Adams Papers
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To John Adams from Johannes Altheer, 16 December 1790

From Johannes Altheer

ce 16e Dec: 1790.

A Son Exellence

Du Temps de votre Ambassade nous eumes l’honeur de vous voir en cette Ville et meme à notre magazin de Livres ou vous avez achettés entre autres le Tableau de l’hist. des Provinces Unies par Cerisier imprimé chez nous & dont nous vous addressames les 3 derniers volumes à la Haye en 1783: pour. f5:8—dholl.1

Comme mon Oncle le Sr. Wild par l’augmentation de ses années et le Changement de systeme est resolû de se retirer il m’a cedé tout son commerce me chargeant de la liquidation. je prends la liberté de vous addresser celle ci, en vous sollicitant de faire connoitre notre magazin à quelque Libraire de Philadelphie sur lequel nous pouvons faire fond: ce seroit trop de vous solliciter à nous envoyer quelque bonne addresse de Libraire chez Vous, ne fut ce que par un de vos secretaires: Nous sommes en etat de fournir presque tous les livres d’Etudes, grecs ou latins comme vous verrez par le Catalogue, que nous avons remis à Mr. Dumas pour votre Exellence.

C’est àvec une Consideration non alterable que j’ai l’honeur d’etre sincerement de / Votre Exellence / tresh & tres obt servr.

J: Altheer

TRANSLATION

16 December 1790

To his excellency

During the period of your mission, we had the honor of seeing you in this city and also at our bookstore where you bought, among others, Tableau de l’histoire des Provinces Unies by Cerisier, published in house, of which we delivered the three last volumes to The Hague in 1783 for 5:8 Dutch florins.1

As my uncle, Mr. Wild, is getting on in years and due also to the change in government, he has decided to retire and to leave me his entire business, charging me with its liquidation. I take the liberty to address to you this letter, and I beg you to make our store known to some bookseller in Philadelphia with whom we can establish our trust. It may be too much to solicit from you some good address of a bookseller of yours to send to us, even if it is via one of your secretaries. We are able to provide almost all books of study, Greek or Latin, as you will see in the catalogue which we have delivered to Mr. Dumas for your excellency.

It is with unwavering consideration that I have the honor sincerely to be your excellency’s most humble and most obedient servant

J: Altheer

RC (Adams Papers); notation: “Notre addresse est B. Wild & J: Altheer / Libraires à Utrecht.”

1Utrecht booksellers Bartholomé Wild (d. ca. 1809) and Johannes Altheer (1758–1840) published Antoine Marie Cerisier’s Tableau de l’histoire générale des Provinces-Unies, 10 vols., Utrecht, 1777–1784, two sets of which are in JA’s library at MB (vol. 10:276; Catalogue of JA’s Library description begins Catalogue of the John Adams Library in the Public Library of the City of Boston, Boston, 1917. description ends ).

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