Sigilla antiqua, 1848, 1922.

1 v. (56 leaves) : 113 ill. ; 27 cm.

English

Purchased from Sotheby's, February 1946.

Manuscript, in a single hand, of a collection of 113 watercolor drawings of medieval English seals, with descriptions of the land charters and grants to which they had been attached, and occasional genealogical notes about the owners. Under the seal of Roger Wolverston "to a grant of manors in Essex A.D. 1397" is written, "Drawn & coloured by my esteemed friend Robert Buchanan (now alas departed in South Africa)." The volume also contains 12 items laid in, many of which pertain to the Archer family, including two genealogical trees and a birth register; and, bound in, a letter from G. S. Gibbons to Captain Cragg dated 1922 thanking him for the loan of the book of seals and explaining the "loose slips with Archer notes" with a history of the Archer family in Essex. Other items laid in include two newspaper clippings regarding church restorations; a watercolor drawing of a "brass model fowling piece found in Suffolk"; a drawing of a coat of arms; and a drawing of the seal of John, 3rd Earl of Attiol. Pasted onto the flyleaf are three newspaper clippings regarding the discovery of the seal of William the Conqueror at Guildhall; these are followed by a letter by Albert May to "Mr. Larking" dated Jun 4, 1964 discussing various seals, sewn in, and a printed article titled Remarks on personal seals during the middle ages by T. Hudson Turner, pasted in.

February 19, 2008

Sigilla Antiqua, 1848. The Lewis Walpole Library, Yale University.

Sigilla Antiqua, 1848. The Lewis Walpole Library, Yale University.