Charles Cornwallis Signed 1794 3.75x6 Free Frank Letter (Beckett LOA)

British General

  • Lot number 3329074
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  • Total bids 1
  • ELITE

Free Frank Letter measures 3.75" x 6" in size and has been hand-signed in black ink by Charles Cornwallis (D. 1805).

Charles Cornwallis, styled Viscount Brome between 1753 and 1762 and known as The Earl Cornwallis between 1762 and 1792, was a British Army general and official. In the United States and the United Kingdom he is best remembered as one of the leading British generals in the American War of Independence. His surrender in 1781 to a combined American and French force at the Siege of Yorktown ended significant hostilities in North America. He later served as a civil and military governor in Ireland, where he helped bring about the Act of Union; and in India, where he helped enact the Cornwallis Code and the Permanent Settlement.

A Free Frank was a mark applied by means of a hand-stamp to parliamentary mail in Britain to indicate that the mailed item did not require postage. The privilege of free franking was granted to four different classes: Members of Parliament; peers sitting in the House of Lords; office-holders, largely as stipulated by Acts of Parliament; and to archbishops and bishops sitting in the House of Lords. Requirement for free franking were that the mailed cover (letter or packet) had to be signed by the official sender. As a result, free franks were avidly sought during the first three decades of the nineteenth century for autograph collections. This was accomplished by cutting out the front panels of the envelope which carried the inscriptions which were required under the use of this privilege. These panels are referred to by collectors as free fronts.

The lot / autograph(s) includes an official Beckett Authentication Services hologram and matching LOA for authenticity purposes.

Authentication: Beckett LOA

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