[Passport] 1826 May 26, Washington [for] James Fenimore Cooper and family / H[enry]. Clay.

The passport is numbered 1032 and bears the United States seal with eagle emblem at the top, and the impression of a seal on the verso. The right side of the recto features a series of fill-ins for a physical description. A series of stamps and signatures on the verso indicate that Cooper visited Paris and Calais. Both Cooper and Clay have signed the recto in their respective places. See also another passport in the collection signed by William Seward, as well as additional letters from Cooper in the collection as well as manuscript fragments for the _The Headsman; or, The Abbaye des Vignerons. A tale_ (1833). For Clay's biography and a guide to research collections of his papers, see (http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=C000482).

The passport is written for Cooper and family at the time he served as a Consul at Lyons, France. Henry Clay, the Secretary of State who authorized the passport, served as John Quincy Adam's Secretary of State (1825-29), after which time he served in the Senate; prior to becoming Secretary of State he had served in the House of Representatives where he was several times Speaker of the House. Cooper, the 11th of 12 children born to the man who founded Cooperstown and built Ostego Hall, is remembered for his books of sailing and wilderness adventure, including the Leatherstocking Series featuring Natty Bumppo, the most well-known of which is _Last of the Mohicans_ (1826). In addition to enjoying the life of a country gentleman in New York, Cooper also traveled and wrote extensively in Europe.