The birth of New Jersey

What a nice birth certificate.

I was watching a video on who owns the statue of liberty and this Grant was featured. I tracked down a good image of it and, wa-la.

THIS INDENTURE made the four and twentieth day of June, in the sixteenth year of the reign of our sovereign Lord, Charles the Second, by the grace of God of England, Scotland, France and Ireland, King Defender of the Faith, &c., Annoq. Domini, 1664. Between His Royal Highness, James Duke of York, and Albany, Earl of Ulster, Lord High Admiral of England, and Ireland, Constable of Dover Castle, Lord Warden of the Cinque ports, and Governor of Portsmouth, of the one part: John Lord Berkeley, Baron of Stratton, and one of His Majesty’s most Honourable Privy Council, and Sir, George Carteret of Saltrum, in the County of Devon, Knight and one of His Majesty’s most Honourable Privy Council of the other part: Whereas his said Majesty King Charles the Second, by his Letters Patents under the Great Seal of England, bearing date on or about the twelfth day of March, in the sixteenth year of his said Majesty’s reign, did for the consideration therein mentioned, give and grant unto his said Royal Highness James, Duke of York, his heirs and assigns, all that part of the main land of New England, beginning at a certain place called or known by the name of St. Croix next adjoining to New Scotland in America;

See here for the full text.

The text is wonderful, but I am most impressed by the pen work on the charter. Look at that 'T'. I could trace it, but my skill with holding a calligraphy pen at a consistent angle isn't very good. I'm going to try it on some scrap paper using my glass dip pen. Maybe it will turn out nice. Maybe it won't. I'll just have to try it. I am going to have to hunt through the British charters of the colonies and see what I can find. Perhaps I can find some more excellent examples of calligraphy that can be used for SCA purposes. I mean, this charter isn't that far out of period.