Charters of hundreds of years old

Thousands of charters are stored in the Brabants Historical Centre (BHIC). The charters date from the early Middle Ages until the nineteenth century. These are the records of all kinds of agreements and legal acts, in most cases written on parchment, often with one or more seals.

Many of these charters could be studied by examining their copies in the study hall of the BHIC. In special cases, the originals could be taken out of the deposit.

There were, however, thorny issues. Transport to and from the external location presented some logistical problems. Besides, the majority of the charters were sealed for preservation in lexan, a transparent polycarbonate. Removal of the lexan was not an option, because it would break the envelope. Light reflections from the lexan itself presented additional problems.

After a thorough examination of contractors, GMS turned out to be the suitable partner. In consultation with the external photographers and by means tests it turned out that the a proper setup and the right technical resources would yield clearly readable scans without annoying reflections. Moreover, the project could be executed at the BHIC location, in the charter deposit – a measure that reduced the logistical hassle to a minimum. BHIC is very satisfied with the results, which can be admired on the www.bhic.nl website.