LAND DEED OF SALE dated 27 February 1751

Manuscript document of 3 pages crisply embossed with the VOC stamp, to the value of 2 Rix dollars, on the front page. A wax seal of the VOC in good condition (rare) appears top left on the first page, with a ship in full sail and the wording CDGHoop (Cabo de Goede Hoop) below it. The document was originally folded in four, the final page bearing a short title of the property name “Sans Souci”. There is some light staining plus edge and fold reinforcement. A file pin hole top left of the document and 3 tiny holes (few mm each) do not compromise the contents. Overall in good condition.

The document details the transfer of a “Table Valley” property with homestead, between Jan Andries Truter and the burgher Christiaan Ackerman.

The signature at the top of the document may be attributed to Sergius Swellengrebel, cousin to the Governor, Hendrik Swellengrebel. “He arrived in Table Bay in July 1712 as a soldier in the service of the DEIC. He remained at the Cape for 10 years before returning to Europe. Later he re-entered the service of the Company and did well, for in 1750 he became senior merchant and deputy governor the Cape and took his seat on the Council of Policy and the Council of Justice. He died in December 1760 and was buried at the Groote Kerk.” [from Dictionary of South African Biography, Volume 2, page 727].

Provenance: Collection M. Pretorius