Henry Laurens, Esq. — President of the Continental Congress
Published by R. Wilkinson, Cornhill, London
Mixed-method engraving, 1783
Frame: 7⅝ x 5⅞ inches; sight: 6 x 4¼ inches
 
A mixed-method engraved portrait of Henry Laurens, shown in profile within an oval medallion and inscribed below “Henry Laurens Esq.” The plate bears the engraver’s credit “Edwin sc.” and was issued in London by R. Wilkinson of Cornhill in 1783, part of the period’s transatlantic production of engraved likenesses depicting prominent figures of the American Revolution.
 
Laurens, a South Carolina merchant and statesman, served as President of the Continental Congress from 1777 to 1778. In 1780 he was captured by the British while en route to the Netherlands on a diplomatic mission and imprisoned in the Tower of London on suspicion of treason. Released in 1781 in exchange for Lord Cornwallis, Laurens later joined Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and John Jay in negotiations that culminated in the Treaty of Parisending the American Revolutionary War.
 
Condition: Excellent.