JOHN HANCOCK MEDICAL BILL, 1778

JOHN HANCOCK MEDICAL BILL, 1778
JOHN HANCOCK (1737-1793) American Revolutionary politician and first signer of the Declaration of Independence, President of the Continental Congress and two-time Governor of Massachusetts. War-date document, 1p. 9 x 5 in., Philadelphia, Mar. 22, 1779, a bill for '...two bottles of Moradants anti scorbutic drops and send forward to Thaddeus Burr Esq. of Connecticut at the desire of Mr. Hancock. . . £3." An antiscorbutic was used to treat scurvy, a common ailment of the era caused by a lack of vitamin C. The document continues: at bottom on March 22, 1779: 'Please to allow the above acct. to Mr. Elias E. Warner & you'll oblige your humble servant.' Earlier in July 1778, Hancock had commanded 6,000 men in an attack against the British at Newport, Rhode Island. Matted with an engraving and framed.