MANUSCRIPT ‘THE OATH OF A FREEMAN of the Town of Northampton’

Handwritten oath of a freeman pledging allegiance and loyalty to the Town and authorities of Northampton in southern England in the early 18th century. John Slater made his oath to the Mayor of the town, Joseph Woolston and ultimately to the monarch, Queen Anne. Famously, the Oath of a Freeman had been adopted by the Massachusetts Bay Company nearly a century earlier and it became the first piece of printing known to have been created - though long lost - in the present day United States.

Single sheet (30.5cmx19cm) browned with old folds and a couple of punctures; laid paper with vertical chainlines. Two hands are present. First a professional hand written on behalf of the ‘Town of Northampton’ pledging Slater to be ‘in all things Lawfull, The Freedom Usuages and Customs of this Town you shall well and truly maintain’ as well as refraining from ‘Conventicles or Conspiracies made against ye Queens Peace.... So help you God’. Below this text Slater has written in a hesitant, unpractised hand: ‘5 Octob[e]r 1710 John Slater sworne free of Northham[pton] by Mr Joseph Woolston Mayor.... ‘