Bidspirit auction | JOHN HANCOCK AND JOHN ADAMS

JOHN HANCOCK AND JOHN ADAMS - An especially rare document signed by two Signers of the Declaration of Independence, JOHN HANCOCK (1737-1793), and by JOHN ADAMS (1735-1826), who would later become the second President of the United States. The 2pp. legal folio document is an indenture between Hancock and Benjamin Cudworth, a deputy sheriff in Boston. Hancock had obtained judgment against merchant fellow merchant Henry Atkins for over 198 pounds, and Atkins ship, the 'Schooner Adventure' had been seized and sold at auction by Cudworth to satisfy the debt. In this document, Hancock indemnifies Cudworth for any judgment Atkins or any other party might have levied against Cudworth for that sale. Hancock applies his distinct signature at the conclusion of the text on the verso of the document. Three individuals witness his signature, including JOHN ADAMS, who signs his name in full; WILLIAM TUDOR (1750-1819), a wealthy lawyer and leading citizen of Boston who had joined George Washington's army in Cambridge. He had provided legal advice to Washington and, on July 29, 1775, was appointed Judge Advocate of the Continental Army. The final witness is ROBERT PIERPONT, one of two coroners who performed an autopsy on Crispus Attucks following the Boston Massacre. The document bears a very clean horizontal fold split repaired in a blank area with archival tape, and it is otherwise in very good to fine condition. An excellent example signed by the two most prominent Signers. Ex: Sotheby's