

Jen Carlson/Gothamist

Yesterday we visited with Michael Inman at the New York Public Library, to see what sort of treasures he holds behind locked doors in the Rare Book Division. We'll have more to share from the visit, and the collection, in the near future, but here's one neat thing that caught our eye. First thing you'll notice is: it's not a book—they actually hold a lot of other, non-bound materials in the collection.

What you're looking at here is the first ever printed liquor license (née licenfe!) for the City of New York. It's unclear what specific establishments from the time received one of these, and this one remains blank—Inman tells us:

"As the license form was issued under the authority of Queen Anne, its use wouldn't predate the beginning of her reign in 1702. It is possible that hand-written licenses were issued prior to this date, but I can't confirm that offhand. What I am fairly certain of is that this is the earliest printed license form, with 'printed' being the operative term, thus making it the first example of its kind."

Do you think everyone abided by the rules, and kept out any "unlawful Games or Meetings"?