1914 framed ornate Marriage Certificate, Kentucky Item number: 130144055378
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Today's marriage licenses are rather sterile, kind of like driver's licenses. This certificate shows that in Kentucky, in 1914, marriage was indeed a joyous union! The large "Certificate of Marriage" is quite ornate, bordered in white lace with lace rosettes at each corner featuring blue ribbon bows. Below the litho's title is a wedding bell surrounded by flocks of doves and angels, flanked by cartouches featuring pastoral scenes. Reading "This Certifies That Charles Brogli of Jessamine County State of Kentucky; Ida Troxtell of Newport State of Kentucky were by me UNITED IN MARRIAGE according to the Ordinance of God and the Laws of the State of Kentucky at Lexington on the 25th day of March A. D. 1914. s/ Chas. P. Dodd, J. P. Flo., Witnesses: Chas. Finnell, Lena Ballard". All of this is amid a garden of flowers, of which I recognize roses, lilies-of-the-valley, and dogwood. The frame is about thirteen and one-half by nineteen inches. The lithograph is identified by its maker in the lower left corner below the lace rosette, but "Chicago, Ill." is visible. The ink is severely faded and fully legible only with an alternate light source or when viewed in moderate level light at a low angle.