COLUMBIAN CENTINEL, Boston, April 25, 1798

• The XYZ Affair
• France relations
• Thomas Pickering

This is one of the better issues we have offered on the XYZ Affair, or Quasi-War with France.
Most of the front page is taken up with: "IMPORTANT STATE PAPER - Instructions to Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, John Marshall, and Elbridge Gerry, Envoys...to the French Republic". This detailed letter carries over to the back page where it is signed by: Timothy Pickering, Secretary of State.
Page 2 has a nice address from the people of Baton to President Adams offering their support of his work in resolving the tensions with France.
Four pages, never-trimmed margins, very nice condition.

Background: This April 25, 1798 issue of the Columbian Centinel is an exceptionally rare and historically vital primary source capturing the exact moment the United States mobilized for the Quasi-War (1798–1800). Published just three weeks after President John Adams released the infamous dispatches that exposed French extortion, the front page is anchored by the historic "IMPORTANT STATE PAPER"—the comprehensive diplomatic instructions issued by Secretary of State Timothy Pickering to U.S. envoys Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, John Marshall, and Elbridge Gerry. Spanning across to the back page, this detailed primary document outlines the administration's firm stance against French privateering and bribe demands, while the second page illustrates the immediate public backlash through an official address of support to President Adams. Preserved in extraordinary condition with complete, never-trimmed margins across all four pages, this issue is a coveted collector's piece owing to its scarce untrimmed state, foundational content on Federalist-era foreign policy, and iconic printed signatures from key figures of the Early Republic.