To John Jay from John Trumbull, 6 March 1798
From John Trumbull
72 Welbeck St. London March 6th: 1798
Dear Sir
The last letter which I have had the honor to receive from you is dated in Albany the 27th. Octr. and the last which I wrote to you was of the 10th. December.—1 Our Commissioners have not ^been^ received to an Audience in Paris, nor has any Negotiation with them been fairly opened:— Decrees more offensive than all the acts of which they had to complain have been passed under their Eyes,—and to me it appears, that we are in fact at war.2
I have at length the satisfaction of informing you, that my two American Plates are finished, and in a style perfectly satisfactory to me;— I had hopes of sending out their Impressions to my Subscribers by this Convoy, but it has been impossible to print a sufficient number to deliver to all, & as I can make no distinctions, I must suffer the whole to wait another Convoy when they will all be sent.3
In the mean time I have shipped on board the Mary Capt. Allyn a Case directed for you of which the Bill of Lading is inclosed to D. Penfield, Esqr. with directions to convey it to you, & which contains a pair of Proofs of these Prints, of which I beg you will do me the honour to accept.—4 I have to regret that the Talents which I had to employ in this work, were not more equal to the dignity of the Subject;—and that the times in which I live are so little favorable to its successful continuation With the highest respect I am Dear Sir, Your obliged Servant & Friend
Jno. Trumbull
ALS, NNC (EJ: 07209). Addressed: “His Excellency John Jay Esqr. / Governor of the State of New York / New York / By the Mary / Capt. Allyn”. Stamped: “NEW YORK”. Endorsed: “… ansd 26 May 1798”; , 4: 235–36.
1. JJ to JT, 27 Oct. 1797, above.
2. See the editorial note “John Jay and the Response to the XYZ Affair in New York,” below.
3. JT hoped to capitalize, like his teacher Benjamin West, on his paintings of revolutionary war subjects by selling engraved prints by subscription. In April 1790, he offered the first two engravings, of the death of General Warren at Bunker’s Hill and the death of Montgomery at Quebec. These were to be engraved by Johann Gotthard Müller (1747–1830) of Stuttgart. JT recollected in his Autobiography that his subscribers included “the president, vice-president, ministers, seventeen senators, twenty-seven representatives, and a number of the citizens of New York.” However, the plates were not finished until 1797, and the final engravings not published until 1798. Perhaps due to the long delay, the project was not a financial success. JT wrote to GW on the same date, sending him his proofs [JT to GW, 6 Mar. 1798, DLC: Washington]. GW did not receive his prints (four sets) until February 1799. , 164, 216, 218–19. See also, JJ’s Memorandum to JT, 5 Feb. and JJ to SLJ, 13 Mar. 1795, both above, and PAJ to JJ, 1 Aug. 1798 (first letter), below.
4. Bill of lading not found. Daniel Penfield (1759–1840), a friend of the Trumbull family, was a merchant, revolutionary war veteran, and real estate speculator. , 337.