John Hancock — “Le Célèbre Hancock, Président du Congrès Anglo-Américain”
A Paris chez Esnauts et Rapilly, rue St. Jacques, à la Ville de Coutances, A.P.D.R.
Copperplate engraving, circa 1780
Frame: 9 x 6⅞ inches; sight: 7⅜ x 5½ inches
 
A finely engraved French portrait of John Hancock, presented in bust profile within an elaborate oval cartouche enriched with martial and patriotic devices, including a shield, cannon, sword, and liberty cap among laurel branches. Published in Paris by Esnauts et Rapilly, the print belongs to a group of Continental engravings produced during the American Revolutionary War that introduced European audiences to the principal leaders of the American cause.
 
Hancock, a prominent Boston merchant and patriot statesman, served as President of the Second Continental Congress from 1775 to 1777, presiding at the moment of American independence and affixing the first and most celebrated signature to the Declaration of Independence. Following the war he continued in public life as Governor of Massachusetts, where he remained one of the most visible political figures of the early republic.
 
Condition: Very fine with light, even toning.