The National Archives in Washington recently announced their plans to create a new protective case for a copy of the only original Magna Carta on display in the United States. The document is a copy of the 1297 Magna Carta which was reissued and signed by King Edward I. It is one of only four known surviving copies of the 1297 Magna Carta, two of which are in England and one in Australia (on display in the Members’ Hall of Parliament House in Canberra).

The copy was encased over 25 years ago by Dr. Nathan Stolow in a helium-filled case; however, scientists are worried that the helium atoms, which are relatively small, could escape from the case and damage the animal skin parchment. It is due to be temporarily removed next year in order to be measured for a new case filled with argon, the atoms of which are larger and easier to contain. 

Catherine Nicholson, supervisory conservator at the National Archives and Record Administration, explained how the use of helium for preservation dated back to when the ‘U.S. government had a monopoly on helium and was interested in finding ways to use it.’

The new $322,800 (approximately £210,000) encasement will feature a glass and metal seal rather than rubber O-rings which need replacing every seven to ten years. It will be of a similar design to the new encasements created for the Charters of Freedom (the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights), also housed in the National Archives Building in Washington, in 2001.

As well as its new protective encasement, Magna Carta will also have a new display case incorporating a digital display and a translation feature that will allow visitors to read the document. The display will highlight the connections between Magna Carta and the U.S. Declaration of Independence and Constitution. It will be featured in a new exhibition gallery devoted to the American fight for freedom and civil liberties.

Although it is generally well-known that King John agreed to grant Magna Carta at Runnymede meadow in 1215, the role of the charter in the centuries after 1225, when it was confirmed in definitive form by Henry III, is less familiar. To an extent, Magna Carta now seems to enjoy greater prestige in the United States than in the United Kingdom. In The Meaning of Magna Carta since 1215, published in History Today in 2003, Ralph V. Turner claims that ‘Americans today accord Magna Carta semi-religious veneration, citing it constantly in political debates, judicial opinions and newspaper editorials’.