Lot 7
Gerry, Elbridge (1744-1814)., Massachusetts delegate to the Continental Congress, vice-president of U.S. under Madison (1813-1814), namesake of the term "gerrymander".
DS as governor, partly printed, 9" x 14½", Boston 1811 Oct 15. Commission of one Job Nelson to administer oaths to circuit court judges on Hancock and Washington counties, the circuit having just been established on 21 June of that year, boldly signed "E Gerry " with flourishes below an intact paper seal of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Very minor toning along folds, most noticeable on verso, Fine.
Estimate 500 - 750
In 1812, during Gerry's second term as governor, the Republican-dominated legislature at the state redrew the district lines so as to give the Republicans a disproportionate number of representatives. Gerry was blamed, despite the fact that he had nothing to do with the idea and was privately opposed to it. A political cartoonist illustrated an oddly shaped voting district as a salamander and called it the "Gerry-mander"; the term quickly became part of the political lexicon.
|
| |
| Realized $425 |
