Revere, Paul

Autograph note signed ("Paul Revere"), 1 half-page (4 1/4 x 7 1/4 in.; 108 x 184 mm), Boston, 17 May 1779, consisting of a payment order to Col. Edward Proctor on behalf of Benjamin Hichborn, with receipt dated the next day on verso, signed by J. Hughes on behalf of Hichborn; formerly folded, top margin mended, lower margin renewed, a small dampstain. Light blue half-morocco drop-box, gilt-stamped title on spine.

Revere pays his cousin through a fellow Son of Liberty.

Paul Revere (1735–1818) wore many hats during the Revolution, printing the first issue of Continental currency, supervising the manufacture of gunpowder, designing the first official seal of Massachusetts, and commanding three artillery companies in Boston.

His silversmith shop was regularly patronized by his aristocratic cousin Benjamin Hichborn (1746–1817), and the importer and fellow mason Colonel Edward Proctor (who participated, with Revere, in the Boston Tea Party). The present note is a payment to his cousin from his account with Proctor for £180.