death on 4 April 1841 is very clean overall, and an excellent example of this rarest of all Presidential signatures.

Online Auction: Bidding begins: 2 Jun, 10am EST - Bidding ends: 18 Jun, 12pm