Charles Saint-Mémin's American Passport
June 30, 1810
Medium
Letterpress and pen and ink
Dimensions
Sheet: 9 5/8 × 15 9/16 in. (24.5 × 39.5 cm)
Classification
Documents
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Museum Accession
Accession Number
Ref.Saint-Memin.1
Tags
Art Historical Context
This 1810 document, titled *Charles Saint-Mémin's American Passport*, offers a fascinating glimpse into early American bureaucracy and the life of a French émigré artist. Created through letterpress printing with handwritten additions in pen and ink, it exemplifies the hybrid nature of official paperwork at the time—standardized text combined with personalized notations to verify identity and travel rights. Measuring roughly 9 5/8 by 15 9/16 inches, the sheet reflects the practical yet precise craftsmanship required for such records. Charles Balthazar Julien Févret de Saint-Mémin, a French no...