The Story Behind the Work
This death's head stamp was used to protest a tax on American colonies.
(By Jessica Mundt)
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The notion of freedom takes many forms in "Seeking Liberty." Among the most curious is a skull-and-crossbones stamp found on the site of printer Jonas Green's Annapolis home and print shop.
Its normal use would have been as an obituary illustration, but the morbid piece of printer's type is included here for more metaphorical reasons. That's because Green, the owner and editor of the Maryland Gazette, once used it for political nose-thumbing.
In 1765, the British parliament imposed a tax on the American colonies. Called the Stamp Act, it required most legal documents and publications -- including newspapers -- to carry a stamp proving a tax had been paid. On Oct. 10 of that year, the front page of Green's newspaper did boast a stamp of sorts, but one of his own choosing. The repurposed death's head accompanied an announcement saying that his newspaper would be ceasing publication in protest of the unpopular legislation.
