27th Sep, 2023 10:00
The Library of the Late Christopher Foyle of Beeleigh Abbey
Devereux, Robert, second Earl of Essex, 1566-1601. Manuscript volume... , circa 1620-30
Sold for £8,500
[Devereux, Robert, second Earl of Essex, 1566-1601]. Manuscript volume containing a variety of copies of earlier documents by and about the Earl of Essex, circa 1620-30, including contemporary reports of parliamentary affairs, 'The Earle of Essex, his appearance… at the Lord Keepers House, 1600 (16pp.), 'The Arraignments of ye Earle of Essex and Southampton in Westminster Hall ye 19th day of February 1600' (22pp.), Advise to his Sonne' (17 pp.), ‘A description of the arraignment of the Duke of Norff.’ (10pp.), a poem beginning 'All that have eyes now wake and weepe’, copies of personal letters from Sir Charles Cornwallis, etc., a total of 139 pages written in more than one neat hand, the pieces with varying numbers of blanks between pieces and sections, a total of 225 blank pages, the hands all legible except 15 pages in thicker ink with loss of legibility due to bleeding and smudging, armorial bookplate of the Wodehouse family (‘frappe forte’) to front pastedown with old ink inscription ‘Wodehouse, Kimberley, 1838’ written on the bookplate, burgundy morocco gilt bookplate of W. A. Foyle, Beeleigh Abbey to front flyleaf recto and two quotations from the cleric Jeremy Taylor (1613-1667) to verso in an 18th-century hand, 19th-century calf with gilt-titled spine, original calf covers relaid with gilt-tooled lozenge design to centre of both covers, rubbed, small 4to (195 x 137 mm)
(Quantity: 1)
Provenance: Wodehouse family, earls of Kimberley (bookplate); W. A. Foyle, Beeleigh Abbey (bookplate).
A very rare collection of pieces, in particular a highly important series of documents recording the offences of Essex which led to his arraignment and the culmination of his close relationship with the queen culminating in her signing his death warrant. After his return from Ireland in 1599 Essex was brought before a specially constituted court which preferred three specific charges against him. All material relating to his arrest and trial is of special interest on account of the paucity of the material available.
‘No full report of these proceedings is extant. Bacon drew up an apparently complete account, but only a fragment dealing with the first charge (the journey into Munster) survives. The rest has to be gathered chiefly from Fynes Morison's ‘History of Ireland' and paroled accounts of Essex's Irish action published officially after his death. The gist of the accusations lay in the negotiations with Tyrone, and no authentic record of these is accessible’ (ODNB). The accounts as given in the present manuscript volume include speeches by Essex and by Bacon and references to Tyrone.
Although most of the volume appears to have been written in the 1620s several of the pieces appear to be copies originally penned at an earlier date. Bacon, for instance, is never 'Lord Verulam’ but always 'Mr. Bacon’. Francis Bacon was created Baron Verulam of Verulam in 1618.
Towards the end of the volume the collection includes several letters from the English courtier and diplomat Charles Cornwallis (died 1629) which are personal, one, presumably to his first wife, Elizabeth, ending ‘Faythfull and affectionate husbande’ (22 July 1614). This letter would have been written one month after he was imprisoned in the Tower of London. Cornwallis had been suspected of fanning the parliamentary opposition to the king. John Hoskins, who had made himself conspicuous in the House of Commons of England by his denunciation of Scots and Scottish institutions, declared when arrested that he was Cornwallis's agent. Cornwallis disclaimed all knowledge of Hoskins, but admitted that he had procured the election of another member of parliament, and had supplied him with notes for a speech against recusants and Scotchmen. The privy council placed Cornwallis under arrest in June 1614, and he was imprisoned in the Tower of London for a year, with Hoskins and Leonel Sharp.
