1 1/4 x 2 3/4 in. clipped signature (light creasing), displayed together with a portrait of Whitney, his facsimile signature in lower margin, 5 3/8 x 4 in. (sight), matted and framed, 12 3/8 x 9 in. overall (unexamined outside frame).

Eli Whitney (1765-1825) achieved worldwide renown as the inventor of the cotton gin, an instrument which revolutionized the American agricultural economy. He was also a firearms manufacturer and was considered the father of the American Armory.