Apprenticeship Indenture

• Letterpress and manuscript, cut “indentwise”, printed on vellum
• 203 x 203mm (8 x 8in)
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Indenture, dated 1823, relating to John Wood, son of Richard Wood Fishmonger deceased, late of Honeylane Market.

An indenture is a legal document that was signed by apprentices and their masters to agree the terms and conditions of an apprenticeship. This indenture was signed on 13 February 1823 by fishmonger’s apprentice John Wood and bound him as apprentice to Nathaniel Saunders, citizen and fishmonger of London by trade, for seven years.

He also pledged to “not commit fornication, nor contract matrimony within the said term” and “not play at cards, dice, tables or any other unlawful games”, “not haunt taverns or play-houses, nor absent himself from his master’s service day or night”.