Montgomery County sentinel., 1948-08-12

H AuS uoI To- 1890, 1dlIS Tic
30Oth anniversary of the adoption
Of the Great Seal of the Province
Of Maryland-the metal die that
makes state documents official"
1t is needless to say that the
seal now used is not that which
Lord Cecil Calvert commissioned
in 1648, for since then the state
has had several seals, the changes
in design occasioned chiefly by inn
portant events in Maryland his
tory.
The Great Seal as we know it
today was Official" in Maryland
for two periods prior to it's re-
establishment in 1876. Meanwhile,
the state had used seals of differ
cnt designs, including a post
revolutionary model and an un-
imaginative variation ON the
United States Coat of Arms.
After the latter seal had been
much worn, Governor Lowe in
1854 informed the General AS
sembly of the need of a new one
and suggested a change in design
because the one in use lacked "sig-
nifcant relation to its local his
tory"
As result of this prompting in
1879 a restored seal appeared,
representing a second effort in de-
sign. This was q practical repro
duction if not a facsimile of that
Of 1648. t NE
1t is hard for us to imagine the
Importance our ancestors attached
TO the Great Seal. A governmental
seal was the symbol of authority,
even as a personal seal gave final
ity to written transactions, and in
the case of monarchies, the seal
had the added aura of divine right
ascribed to kings. But the use Of
seals did not arise in the Middle
Ages. Seals have been found on
relics Of the early civilizations of
Egypt, Babylon and Assyria, and
the origin of their use is lost in
the dust of centuries past.
A hint of the almost supersti-
tious regard for the function of
seals is shown in Lord Baltimore's
words that his seal Of 1913 was
necessary for the better govern
ment" and Satisfaction Of the
people," He commissioned the
Great Seal because the first had
disappeared in a political'upheava1
ten years after Maryland's found
ing in 1884. The Importance then
attached to the seal lay particular
.ly in its use on land grants, the
essential wealth of the day. ~
This second seal was used in the
colony until 1892, when the royal
governor displaced Lord Baltimore
as ruler. When the province was
restored to Baltimore late in IT'S,
the Great Seal was put into serv-
ice again. What is believed to have
been the original seal of 1648 is
preserved at the Hall of Records
at Annapolis.
After the Revolutionary War,
the Great Seal continued in use
for some time. When the new de-
sign appeared it showed a figure
Of Justice" on one side and on the
other two sheaves of wheat, a
sornucopia, a ship and hogshead
o Tobacco. Its motto was "Indus-
try the Means and Plenty the Re-
suit"
This seal was used until 1877
when another based on the United
States Coat of Arms was adopted.
1t was this seal of which Governor
Lowe later disapproved.
The first attempt at restoring
the old Great Seal resulted in an
inaccurate drawing. Moreover, it
bore the motto 'Crescite ct Multi
plicamini" Increase and Multi
ply-which had been used on early
Maryland coins but not on the seal.
The second attempt at restoration
in 1876 produced the seal of today
which is as perfectly like the origi-
nal as changed engraving tech
niques allow.
The Great Seal has two sides,
but only the reverse has been cut
Uin.....-...........