Beschreibung:

WASHINGTON, George. Autograph letter signed ("G o : Washington") as President, to David Stuart (Commissioner for the Federal City), Philadelphia, 20 November 1791. 9 pages, 4to (8 7/8 x 7 3/8 in.), one edge of first leaf lightly browned, a few tiny repairs at extreme edge, otherwise in very fine condition. IN SPITE OF L'ENFANT'S REFUSAL TO SUPPLY A MAP OF THE NEW FEDERAL CITY, THE PRESIDENT IS OPTIMISTIC THAT "THE ROOTS OF THE PERMANENT SEAT ARE PENETRATING DEEP & SPREADING FAR & WIDE" An exceptionally lengthy letter (Washington himself terms it "of an enormous length"), giving detailed advice to the Commissioners on issues relating to the construction of the new capital city and handling its troublesome designer. Pierre Charles L'Enfant (1754-1825), trained as a military engineer, came to the United States at about the same time as Lafayette, shared the hardships of the Continental Army's encampment at Valley Forge, served in the southern campaigns, was wounded at Savannah and was captured at the fall of Charleston. Settling in New York in 1784, he designed the emblem and certificate for the Society of the Cincinnati, redesigned New York's Federal Hall (1789, see illustration on p. 51) and in 1791 was chosen at Washington's request to lay out the new Federal City. (Regarding the complex political maneuverings which preceded the selection of the site, see notes to the following lot). L'Enfant submitted a completed plan in August and immediately began work on the site, but he soon exceeded Congress's available budget and serious difficulties "arose through his unwillingness to submit to the authority of the Commissioners of the Federal District, or even to that of the President" (DAB). The Commissioners frequently complained to Washington of L'Enfant's high-handed behavior and their disagreements taxed even Washington's considerable powers of diplomacy. The construction of public buildings in the new capital was to be financed by the ongoing sale of building lots to the public, but the lack of an accurate plan proved a serious obstacle. L'Enfant had stubbornly declined to let his plan be copied by the Commissioners, whom he regarded as simple land speculators, partly out of a concern that once published, alterations to his design would be demanded. Writing to Stuart, one of three Commissioners, the President voices "a degree of surprise & concern not easy to be expressed" that "Maj[o]r L'Enfant had refused the map of the Federal City when it was requested by the Commissioners for the satisfaction of the purchasers at sale." In regards to the troublesome L'Enfant, he expresses regret that men like him, who possess undeniable creative talents, "should almost invariably be under the influence of untoward dispositions, or else are sottish, idle or possessed of some other disqualification by which they plague all those with whom they are concerned. But I did not expect to have met with such perverseness in Major L'Enfant as his late conduct exhibited." "Since my first knowledge of this Gentleman's abilities...I have viewed him not only as a scientific man but one who added considerable taste to professional knowledge; and that, for such employment as he is now engaged in; for projecting public works & carrying them into effect, he was better qualified than any one..." But Washington also perceived that L'Enfant had a very high opinion of himself, "and of course that he would be so tenacious of his plans as to conceive that they would be marred if they underwent any change or alteration. But I did not suppose that he would have interfered further in the mode of selling the lots." He remains certain that "all those who have any Agency in the business have the same objects in view, although they may differ with respect to the mode of execution." The surveyor, Andrew Ellicott "who is also a man of uncommon talents in his way, and of a more placid temper," reports that "no information had been required either from him, or L'Enfant."