COLUMBIAN CENTINEL, Boston, April 5, 1797

• President George Washington
• Napoleon Bonaparte

At the bottom of the front page is an Act of Congress which is signed in script type by the President: Go. Washington.
This was one of just a few newspapers which used the script type for documents signed by politicians, making such issues very displayable.
Amongst the various items on page 2 are: "Mr. Monroe's Speech" and two documents signed: Buonaparte, concerning "Important Victories in Italy".
Four pages, never bound nor trimmed with wide margins, great condition.

Background: The April 5, 1797 issue of the Columbian Centinel—a prominent Federalist newspaper published in Boston by Benjamin Russell—features a distinct Act of Congress at the bottom of its front page bearing a calligraphic script-type facsimile signature of "Go. Washington", an uncommon printing technique of the era used to lend visual authority to newly transcribed federal laws passed just prior to the end of Washington's presidency. Beyond this official front-page authorization, the four-page issue contains significant international and political coverage on page two, including two official documents signed by "Buonaparte" detailing the young French general's "Important Victories in Italy," alongside a report on "Mr. Monroe's Speech" reflecting the diplomatic tensions between the United States and Revolutionary France during the early days of John Adams's administration.