[mdittmar]

The writings of George Washington from the original manuscript sources

To SIR JAMES JAY

   Head Quarters, Morristown, April 9, 1780.

    Dear Sir: The liquid with which you were so obliging as to furnish me for the purpose of private correspondence is exhausted; and as I have found it very useful, I take the liberty to request you will favour me with a further supply. I have still a sufficiency of the materials for the counterparts on hand. Should you not have by you the necessary ingredients, if they are to be procured at any of the Hospitals within your reach, I would wish you to apply for them in my name. I hope you will excuse the trouble I give you on this occasion.With great regard etc.

History is Fascinating!

[KoRn]

I love how they used words in writing back then. I wonder if they also spoke like that in casual conversation(I tend to doubt it).

Fast forward to the year 2010, and imagine what that letter would have looked like(probably would have been an email or text). lol

[csmusaret]

Sorry George. I wrote down the formula using invisible ink.

Jay

[SES1066]

Sir James Jay, a somewhat sad story there. Born in 1732 in NYC became a noted Physician and a founder of both Kings College -> now Columbia University and University of Pennsylvania. He went to England to help raise the funds for these colleges and was knighted by George III in 1762. He was active in the Revolutionary unrest and was a member of the New York Legislature for the early part of the war. It was probably he that did the most to influence his younger brother (13 years younger) John Jay to become more active.

Sadly James became disillusioned with both the war and American Independence and returned his allegiance to Britain and moved to British-occupied New York and then at the end of the war to London. John Jay upon learning of his brother's change of heart said that he would forget that his father ever had such a son and when he went to England to negotiate the Peace Treaty, both took pains to avoid the other.

[JoeFromSidney]

FWIW, one of the best books available on invisible inks is The Secret Science of Covert Inks, by Samuel Rubin. Last time I looked it was still available from Amazon.

Invisible inks are obsolete now. Any half-way decent intelligence service can develop them and read the messages. Still, they were historically important.