The untitled poem is a known epitaph (or perhaps two) on King James, and so originally written after his death in 1625. The poem is now ascribed to George Morley (1598-1684): [An Epitaph upon King James], beginning ‘All that have eyes now wake and weep’, 22 lines; and another of 10 lines, running on with no separate heading, beginning ‘For two and twenty yeares, long care’. They were published consecutively as two separate pieces with minor text variations in William Camden's Remaines (London, 1637), pp. 398-99. The Catalogue of English Literary Manuscripts 1450-1700 online refers to it as 22 lines and notes: ‘Attributed to Edward Fairfax in The Fairfax Correspondence, ed. George Johnson (1848), … [but] The poem is generally ascribed to George Morley’. All 32 lines are published as one piece and attributed to Edward Fairfax in William Grainge, Daemonologia: A Discourse on Witchcraft… (Harrogate, 1882), pp. 18-19.
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Auction: The Library of the Late Christopher Foyle of Beeleigh Abbey, 27th Sep, 2023
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Dominic Winter (Auctioneers) Ltd
Conditions Of Sale And Business
Terms and Conditions of Sale
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(b) The buyer may be required to pay down during the course of the sale the whole or any part of the total sum due, and if he fails to do so after such request the lot or lots may at the Auctioneer's absolute discretion be put up again and resold immediately.
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(d) The Auctioneer may at his discretion agree credit terms with a buyer and extend the time limits for collection in special cases but otherwise payment shall be deemed to have been made only after the Auctioneer has received cash or funds by bank transfer or a sterling banker's draft or the buyer's cheque or debit/credit card payment has been cleared.
(e) All sums due to the Auctioneer shall be paid as shown and he reserves the right to charge interest which shall accrue at the rate of 4% over such base lending rate of National Westminster Bank Plc as shall be in force at the date that interest becomes due, such sum to be calculated per annum from day to day on all amounts due but unpaid. This right shall be exercisable without prejudice to any other right of the Auctioneer.
5. (a) If the buyer fails to pay for or take away any lots pursuant to clause 4 or breaches any other condition of that clause the Auctioneer as agent for the seller shall be entitled after consultation with the seller to exercise one or other of the following rights:
(i) Rescind the sale of that or any other lots sold to the buyer who defaults and re-sell the lot or lots whereupon the defaulting buyer shall pay to the Auctioneer any shortfall between the proceeds of that sale after deduction of costs or re-sale and the total sum due. Any surplus shall belong to the seller.
(ii) Proceed for damages for breach of contract.
(b) Without prejudice to the Auctioneer's rights hereunder if any lot or lots are not collected within five days or such longer period as the Auctioneer may have agreed otherwise, the Auctioneer may charge the buyer a storage charge up to £1.00 per lot per day.
6. (a) The seller shall be entitled to place a reserve on any lot and the Auctioneer shall have the right to bid on behalf of the seller for any lot on which a reserve has been placed. A seller may not bid on any lot on which he has placed a reserve.
(b) Where any lot fails to sell, the Auctioneer shall notify the seller accordingly. The seller shall make arrangements either to re-offer the lot for sale or to collect the lot and may be asked to pay a commission not exceeding 50% of the selling commission and any special expenses incurred in cataloguing the lot.
(c) If such arrangements are not made within seven days of the notification the Auctioneer is empowered to sell the lot without reserve by auction or by private treaty and to receive from the seller the normal selling commission and special expenses.
7. Any representation or statement by the Auctioneer in any catalogue, brochure or advertisement of forthcoming sales as to authorship, attribution, genuineness, origin, date, age, provenance, condition or estimated selling price is a statement of opinion only. Every person interested should exercise and rely on his own judgement as to such matters and neither the Auctioneer nor his servants or agents are responsible for the correctness of such opinions. No warranty whatsoever is given by the Auctioneer or the seller in respect of any lot and any express or implied warranties are hereby excluded.
