Project 2—The front of a Maryland note issued by the Provincial Convention on July 26, 1775. The image is a woodcut by Thomas Sparrow. From right to left the image depicts the burning of an American city (Annapolis?) under attack by British naval forces; George III wields a torch while trampling on the Magna Charta (cannot be made out on this note); Britannia recieves a petition from the Continental Congress (CONG PETI—also not clear) from a female figure representing America; America holds a liberty cap while trampling on a scroll inscribed SLAVERY and leading troops carrying the flag of liberty (marked LIB, again not legible).The side bars carry the message AN APPEAL TO HEAVEN and PRO ARIS ET FOCIS (For altars and the hearth).1 This anti–George III message is combined with a royal crown surmounting the issuing authorization of the note in which follows the traditional formula for identifying the issuing authority and value of the note expressed in silver and gold either as Spanish dollars or English shillings and pence. The Provincial Convention was not quite ready to declare independence, though they were quite willing to show, if not state, their grievances against the Crown.

Back of the note.
Original image was a slide that was then commercially scanned onto a kodak photo cd.
Front of a $2/3 note issued by the Provincial Convention of Maryland on July 26, 1775.
This represents the state of the image after using levels, replacing the background with a pattern to match the page background, converting the image to CMYK and using curves to increase the saturation of the text and designs. This is normally where I would stop on working with a museum object—this image is an accurate representation of the current condition of the object, slightly enhanced to make the images and text easier to see.
Front of a $2/3 note issued by the Provincial Convention of Maryland on July 26, 1775, after retouching to increase the contrast and overall lighten the image.
This final image state represents my attempt to restore much of the wear and tear that this note has experienced over the last 228 years through the use of the RGB channels, curves, and the healing brush and clone stamp. This removed the crease lines, some of the stains, and the ‘yellowing’ due to age.
Front of a $2/3 note issued by the Provincial Convention of Maryland on July 26, 1775, after “repairing” much of the wear and tear on the note, including its yellowing.

1 Newman, Eric P., The Early Paper Money of America, Iola, Wisconsin: Krause Publications, Inc., 1990. p. 148.

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