09/06/2026
🧡 A real piece of history: 17th Century Manuscript Indenture
❓ We don’t often see 17th century manuscripts listed with us at Antiques.co.uk, so this one’s a real treat.
❓ Dated for the year 1669 in the reign of Charles II - we’re told that it’s a thoroughly interesting read.
❓ In 17th-century England, an indenture manuscript was a legally binding contract written in multiple copies on a single sheet of parchment (often vellum), then cut apart in a wavy or jagged line. Because the irregular edges could be physically matched together, it served as an anti-forgery device.
During the reign of King Charles II (1660–1685), such a document would typically be used for one of the following purposes:
👉 Land and Property Conveyance: The most common use. It detailed the buying, selling, leasing, or mortgaging of estates, manors, and houses, as well as complex family trust agreements and marriage settlements.
👉 Apprenticeship Bindings: Contracts binding a young person (often a teenager) to a master tradesman for seven or more years. The master agreed to provide food, clothing, housing, and vocational training, while the apprentice agreed to serve faithfully.
👉 Indentured Servitude: Agreements where individuals (sometimes political prisoners, the destitute, or those seeking a new life) traded a fixed term of labour—typically four to seven years—in exchange for their passage across the Atlantic to the American colonies.
👉 Royal or Official Appointments: Rare high-level state documents that confirmed or appointed officers of the Crown. For example, indentures were used to establish the exact salary and duties of the Master of the Royal Mint.
💸 £145 / €167 / $193
👉 Find on Antiques.co.uk: search ‘manuscript’
https://www.antiques.co.uk/antique/a-17th-century-manuscript-indenture