8. (a) Notwithstanding any other terms of these conditions, if within fourteen days of the sale the Auctioneer has received from the buyer of any lot notice in writing that in his/her view the lot is a deliberate forgery and within fourteen days after such notification the buyer returns the same to the Auctioneer in the same condition as at the time of the sale and satisfies the Auctioneer that considered in the light of the entry in the catalogue the lot is a deliberate forgery then the sale of the lot will be rescinded and the purchase price of the same refunded. "A deliberate forgery" means a lot made with intention to deceive.
(b) A buyer's claim under this condition shall be limited to any amount paid to the Auctioneer for the lot and for the purpose of this condition the buyer shall be the person to whom the original invoice was made out by the Auctioneer.
9. Lots may be removed during the sale after full settlement in accordance with 4.d. hereof.
10. All goods delivered to the Auctioneer's premises will be deemed to be delivered for sale by auction unless otherwise stated in writing and will be catalogued and sold at the Auctioneer's discretion and accepted by the Auctioneer subject to all these conditions. In the case of miscellaneous books, maps and other items, the Auctioneer reserves the right to extract and dispose of items that, in the opinion of the Auctioneer at his absolute discretion, have no saleable value and, therefore, might detract from the saleability of the rest of the lot and the Auctioneer shall incur no liability to the seller in respect of the items disposed of. By delivering the goods to the auctioneer for inclusion in his auction sales each seller acknowledges that he/she accepts and agrees to all the conditions.
11. (a) Unless otherwise instructed in writing, all goods on the Auctioneer's premises and in his custody will be held insured against the risk of fire, burglary, water damage and accidental breakage or damage. The value of the goods so covered will be the hammer price, or in the case of unsold lots the lower estimate, or in the case of loss or damage prior to the sale that which the specialist staff of the Auctioneer shall in their absolute discretion estimate to be the auction value of such goods.
(b) The Auctioneer shall not be responsible for damage to or the loss, theft, or destruction of any goods not so insured because of the seller's written instructions whether caused by negligence or otherwise.
(c) Any liability of the Auctioneer for any claim arising from loss or damage of any kind in respect of goods whether caused by negligence or otherwise including any claims for compensation will be limited to the amount of insurance cover effected in accordance with the provisions of clause 11.a. above.
12. The Auctioneer shall remit the proceeds of the sale to the seller thirty days after the date of the auction provided that the Auctioneer has received the total sum due from the buyer. In all other cases the Auctioneer will remit the proceeds of the sale to the seller within seven days of the receipt by the Auctioneer of the total sum due. The Auctioneer will not be deemed to have received the total sum due until after any funds received from the buyer have cleared. In the event of the Auctioneer exercising his right to rescind the sale his obligation to the seller hereunder lapses.
13. In the case of the seller withdrawing instructions to the Auctioneer to sell any lot or lots, the Auctioneer may charge the seller a fee of 12.5% of the Auctioneer's middle estimate of the auction price of the lot withdrawn together with Value Added Tax thereon and any expenses incurred in respect of the lot or lots.
14. If, on collation, any named items in the catalogue prove defective, in text or illustration, the buyer may reject the lot provided he/she returns it within fourteen days stating the defect in writing. This however will not apply in the case of unnamed items, periodicals, autograph letters, manuscripts, music, maps, atlases, prints or drawings, nor in respect of damage to bindings, stains, foxing, marginal wormholes or other defects not affecting the completeness of the text, nor in respect of lack of list of plates, inserted advertisements, cancels or subsequently published volumes, supplements, appendices or plates or error in the enumerating of the plates, nor in respect of defects mentioned in the catalogue or announced at the time of sale.
15. The Auctioneer accepts no responsibility in connection with the commissioning of his staff to bid for any lots. Reserves, and commission bids given by telephone are accepted only at the sender's risk and must be confirmed in writing before the date of the sale. Lots will always be bought as cheaply as is allowed by other bids and such reserves as are on our books.
16. Buyers are advised that a storage charge of £1.00 per lot per day plus Value Added Tax at the current rate will be levied on all purchases not cleared within fourteen working days of the sale. After this period the buyer will be responsible for loss or damage.
