Description:

Scotland - Earl of Portmore's signed document concerning shares in the South Sea Company
13 x 16 laid paper. England, March 22, 1726. 3 embossed seals. A crown sits on top of a buckled garter containing the words "HONI SOIT QUI MAL Y PENSE" meaning "shame on him who thinks evil of it". This is the motto of the Order of the Garter, the highest order of English knighthood. A flower is in the center and the letters "R XV PENCE" are across the bottom. A red seal is next to the name "Portmore". The document shows fold marks and there are three small holes in the middle partially obscuring the text.


Good handwritten document from the Earle of Portmore to Alexander Chalmore, an attorney, regarding the South Sea Company stock. The South Sea Company was created in 1711 and was promised all trade to the Spanish colonies in South America in exchange for consolidating the English national debt from the War of Spanish Succession. The company stock inflated as a result of several factors including the Bubble Act which passed in 1720 which increased confidence in the company and elevated the price of stock. When the company collapsed later that year, many people were financially ruined. Some people, however, profited including the management team of the South Sea Company. Investigations were conducted and those who profited were required to return the money. Also interesting to note is the mention of "Charles Duke of Shrewsbury" who played a leading role in the Revolution of 1688 in England which ended the reign of Roman Catholic James II and began the reign of his Protestant daughter Mary II and William III.

The document reads in part:

"Know all men by these presents that I David Earl of Portmore have made ordained constituted and appointed and by those [illegible] make ordained constitute and appoint [illegible] Alexander Chalmore of Burstow in his County of Surry [illegible] my true and lawful attorney for me...ask demand [illegible] and take all and singular the dividends or produce of...South Sea Stock now or late standing in the names of the right [illegible] Charles Duke of Shrewsbury and Robt Nelson [illegible] both deceased and George Pitt...in trust for me as also...in my own name...or in the names of any other [illegible] persons in trust for me..."

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June 14, 2017 10:30 AM EDT
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