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Collection of British indentures

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Abstract

Scope and Contents

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Detailed Description

Indenture, May 11(?), 1607

Indenture, May 1(?), 1648

Indenture, June 26, 1658

Indenture, August 25, 1673

Indenture, November 5, 1685

Indenture, June 8, 1700

Indenture, May 6, 1714

Indenture, September 29, 1727

Indenture, August 25, 1751

Indenture, November 20, 1769

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Title: Collection of British indentures, 1607-1769

Extent: 18.0 Linear feet

Date Acquired: 01/21/2010

Subjects: Lawyers

Forms of Material: Charters, Indentures, Manuscripts (Documents), Seals (artifacts), Tax stamps, Vellum (parchment)

Languages: English, French,Old(842-ca.1400)

The Collection of British Indentures documents 17^th and 18^th century British land laws and the transfer or renting of land between individuals and/or family members.  Almost all British legal land indentures (including the indentures in this collection) were handwritten on vellum and in English by the late Middle Ages.

The Collection of British Indentures (1607-1769; 18 cubic feet) documents 17^th and 18^th century British land laws and the transfer or renting of land between individuals and/or family members.  All of the indentures are handwritten in English on vellum, which was standard for legal documents during this time.  The indentures were written during the reigns of eight monarchs and exemplify British land law during the 17^th and 18^th centuries.  Most of the indentures have either a blue Sixpenny Royal tax stamp or a Schilling Sixpence tax stamp that are sometimes punched with a tin alloy tab to prevent the reuse of the stamp.  Some of the indentures have red wax seals bearing the impression of the lawyers’ or parties’ signet rings to demonstrate its authenticity.  Postage stamps are present on some of the indentures, as well as addresses and signatures of the parties.  Copper plate engravings have been used for some of the indentures to create an Armorial heading at the beginning of the indenture; the engraved indentures in this collection all include the arms of the Royal Order of the Garter.  This collection also demonstrates the development of English court-hand during the 17^th and 18^th centuries, a useful collection for anyone interested in paleography or British land law during this time.

Repository: Purdue University Libraries, Archives and Special Collections

Access Restrictions: This collection is open for research.

Acquisition Source: Dawson's Book Shop

Acquisition Method: Probably purchased by Eleanore Cammack sometime during the 1940s-1950s.  Cammack was hired in 1929 as an order librarian at Purdue and became Head of the Ordering Department in 1955.

Processing Information: All of the indentures have been individually placed in an acid-free folder and housed in a flat case file.