Revolutionary War Document]. [STATE OF MARYLAND; FREDERICK-COUNTY, VIZ:/[followed by a paragraph ofprinted text, with several blank spaces left, to be completed inmanuscript]. Printed by Matthias Bartgis, Frederick-Town, (MD): 1778. In the fall of 1777 the Maryland General Assembly passed an act requiring every male over 18 to take an oath of fidelity to the state: "I do swear I do not hold myself bound to yield any Allegiance to the king of Great Britain, his heirs or successors, and that I will be true and faithful to the state of Maryland and will to the utmost of my power, support, maintain, and defend the Freedom and Independence thereof and the Government as now established against all open enemies and secret and traitorous conspiracies." There was considerable incentive to take the oath; those refusing had to pay triple amounts of taxes on assessments annually, could not file suit in state courts, practice law, medicine, or surgery, preach the gospel, teach in any school, or hold any office, civil or military. In order to identify those who did not take the oath, a census was taken in 1778 of all males 18 and older on or before March 1, 1778. This document reads in part: "Doctr. Alexander Hamilton Smith [name in manuscript] hath personally appeared before me the subscriber, one of the justices of the peace for the county aforesaid; and voluntarily taken and subscribed the oath of allegiance and fidelity; as directed by an act of general assembly of this state; passed the [blank] of December A. D. 1777. Witness my hand, and seal, the [blank] day of [blank] 1778." It is signed by Chris Edelen, as justice of the peace; he had helped frame Maryland's first state constitution as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1776. The first recorded printing in Frederick, Maryland, is a German-language almanac printed by Bartgis in 1779 (Evans 16342). After working in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, for some years, Bartgis moved to Frederick in 1778 in time to print this form (his last Lancaster printing was a 1778 German-language almanac: Evans 15721). We have been unable to locate other examples of this form. Half-sheet of laid paper (very dim, crown-surmounted circular watermark), printed one side, 4 1/8 x 7 5/8 inches, employing several sizes of type, both roman and italic, the text separated from the imprint line with a border of vine-leaf ornaments. Some browning, but very good. Price: USD 1,250.00 other currencies   order no. 44245    inquire

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