I've become quite attentive to rewards of merit, specifically hunting for early and unusual ones, handmade or otherwise rare and special. This one I found in Maine, purchased from a dealer from whom I recently purchased several others, those, awarded to a Polly Este, from the 1820s, and I believe this one, expressing approbation for a young Maralyn, from about then too. The irregular cut of the paper combined with armillary sphere and letterpress arrangement of symbols at right add up just right for me. (An armillary sphere is an ancient historical astronomical instrument consisting of a spherical framework of interlocking metal rings, mapping the celestial sphere to model the movements of the stars, sun, and planets.) With the language of the text--testimony, approbation, correct deportment---feeling in perfect alignment with the orderliness of the rest, but then undermined by the cut of the paper and uneven inking of the left side in a way I really like.
5 5/8" x 3 1/8".