A deed box for an unpaid debt to the Bodleian Library

Boxes have been used to store and protect many types of object, and this small leather covered box with a strap was made in 1624 to store four legal bonds. It is lined with waste printed paper recycled from an almanac of 1621, chosen not for its meaning but for cheapness. The bonds were an unsuccessful attempt by the Library to recover the remaining legacy of its founder from one of his executors eleven years after Thomas Bodley’s death.

Dimensions
Box: 80 x 153 x 58 mm

Acquired through a court case in 1624