Nathaniel Hawthorne, 1848-1856

1. HAWTHORNE, Nathaniel (1804-1864). Partly-printed document signed ("Nathl Hawthorne") as United States Consul, Liverpool, 29 December 1855. One page, 224 x 198mm (minor tears and a few spots of foxing). Hawthorne issues a consular passport to John S. Williston, who was "going to Turkey via Marseilles... " Williston, who signs the document at the lower left, was, according to the document, 35 years old and stood 5 feet 10 inches. In addition to the blue paper seal affixed at the bottom between their signatures, the French consul at Liverpool added a visa granting passage "en france" on the verso.

2. HAWTHORNE, Nathaniel. Partly printed document signed ("Nathl Hawthorne") as United States Consul, Liverpool, 5 February 1856. Two pages, 325 x 205mm (minor marginal tears). Hawthorne endorses an "Oath of the Master and Mate," form in which James West of the steamer Atlantic, recently arrived from New York, swears "that the Goods or Merchandise enumerated and described in the preceding certificate [on verso] … were actually delivered at the said port…" On the recto, the consignee's certificate notes the presence of "One Case… India Rubber Valves…"

3. HAWTHORNE, Nathaniel. Partly printed document signed ("Nathl Hawthorne Surveyor") as Surveyor of the Port of Beverly, Salem, 29 May 1848. One page, 223 x 180mm. A certificate that duties had been paid on merchandise imported aboard the Schooner Mariner. Provenance: Christie's, New York, 22 May 1996, lot 255 (part).