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UNIDENTIFIED : 1677-1678 TREASURE OF CALLIGRAPHIC ARTS AND PERHAPS A BLUDGEON OF LEGAL MALFEASANCE AND EXTORTION

Folio - over 12" - 15" tall. On offer is a superb 17th century relic of to historians and collectors of legal matters, jurisprudence and 'lawyering' being a nine [9] page handwritten manuscript document from the reign of Charles II, circa 1677-1678. This fine paper document is an agreement settling a lawsuit. Stunning calligraphy in Latin over 9 folio-sized pages details the large number of people involved in the suit. The plaintiffs, Mary Phesaunt and John Bordman, have brought the case against a large number of defendants and that the defendants are to recognize certain specified pieces of land as belonging to the plaintiffs in perpetuity, and the agreement serves as proof or receipt that the plaintiffs paid 100 pounds sterling to the defendants for the land. This stunning manuscript may or may not have been a ficitious lawsuit as was quite common in the era. Given the lack of honorifics these were 'regular' folks appear to be using a legal bludgeon for profit. Lovers of bindery arts will find the 'file binding', being a little strip of parchment that is wound through the holes of the paper to hold the sheets together of interest but given the fact that the document is circa mid half of the 17th century the unique watermarks place the paper from Auvergne, France circa 1580-1590! Legal malfeasance via predatory lawsuits was not uncommon in the era and this appears to be a superb example in very fine condition. Written in superb medieval calligraphy one can make out East Langton, a small village in the Langtons near Market Harborough Leicestershire. This manuscript has been folded in half and a shallow fold in the quarters. F.. Latin. Book Condition: Fine

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