Bidspirit auction | MANASSEH CUTLER'S HANDWRITTEN OHIO COMPANY

MANASSEH CUTLER'S HANDWRITTEN OHIO COMPANY MEETING - MANASSEH CUTLER’S HANDWRITTEN COPY OF THE MINUTES OF THE JULY 1788 MEETING OF THE OHIO COMPANY. 11 pp., along with a letter “To the Proprietors in the Purchase of the Ohio Company, ” dated August 11, 1788, 5 pp., and “A Proclamation by Governor Arthur St. Clair laying out Washington County, ” 2 pp.; 18 pp. total, in Cutler’s hand. Bound with At A Meeting of the Directors and Agents of the Ohio Company, at Mr. Rice’s Tavern, in Providence, State of Rhode Island, Wednesday, March 5, 1788 (published in Providence, 1788), 4 pp., and a copy of the Articles of Agreement…by the Name of the Ohio Company (published in Newport, 1788), 4 pp. All just under 6” high;, loosely stitched together (appears to be period). Alden, 1125 and 1126; Evans, 21348 and 21349; Sabin, 56979. (SS31) Provenance: Goodspeed’s Bookshop (Boston, 1943); Thomas W. Streeter (Morristown, New Jersey) Although a founding member of the Ohio Company of Associates, Manasseh Cutler never migrated west. He did visit the new settlement in late 1788, returning to Massachusetts a few months later. As he was not present for the July 2, 1788 meeting along the banks of the Muskingum River, it is most likely that during his visit later that year, he obtained the minutes kept by company secretary Winthrop Sargent and made a handwritten copy for his own files. Following this logic, it can be then assumed that the pamphlets bound with Cutler’s manuscript were his personal copies. For more on Cutler and his role in the creation and development of the Northwest Territory, see David McCullough’s 2019 book, The Pioneers. The July 1788 meeting of the Ohio Company directors and agents was the first in the new settlement and the minutes were not published as had been earlier meetings that took place in New England. That meeting, likely held in Campus Martius, along the bank of the Muskingum River, was arguably the most interesting. Among the resolutions adopted was “That the City near the Confluence of the Ohio + Muskingum Rivers be called Marietta. That the reserved public square in the City including the Buildings at the Block House be called Campus Martius—The Elevated Square No. 11 Quadranaou No. 19 Capitolium – the Square No. 61 Cecelia – and that great Road through the Covert Way to Quadranaou be called Sacra Via. Cutler’s handwritten meeting minutes, along with the previous lot, was once part of the legendary Americana collection of Thomas W. Streeter (1883-1965) of Morristown, NJ. Streeter began his collection in earnest in after his retirement in 1939, focusing on early maps and imprints of both early America and early Texas. After his death, Streeter’s collection was sold by Parke-Bernet Galleries in NYC in seven auctions from 1966-1969. Lots 96 and 97 here were part of the third sale on October 24-25, 1967, as lots 1304 and 1309, respectively. The Cutler minutes sold for $2,700 at that auction. Condition: Printed pamphlets are fair, complete, but with moderate to heavy marginal damage and loss, expected toning; the manuscript pages are good, with some toning and minor ink burn. A complete set of high-resolution images is available upon request. This lot can be shipped in-house. Please contact us for a quote to pack and ship this lot. All lots may also be picked up in Gallipolis. Please see our Shipping Policy.