1850 Autograph Letter Signed by George Lyman of Wadsworth, Ohio, seeking to be Newspaper Subscription Agent; with appended Signed Testimonial.

“I am no imposter”

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Brief letter from George Lyman of Wadsworth, Ohio seeking summer employment as a subscription agent for a family newspaper:

If you think proper to appoint me your agent for obtaining subscriptions for your paper I will accept such appointment provided the induceme[n]ts are satisfactory. Should I succeed and give you satisfaction I wish to continue through the summer.

The letter is addressed to the editors of what appears to say “the ‘Family Victory[?]’.” We can’t locate a newspaper or periodical by this name.

Appended to the letter is a testimonial, apparently written out by Lyman, that has been signed by two men, John Pardee and E.G. Loomis, who certify that they know Lyman and “...can recommend him as a man of integrity and well qualified to undertake the agency above named.” Lyman himself appends a postscript asking that, should he be appointed as agent, he receive “full credentials” to show that “...I am no imposter.”

We find a George Lyman (c.1791–1882) in the record as a pioneer of Wadsworth, Ohio, having settled there in 1817, serving as a soldier, and dying in 1882, age 91. It is plausible that he is the George Lyman who was seeking this subscription agency.

Price: $45.00