THE EMPIRE STATE'S SEAL; New-York Has Had Five Since Colonial Days. A LONG SEARCH FOR THE ORIGINAL The First Great Seal Was Adopted in 1777 -- Then Came Variations, Which Were All Dropped in 1882.

ALBANY, March 9. -- New-York as a State has had five great seals. The first one was devised by a committee appointed by the Constitutional Convention of 1777, and was used for all purposes for which the crown seal was used under the colony. The last was in 1882, when the Legislature adopted the report of a commission appointed to ascertain what constituted the correct arms of the State. View Full Article in Timesmachine »