(MASSACHUSETTS) Samuel Hill engraver Membership certificate

Sale 2615 - Lot 181

Price Realized: $ 312

?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price

Estimate: $ 400 - $ 600

(MASSACHUSETTS.) Samuel Hill, engraver. Membership certificate in the Massachusetts Mechanic Association. Engraved certificate, 12 x 10 inches, completed in manuscript for housewright Noah Doggett Jr. of Boston and signed by 3 officers, with affixed wax seal; moderate edge wear, 1-inch closed tear. Boston, 20 March 1800

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A very early certificate for the venerable society which was founded in 1795 with Paul Revere as president, and remains active today as the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association. This certificate was designed by Samuel Gore, drawn by G. Graham, and engraved by Samuel Hill. An extensive June 1801 "key" to the imagery can be found in "Annals of the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association," page 71, which points out the balance between the tools of commerce and of trade at the top, justifying the association's motto "Be Just and Fear Not." Patriotic motifs include a large eagle, a flag, and a monument to Washington with an equestrian statue just being mounted. The portrait on the wax seal represents Archimedes.

Among the officers signing this certificate are Boston Tea Party veteran Jonathan Hunnewell (1759-1842) as president and publisher Benjamin Russell (1761-1845) as vice president.