New York City’s ‘Birth Certificate’: $24 and All That (Exhibit)

Beginning Sunday, not far from where the saltwater of the sea and the freshwater of the river bearing Henry Hudson’s name intermingle in an estuary that nestles along the island of Manhattan, the documents that began it all will be on display: meticulously preserved ledgers with ornate scripts, delicately colored maps and drawings, an official government pronouncements that gave birth to New Amsterdam and led ultimately to the creation of the City of New York

A new exhibition at the South Street Seaport Museum, “New Amsterdam: The Island at the Center of the World,” is being mounted in conjunction with the Dutch curator Martine Gosselink and the National Archives of the Netherlands, which lent the museum some extraordinarily well-preserved artifacts as part of the 400th anniversary celebrations of Hudson’s arrival.

In the midst of the festivities (which also include a fine exhibition at the Museum of the City of New York), on Saturday Prince Willem-Alexander and Princess Máxima of the Netherlands will take a preview tour of the Seaport show.