1 page, on laid paper, 12 1/2 x 15 in. (visible area), accomplished in manuscript, paper seal, partial separation along folds, light, scattered foxing, signature large and bold and unaffected by folds, unexamined out of the frame. Professionally framed, 18 x 18 1/2 in. Document appoints Consider Studley a lieutenant in the 5th Regiment, 1st Division, Massachusetts Militia. 

 

John Hancock (1737-1793) was a merchant and patriot, his signature on the Declaration of Independence being the most recognizable of the group. He was president of the Continental Congress, giving him the right to sign first. Although put forth as a candidate for President of the United States in 1789, Hancock did not seek the office; it is thought that he knew the honor would go to Washington. He spent his last years in failing health as a figurehead governor of his home state of Massachusetts. Even the year before his death, however, he could still generate a strong signature.