(Continental Congress)

Advertisement. At a general Meeting of the Committee of Mechanicks, at the House of Edward Bardin, yesterday Evening, the Nomination of the Committee of Merchants, of Delegates to serve at the General Congress, was taken into Consideration, and the Names of the Persons respectively read for their Concurrence. … [New York, 6 July 1776]

Printed handbill (5 3/4 x 6 1/4 in.; 146 x 159 mm). Backed with linen. Half black morocco slipcase, chemise.

Acquisition: William Reese

Evans 13093

A rare Revolutionary handbill, dated 6 July 1774, publishing a slate of New York nominees for the First Continental Congress. The Intolerable Acts gave impetus for a convention of delegates from all thirteen American colonies. Massachusetts, which was the target of the Intolerable Acts, was the first colony to elect Congressional delegates, on 17 June 1774; North Carolina had the latest elections, selecting her three delegates on 17 August. In June, New York had a lively debate about her representatives. The New York Committee of Merchants had nominated James Duane, John Alsop, Isaac Low, Philip Livingston, and John Jay as the delegates for the city and county of New York; this group of candidates was also supported by the Committee of Correspondence. As the present handbill explains, the Committee of Merchants objected to the nominations of Alsop and Low and instead nominated Leonard Lispenard and Alexander McDougall, along with Low, Livingston, and Jay. The five Merchants Committee nominees were all elected and attended the the first session of the Continental Congress, September 1774, at Carpenters' Hall, Philadelphia. Rare: the last copy sold at auction was in 1991.