The Institution of the Society of the Cincinnati was adopted at the founding meeting on May 13, 1783 and remains the principle guiding document of the organization. This first official copy was inscribed on a large, irregularly shaped sheet of parchment and signed by George Washington and thirty-five other officers. The Institution outlines the tenets and organizational structure of the Society, the rules of eligibility to membership, the establishment of the constituent branches, and details the Society’s insignia. Ink on vellum.