Item #40754 COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS, A REPUBLICAN INSTITUTION, CERTIFICATE. BE IT KNOWN, THAT MR. WILLIAM B. BRADFORD, OF BOSTON IN THE COUNTY OF SUFFOLK AND COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS IS THE SOLE PROPRIETOR OF ONE SHARE, VIZ: NO. THIRTY SIX IN A REPUBLICAN INSTITUTION IN THE TOWN OF BOSTON, SUBJECT TO THE BY-LAWS, AND SUCH RULES AND REGULATIONS AS MAY BE ADOPTED BY THE MEMBERS AT ANY MEETING LEGALLY HOLDEN FOR THAT PURPOSE, WHICH SHARE IS TRANSFERABLE BY ENDORSEMENT TO BE MADE AGREEABLY TO THE 16TH ARTICLE OF THE BY-LAWS. A. Republican Institution in the Town of Boston.
COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS, A REPUBLICAN INSTITUTION, CERTIFICATE. BE IT KNOWN, THAT MR. WILLIAM B. BRADFORD, OF BOSTON IN THE COUNTY OF SUFFOLK AND COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS IS THE SOLE PROPRIETOR OF ONE SHARE, VIZ: NO. THIRTY SIX IN A REPUBLICAN INSTITUTION IN THE TOWN OF BOSTON, SUBJECT TO THE BY-LAWS, AND SUCH RULES AND REGULATIONS AS MAY BE ADOPTED BY THE MEMBERS AT ANY MEETING LEGALLY HOLDEN FOR THAT PURPOSE, WHICH SHARE IS TRANSFERABLE BY ENDORSEMENT TO BE MADE AGREEABLY TO THE 16TH ARTICLE OF THE BY-LAWS.

COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS, A REPUBLICAN INSTITUTION, CERTIFICATE. BE IT KNOWN, THAT MR. WILLIAM B. BRADFORD, OF BOSTON IN THE COUNTY OF SUFFOLK AND COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS IS THE SOLE PROPRIETOR OF ONE SHARE, VIZ: NO. THIRTY SIX IN A REPUBLICAN INSTITUTION IN THE TOWN OF BOSTON, SUBJECT TO THE BY-LAWS, AND SUCH RULES AND REGULATIONS AS MAY BE ADOPTED BY THE MEMBERS AT ANY MEETING LEGALLY HOLDEN FOR THAT PURPOSE, WHICH SHARE IS TRANSFERABLE BY ENDORSEMENT TO BE MADE AGREEABLY TO THE 16TH ARTICLE OF THE BY-LAWS.

Boston: 1821 [1 December]. Broadsheet, oblong 8" x 10." Seal and blue ribbon intact in the left blank margin. A variety of type fonts and sizes, completed in ink manuscript. Engraving of Screaming Eagle with shield, "E Pluribus Unum" banner, and arrows. Signed in ink by H. Dearborn as President and Thaddeus Page as Recording Secretary. The verso records that, on 3 August 1826, Bradford transferred this Certificate to A Republican Institution. The verso prints the 16th Article of the By-Laws, permitting transfers of certificates among members. Signed twice by Bradford. Very Good plus.

William B. Bradford was a Boston wholesale and retail grocer. The Boston Public Library's Archives contain some of his papers. The "Republican Institution was founded in 1819 'as a body politic and corporate forever, for the purpose of procuring a building, and keeping it in repair, with suitable apartments for a reading room, library, and the meeting of the said society, in the town of Boston, Massachusetts.' Its intent was to provide a forum for political education and discussion of best means of promoting national welfare. Measures approximately 10" x 8 1/4". Affixed at left is the large corporate seal which indicated that the corporation was incorporated in 1819. Attached to and extending below the paper seal is a blue ribbon" [online 'Republicanism' web site description of a specimen Certificate and description of the Institution, 'Historical Pillars of the Republican Party'].
Henry Dearborn of Boston had been a veteran of the Revolutionary War, a Federalist Congressman, and Secretary of War. He founded the Institution, which was chartered in February 1819. Its purpose was to promote political thought and discussion. Seeking to purchase a building, the Institution's organizers resolved to sell four hundred shares in the Institution for $25 each. A person could purchase up to four shares. Item #40754

Price: $450.00

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