Eighteenth-Century Pennsylvania Mortgage Indenture

Mortgage Indenture, Signed by Mary Scull, Witnessed by William Drinker and Collinson Read. Reading Township, Berks County, PA, May 30, 1783. An early example of a "home equity loan," Scull, a widow, used the value of her house to borrow 250 pounds "in gold and silver" from Philadelphia merchants Abel James and Henry Drinker. Collinson Read and William Drinker, the witnesses, were prominent Pennsylvania lawyers.

13" x 8" part-printed document, inscribed in neat hand, red wax seal next to Scull's signature, extensively docketed on verso. Moderate tong, two vertical and one horizontal fold lines. Minor edgewear, light soiling, a few tears along fold lines with negligible loss to text.