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I have a blank copy of a Warranty Deed (a deed which conveys real estate from the current owner to the new owner upon completion of the property sale), which was provided to me at the closing of a real estate transaction. The original Warranty Deed was signed by all parties, and then send to the County for recording, but I was given a photocopy of that deed before we all executed it, for my records. I'm having trouble finding a good way to create a citation for this photocopy of the Warranty Deed that was given directly to me by the Title Company closer. Obviously another researcher could go to the County and get a copy of the deed which would be just like mine except that it would be fully executed and recorded, but that isn't how/where I got mine, so I wouldn't really want to create the citation in a manner that would direct others to search the County records, or would I? To my knowledge, I'm the only one in the world that currently has a blank version of this deed, so there is no way for another researcher to obtain the unsigned, unrecorded document in my possession. I was thinking of creating a citation for a family artifact, and yet I wasn't sure that seemed correct either. Feeling confused.
Here is my attempt at a citation.
Warranty Deed, Montague, Michigan, citing conveyance of real estate on 27 Agust 1993; Slager family papers, privately held by David P. Slager Jr., [address for private use,] Montague, Michigan. This unexeucted photocopy was provided to David P. Slager Jr. on 27 August 1993 by Rodney P. Riley, the closer from The Title Office, Inc. for his records. The fully executed deed was sent to Muskegon County, Michigan for recording.
Any further suggestions would be very much appreciated.
David, you've done an
David, you've done an excellent job. Your first sentence follows 3.25 "Basic Format: Family Artifacts." Then you added an explanation to clarify what you have. There are two words that might puzzle someone other than yourself:
Yes? No?
Yes, when I used the word
Yes, when I used the word "blank" it was intended to mean unsigned, so I should just use the word "unsigned" instead, which better describes the situation.
I looked over the document again, and there is grey shading around the outer edge of the document, which appears to be the result of picking up the image of the closed photocopier lid behind the original. The print is also slightly degraded, which might indicate that it was photocopied as well. While I understand your point about them printing out multiple originals and handing me one of them for my records, I must also consider that they might've printed out one original of everything in my closing package, and just pulled out a few documents from the stack and photocopied them for my records before I was handed everything to sign. Being in the mortgage business myself I know that to be common practice back in the 1990s when photocopiers were a much faster method of producing large quantities of copies over producing several originals on a smaller, slower inkjet printer. Based on the characterstics of the document I'm examining, I do believe I actually have a photocopy of the unsigned original.
Thank you for your clarifications and challenging me to re-examine what I actually have to be certain of its origin. I think there is a great number of details that we might miss if we go too quickly through this process; everything from contextual details to provenance. I'm glad I've learned to slow down and enjoy the process of working through these issues with patience and scrutiny. It increases my confidence in my work and ultimately the enjoyment in doing it.
Great observations, David.
Great observations, David. Every kind of situation differs across place and time. As researchers, one of the most valuable skills we can have is that tendency (or compulsion) to analyze every aspect of a document and the information it contains.