Todd A. Herring Archival Collection

This digital collection consists of various items collected by Dr. Todd Herring including but not limited to: letters, travelers' accounts, estate records, slave lists, business records, and waybills. The items in this collection varies by subject including the history and culture of Mississippi and Louisiana plantations focusing particularly in Natchez and Adams County, and towns and communities in Jefferson, Claiborne and Wilkinson Counties.

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Charter, [Plataresti Monastery], Bucharest, Romania, Prince Matei Basrab of Wallachia, 1642

Prince Matei Basrab

This document is a charter for a monastery in Romania. The specific monastery is unknown, but it may be the Plataresti Monastery, located outside Bucharest, Romania. The document is written in Moldovan using Cyrillic letters, and was issued by Prince Matei Basrab of Wallachia. Like most legal documents of the 17th century, it is on vellum, and beautifully illustrated. This item was included in the Scrawl and Order exhibit, http://lib.msstate.edu/exhibits/past/.
Letters Patent

Letters patent were legal documents normally issued by a head of state to grant something to the recipient, such as money, a title, or a right. This one was issued to William Blackstone (Blaxton), of Gibside in County Durham, squire to Sir Nicholas Tempest, Knight, also of County Durham, and a Mr. Chapman, of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, during the reign of James I/IV. The purpose of the document is unknown. William Blackstone went on to become the first European settler of Boston and Rhode Island, in 1625. This item was included in the Scrawl and Order exhibit, http://lib.msstate.edu/exhibits/past/.
Indenture, Anthony Tunsload, County of Derby With the Master of the Rolls, [vellum], 1568

Sir William Cordell

This indenture, written in Elizabethan Chancery Court hand, appears to govern a matter to do with land. While paper did exist in Elizabethan England, it was very rare, and this document is written on finely scraped vellum. This item was included in the Scrawl and Order exhibit, http://lib.msstate.edu/exhibits/past/.
Letter to Sebenico, Dalmatian Coast, Croatia, 1496

This letter, written in Genoese, most likely concerns matters of trade. At the time the letter was written. Sebenico, one of the oldest towns on the Dalmatian Coast, was under the control of the Republic of Venice, and was a very busy port. This item was included in the Scrawl and Order exhibit, http://lib.msstate.edu/exhibits/past/.
Song of Solomon

This page of the Bible, featuring the Song of Solomon was created in Bologna, Italy, in the 13th century, two hundred years before the advent of the printing press. Written entirely by hand on paper-thin vellum, it is beautifully illustrated, and very small. The complete text probably fit into its ownerï¿½s pocket. This item was included in the Scrawl and Order exhibit, http://lib.msstate.edu/exhibits/past/.