Magna Carta Facsimile

One of four original copies of the 1297 Magna Carta has been on loan to the National Archives for over 30 years.  In 2007 it was decided to create a new sophisticated housing for the document that would require it to be off exhibition for many months. In place of the original, a digital facsimile copy was printed to be exhibited for the duration of the rehousing.

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To present the facsimile as close as possible to the original, we first hand-trimmed the print with a scalpel, then burnished and toned the edges with pastel. To create an authentic look to the ribbon and wax seal, we contoured the paper and mounted 16ply museum board to the seal to simulate the original 3-dimensional quality. The facsimile was then mounted with Mylar tabs into our fabric wrapped window mat for the final presentation.