Autographed Letter Signed with exceptional content

New York, 1821. unbound. 2 pages (front and back), 12.75 x 8.75 inches, with an integral address leaf, New York, July 16, 1821. Written to Philadelphia publishers McCarty & Davis, proposing a new biography of Thomas Paine, the author of Common Sense, in small part: "...I have been advised by a great number of citizens, to write an abridgement of the Life of Thomas Paine, and to have an engraved likeness of him taken from a miniature painting that I own, which was taken a few years before his death, it is said to be the best that ever was taken, no man liveing (sic) knew Pain (sic) better then (sic) myself -- Cheethans Life of Paine was a scandalous work, the price two dollars!...their (sic) are thousands in this countrey (sic) that would be willing to give a dollar for a good likeness of Paine, by its self..." This, of course, was the furthest thing from the truth. When Paine died, only six people attended his funeral. He alienated just about every friend he had in America to the point that he was literally disowned. When Paine died, Carver buried him in the backyard of his house where he remained until two Englishmen dug him up and gave him a proper burial in England. Provenance: The Henry E. Luhrs Collection. Stained around the edges from tape reinforcements on the back; chipping at the edges; one horizontal fold; small hole on the left side, partially obscuring two words. Good condition. New York patriot who was a close associate of Thomas Paine. In 1809 he nursed Paine back to health while on his death bed. (Inventory #: 253753)