|
Summary: Arguably the most famous signature in the world, inscribed in his bold script: “John Hancock’s/Thou shalt not Steal Saith the Lord.” Like the inscription on the flyleaf of this psalm book, Hancock’s bold signature on the Declaration of Independence bore witness to his belief that man was answerable to a higher authority than the King of England. God had endowed men with certain unalienable rights, the Declaration stated, “among them Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Hancock risked his life to uphold that belief.
The son and grandson of distinguished clergymen, Hancock attended Boston’s Brattle-Street Congregational Church. John Adams, Joseph Warren, and other patriots also attended, and Dr. Samuel Cooper preached of liberty. Hancock, one of the wealthiest merchants in New England, used his enormous influence to further that cause. In 1765, he vigorously protested the despised Stamp Act; the subsequent British seizure of his sloop Liberty for revenue violations led to a mob riot. Hancock went on to head the Boston patriot committee and Massachusetts provincial congress in the lead-up to the Revolutionary War. As president of the Continental Congress from May 1775 to October 1776, he became the first signer of the Declaration of Independence. Hancock also served as major general of Massachusetts militia in 1778, and governor of Massachusetts from 1780 to 1785 and 1787 to 1793.
Books signed by Hancock are scarce (only four others have appeared at auction in the last 30 years); this one has the best inscription and is unique.
John Hancock. Psalm-book inscribed and signed. N. Brady and N. Tate, A New Version of the Psalms of David, Fitted to the Tunes Used in Churches. Boston: J. Kneeland and S. Adams, for Wharton and Bowes, 1765. Bound in one volume with Appendix, Containing a Number of Hymns Taken Chiefly from Dr. Watts Collection, Boston: Kneeland and Adams for the Company of Stationers, 1765. 360 pages. 6” x 3 3/8 ”.
Inventory# 5756 $85,000
Historical Background:
John Hancock, the first signer of the Declaration of Independence and president of the Continental Congress, was known in Boston as an upright, moral man despite his wealth and his fondness for a luxurious lifestyle. Like many Patriots, he believed that faith and trust in God would lead the colonies to freedom and victory. A faith-based view came naturally to Hancock, the son and grandson of distinguished clergymen. Although Hancock’s father, a Congregationalist minister, died when John was young, his influence was not forgotten. During the 1760s and early 1770s Hancock attended the Brattle-Street Congregational Church (as did John Adams, Dr. Joseph Warren, James Bowdoin, and other patriots), where Dr. Samuel Cooper preached of liberty, and Hancock donated generous sums for the building of the new meeting-house.
The edition of the Psalms of David prepared by Nicholas Brady (1659-1726) and Nahum Tate (1652-1715) was well known, first published in England in 1696. It contained an excellent variety of meters, which made the singing of psalms less monotonous, and a somewhat free translation of the verses, since both authors were well-known poets. The appendix contained a selection of Dr. Isaac Watts’s hymns (he wrote more than 600), some of which are still used in churches today.
Hancock at this time was the head of Boston’s leading mercantile house and one of the most influential men in New England. In 1765 he vigorously protested the Stamp Act, both through correspondence and through flouting its provisions. In 1768 his sloop Liberty was seized by the British Navy as being “loaded contrary to the revenue laws”; the action caused a mob riot on shore. Although Hancock was later acquitted, continuing incidents and his rising popularity prompted the first posting of a regiment of British troops in Boston, which ultimately led to the Boston Massacre. In 1769 he was elected to the General Court of Massachusetts, and in 1770 he was made head of the Town Committee of Boston. In March 1770 he gave a stirring address at the memorial for victims of the Boston Massacre, which left no doubt of either his patriotic spirit or his faith in Providence. Referring to the debauchery and violence of the British troops quartered in Boston, he said:
“[As] though they thought it not enough to violate our civil rights, they endeavoured to deprive us of the enjoyment of our religious privileges; to vitiate our morals, and thereby render us deserving of destruction. Hence the rude din of arms, which broke in upon your solemn devotions in your temples, on that day hallowed by heaven, and set apart by God himself for his peculiar worship. Hence, impious oaths and blasphemies, so often tortured your unaccustomed ear. … Has not a reverence for religion sensibly decayed?”
On April 15, 1775 Hancock and other leaders called for a day of “fasting, humiliation and prayer, with a total abstinence from labor and recreation” for the purpose of directing God’s attention to the patriots’ situation. Hancock wrote:
“In circumstances as dark as these, it becomes us, as Men and Christians, to reflect that whilst every prudent measure should be taken to ward off the impending judgments, ..without [God’s] whole blessing, the best human counsels are but foolishness… Resolved; …Thursday the 11th of May…to humble themselves before God … [and to ask for] a Blessing on the … Union of the American Colonies in Defense of their Rights (for which hitherto we desire to thank Almighty God)…That the people of Great Britain and their rulers may have their eyes opened to discern the things that shall make for the peace of the nation…for the redress of America’s many grievances, the restoration of all her invaded liberties, and their security to the latest generations.”
Hancock’s efforts for the patriot cause were indefatigable. When Congress ordered General Washington to destroy the city of Boston if he found it to be the only means to drive out the British, Hancock wrote that, although he was the largest property-owner in the city and would suffer most, he was “anxious the thing should be done if it would benefit the cause.”
The provenance of this psalm-book can be determined from the inscriptions on the flyleaves. Written vertically on the opposite flyleaf is the inscription “Presented to Brantz Meyer by Mr Henry Robinson of Boston, who purchased it at a Sale of property belonging to the Hancock family -- .” Brantz Mayer (1809-1879) was a Maryland author and founder of the Maryland Historical Society. During the Civil War Mayer was an active Unionist and served as a paymaster for the United States Army until his retirement. Five years after Mayer’s death, the psalm-book was inscribed: “Jared Linsly to his daughter Sophia J. Linsly January 15th 1884 -- .” Above it is a red stamped oval: “Dr. Jared Linsly, New York.” Dr. Jared Linsly (1803-1887), a Yale graduate, practiced medicine in New York City and was physician to Cornelius Vanderbilt. Linsly Hall at Yale University was named in his honor. Sophia Linsly married a man named Noah Linsley, who may have resided in Meriden, Connecticut.
Condition: Contemporary Boston binding of black morocco with gilt lettering, marbled endpapers, and gilt edges. Pages a little thumbed, and outer edges slightly rubbed, but very fine overall.
References:
Akers, Charles W. “Religion and the American Revolution: Samuel Cooper and the Brattle Street Church.” The William and Mary Quarterly, 3rd ser., 35 no. 3 (Jul. 1978):477-498.
Goodrich, Charles A. Lives of the Signers to the Declaration of Independence. 1829; rpt. New York: William Reed & Co., 1856. Found at www.colonialhall.com/hancock.
|
