MONTAGU JOHN: (1718-1792) 4^th Earl of Sandwich. British statesman who served as First Lord of the Admiralty 1748-51, 1763, 1771-82 during which time he was a great supporter of Captain James Cook, who named the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii) after the Earl. Sandwich is also known for the claim that he was the eponymous inventor of the sandwich. D.S., Sandwich, one page (vellum), folio, Office of Admiralty, 13^th March 1772. The partially printed document, completed in manuscript, is a naval commission appointing Alexander Maxton to be a First Lieutenant of HMS Carysfort and requiring him to strictly charge and command 'all the Officers & Company….subordinate to you to behave themselves jointly and severally in their respective employments with all due Respect and Obedience unto you their said Lieutenant…..nor you nor any of you may fail as you will answer the Contrary at your Peril'. Signed by the Earl of Sandwich at the foot and countersigned by three other Lord Commissioners of the Admiralty comprising John Buller (1721-1786) British politician, Henry Temple, 2^nd Viscount Palmerston (1739-1802) British politician, and Wilmot Vaughan, 1^st Earl of Lisburne (1728-1800) Welsh politician. With blind embossed paper seal affixed. Some light foxing and age wear and a tear to the left edge, not affecting the text or signatures. G

HMS Carysfort was a sixth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy who served during the American War of Independence, the French Revolutionary and the Napoleonic Wars. In April 1772, the month after the present commission was issued, she sailed to Jamaica.