Harvard Law School bought a copy of Magna Carta for $27. Turns out, it’s actually an original (1 Viewer)

[Allan]

They thought they were buying a copy. Turns out it's one of seven known originals.

CNN — A “copy” of Magna Carta bought decades ago by Harvard Law School for just $27.50 is now understood to be an extremely rare original from 1300, according to new research.

British historians were able to verify the document’s true authenticity after an academic stumbled across the item while looking through Harvard Law School’s online archives.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/15/science/magna-carta-harvard-law-school-scli-intl

 

[Infinite Chaos]

This story was on the BBC this morning. Turns out the Lowthers (a pretty rich family that still own vast amounts of land in my country) owned it once and donated their copy of the Magna Carta "to Thomas Clarkson, a leading abolitionist of the 1780s.

Clarkson's estate passed through a series of heirs to the Maynard family, then at the end of 1945, AVM Forster Maynard sold it at auction at Sotheby's.

A London bookseller paid £42 for the document, months before Harvard bought it for a fraction of that price."

Pretty cool story - it one of several Magna Carta that were used to send the proclamation around Great Britain at that time.

 

[Allan]

This story was on the BBC this morning. Turns out the Lowthers (a pretty rich family that still own vast amounts of land in my country) owned it once and donated their copy of the Magna Carta "to Thomas Clarkson, a leading abolitionist of the 1780s.

Clarkson's estate passed through a series of heirs to the Maynard family, then at the end of 1945, AVM Forster Maynard sold it at auction at Sotheby's.

A London bookseller paid £42 for the document, months before Harvard bought it for a fraction of that price."

Pretty cool story - it one of several Magna Carta that were used to send the proclamation around Great Britain at that time.

Thank goodness no one in all that time used it to start a woodstove fire!

 

[Chock Full o Nuts]

Saw that a bit earlier today. Just can't believe they had it for that long and not-a-one said, "You know what? That might be..."