WASHINGTON — The National Archives is preparing to unveil its 715-year-old copy of the Magna Carta after a conservation effort removed old patches and repaired weak spots in the paper that holds the English declaration of human rights.
A $13.5 million gift from philanthropist David Rubenstein funded conservation of the only original Magna Carta in the United States. Rubenstein bought the historic document at auction in 2007 for $21.3 million and sent it to the National Archives on a long-term loan.
On Thursday, conservators will show the document in its new protective case and discuss how it will be preserved.
Rubenstein's gift also is funding an upcoming exhibit. The Magna Carta will be shown as a forerunner to the freedoms imagined in the U.S. Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights.
© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.