17. Artist's Resale Rights ("Droit de Suite"). Lots marked with "AR" or another appropriate symbol and referenced as such in the catalogue are subject to the Artist's Resale Right law. The buyer agrees to pay the Auctioneer an amount equal to the resale royalty and the Auctioneer will pay such amount to the artist's collecting agent. Resale royalty applies where the Hammer Price is 1,000 Euro or more and the amount cannot be more than 12,500 Euro per lot.
The amount is calculated as follows:
Royalty For the portion of the Hammer Price (in Euro)
4.00% up to 50,000
3.00% between 50,000.01 and 200,000
1.00% between 200,000.01 and 350,000
0.50% between 350,000.01 and 500,000
0.25% in excess of 500,000
Invoices will be issued in Pounds Sterling. For the purposes of calculating the resale royalty the Pounds Sterling/Euro rate of exchange will be the European Central Bank reference rate on the day of the sale. Please refer to the DACS website www.dacs.org.uk for further details.
18. These conditions shall be governed by and construed in accordance with English Law.
Buyer's Premium :
The buyer's premium is 20%, except those lots asterisked (*) in the title for which Value Added Tax (VAT) will be added to the premium, resulting in a buyer's premium of 24% inclusive of VAT. Eligible items include manuscripts, prints, photographs, drawings, framed maps, paintings, pens and other objects which are subject to VAT at a rate of 20% on the buyer's premium as part of the Auctioneers Margin Scheme. VAT zero-rated items such as books, unframed maps and albums are not subject to VAT on the buyer's premium.
Live Auction Charges
An additional commission of 3% plus VAT (3.6% inclusive of VAT) on the hammer price is payable if you use the live auction bidding facility on the Dominic Winter Auctioneers website (dominicwinter.co.uk). This charge will be added to your invoice automatically.
An additional commission of 4.95% plus VAT (5.94% inclusive of VAT) on the hammer price is payable if you use the live auction bidding facility on the ATG Media website (the-saleroom.com). This charge will be added to your invoice automatically.
An additional commission of 3% plus VAT (3.6% inclusive of VAT) on the hammer is payable if you use the live auction bidding facility on the Invaluable website (invaluable.com). This charge will be added to your invoice automatically.
Payment (UK Buyers)
Payment is preferred by direct Bank Transfer to our bank account. Our bank details will be supplied to you with your invoice.
Payment can be made in cash at the Cashier's Office, either during or after the sale. Alternatively, you can pay by cheque (Pounds Sterling only), please allow 5 working days for the cheque to clear before collection of goods.
Credit or Debit Card payments will not be accepted by telephone unless by prior arrangement with the auctioneers. Card payments can be made in person at our premises but must be accompanied by relevant ID confirming address details. We do not accept payments by American Express.
Payment (Overseas Buyers)
Payment must be made by direct Bank Transfer to our bank account. Our bank details will be supplied to you on your invoice. No card payments will be accepted unless by special prior arrangements with the auctioneers. All transfers must state the relevant invoice number. The amount we receive must be the total due after currency conversion and the deduction of any bank charges (normally £7).
UK Shipping
We are not specialist shippers. Some items, such as framed & glazed or fragile goods, will require specialist handling and buyers will be asked to use Mailboxes or RF Shipping Ltd. (details below).
For non-fragile items and items of reasonably small size, we offer an in-house packing and shipping facility for UK buyers. When possible, purchases will be sent by either Royal Mail Special Delivery or DPD overnight service. The charge for this service is variable (£15 minimum per parcel) and will be added to your invoice. Please note shipments to the Highlands and Islands may require shipment by courier and may be more expensive. Please contact us for a quote before bidding.
For larger packages and fragile goods, we recommend Mailboxes, Pack & Send or RF Shipping Ltd who will collect fully paid-for purchases from us twice a week and liaise with the buyer direct. For more information please contact Sarah Ball by telephone on +44 (0)1285 860006 or email sarah@dominicwinter.co.uk. These companies will require payment direct for their services.
