POLK, JAMES K. | Partially engraved document signed ("James K. Polk") as 11th President, being an order to Secretary of State James Buchanan to affix the Seal of the United States

Property from the Eric C. Caren Collection

POLK, JAMES K.

Partially engraved document signed ("James K. Polk") as 11th President, being an order to Secretary of State James Buchanan to affix the Seal of the United States

1 page (9 3/4 x 7 5/8 in.; 249 x 193 mm) on a leaf of light blue laid papers, accomplished in clerical hand, and dated Washington, 15 April 1845; a few stray spots, some minor toning. Housed in a blue cloth portfolio. Accompanied by engraved portrait of Polk. The consignor has independently obtained a letter of authenticity from PSA that will accompany the lot.

The first formal treaty between the United States and China

The Treaty of Wangxia (or Wang-Hsia) was the first formal agreement between the United States and the Qing Empire, and functioned as an American counterpart to the Anglo-Chinese Treaty of Nanjing that ended the First Opium War in 1842. In effect, the treaty granted the United States privileges to purchase land in the five treaty ports, and to learn Chinese (an act previously forbidden to foreigners). This resulted in the suppression of British dominance in China in the wake of the Opium Wars. The treaty was signed on 3 July 1844, and ratified by the Senate in January 1845, and stated that the United States would deem the opium trade illegal, and hand dealers over to the Chinese authorities. The present document is an order that authorizes the formal exchange of the ratified treaty between the United States and His Majesty the Emperor of China, marking the beginning of a formal relationship between these two major powers.