Calligraphic Manuscripts by Esther Inglis
A Book of the Armes of England doone by me Esther Inglis Ianuar the first 1609
Sixty-four coats of arms and crests of the nobility.
*InE 1
Autograph calligraphic MS, chiefly on rectos only, iv + 66 leaves (44 x 66 mm.), in contemporary green velvet embroidered. A presentation MS, a New Year's Gift to Prince Henry, with a prose Dedication to him in English, in Roman and italic scripts, with gold and colour arms and decoration and with a self-portrait. 1 January 1608/9.
Later owned by Princess Louisa Stuart (1692-1712); Edmund Stiles; Lucy Knight (d.1781) and by her husband (in 1746) Sir Thomas Rokewode Gage, Bt, of Hengrave, Suffolk, and their descendants. Recorded in Scott-Elliot and Yeo as in private ownership in Norfolk.
Scott-Elliot & Yeo, No. 37 (pp. 65-8), with facsimiles of the first page and the binding as Plates 26A and 26B (between pp. 342 and 43). They also record the Prince's Privy Purse Accounts recording payment to Esther Inglis (Mrs Kello) of £5 ‘for gevinge a booke of armes to his highnes’, 20 April 1609.
Discours de la Foy. Escrit a Lislebourg par Esther Langlois, Francoise, M.D.XCI.
A devotional discourse in forty stanzas of French verse, with some Latin verses by her father Nicholas Langlois.
*InE 2
Autograph calligraphic MS, iii + 51 leaves (100 x 152mm.), in vellum gilt. A presentation MS, a New Year's Gift to Queen Elizabeth, in several styles of script, with her prose Dedication in French, ‘Aduertissement’ in French and verses to the Queen in French and Latin. 1 January 1590/1.
Later owners include Sir Richard Ellys (1688?-1742), theologian and classical scholar, of Nocton, Lincolnshire; his neice Mrs Lloyd; his chaplain Andrew Gifford (1773); and Bristol Baptist College (1784). Sotheby's, 11 December 1961, lot 176, sold to Maggs.
Scott-Elliot & Yeo, No. 3 (pp. 27-9).
[Ecclesiastes] Le Livre de l'Ecclesiaste. De la main d'Esther Anglois françoise: a Lislebourg en Escosse ce xxi d'Avril 1601 [and] Le Cantique du Roy Salomon...ce xxiii d'Avril 1601.
A French translation in verse of Ecclesiastes and the Song of Solomon in the Bible, with some verses in Latin and French, including two to the Princess de Rohan by Melville and two to Esther Inglis by Melville and Johnston.
*InE 3
Autograph calligraphic MS, i + 25 leaves, including one blank (174 x 136mm.), in contemporary red morocco gilt. A presentation MS to Catherine de Parthenay-Larchevêque (1554-1631), Vicomtesse de Rohan, with a Dedication to her, in numerous styles of script, with decoration and figures in black ink and a self-portrait. 23-24 April ‘1501’ [i.e. 1601]
Later given by one Boullet, lawyer in Bordeaux, to M. Walckenaer (1713). Sold by Ellis to Henry Huth (1815-78), book collector. Sotheby's, 2 June 1913 (Huth sale), lot 2659). Also sold by J. and J. Leighton.
Scott-Elliot & Yeo, No. 17 (pp. 46-7), with a facsimile of f. 24r as Plate 32 (facing p. 43). Facsimile of ff. 24v-5r in Georgianna Ziegler, ‘Hand-Ma[i]de Books: The Manuscripts of Esther Inglis, Early-Modern Precursors of the Artists' Book’, EMS, 9 (200), 73-87 (Plate 4, p. 82).
[Ecclesiastes] Le Livre de l'Ecclesiaste, ensemble le Cantique de Salomon. Escrites en diverses sortes de Lettres par Esther Anglois Françoise a Lislebourg en Escosse, 1599
A French translation of Ecclesiastes and the Song of Solomon in the Bible, with Latin verses to Anthony Bacon by Robert Rollock and John Johnston and to Esther Inglis by Andrew Melville and Johnston.
yeo no 10.
*InE 4
Autograph calligraphic MS, ii + 14 leaves (185 x 130mm.), in contemporary brown velvet embroidered (incorporated in rebinding). A presentation MS to the diplomatist Anthony Bacon (1558-1601), with a Dedication to him, in various styles of script, with figures and decoration, including a self-portrait. 14 April 1599.
Later owned by one Francis Slade (1861).
Scott-Elliot & Yeo, No. 10 (pp. 39-40), with facsimiles of ff. 2r, 6v, and 9v as Plates 12-14 (between pp. 42 and 43).
[Ecclesiastes] Le Livre de l'Ecclesiaste ensemble les Lamentations de Ieremie de la main d'Esther Anglois françoise, a Lislebourg en Ecosse, 1602
A French translation of Ecclesiastes and the Lamentations of Jeremiah in the Bible, with Latin and French verses including some to the Earl of Argyll by Melville and Johnston and some to Esther Inglis by them.
*InE 5
Autograph quarto calligraphic MS, i + 23 + i leaves (170 x 130 mm.), in modern brown calf. A presentation MS to Archibald Campbell (1575-1638), seventh Earl of Argyll, Justice-General of Scotland, with a prose Dedication to him in French and Latin verses by Andrew Melvin, in numerous styles of script, with pen and ink arms, decoration, and (f. 5r) a self-portrait. 4 October 1602.
Christie's, 12 December 1986, lot 311, with a facsimile of the self-portrait in the sale catalogue.
Scott-Elliot & Yeo, No. 19 (pp. 48-9).
[Ecclesiasticus] Argumenta singuloru capitum Eccles: per tetrasticha manu Estherae Inglis exarata strenae nomine egregio et dignissimo adolescentulo, M. Thomae Pukering oblata, 1607
A verse summary of Ecclesiasticus (in the Apocrypha) in Latin.
*InE 6
Autograph calligraphic MS, on rectos only, 33 leaves (96 x 135 mm.), in contemporary calf elaborately gilt. A presentation MS to the courtier Thomas Puckering (1592-1636), with a prose Dedication to him in English, in various styles of script, with colour and gold decoration. 1607.
Owned by Thomas Sowdon, of Reading, and later by H.W. Sowdon, of East Hendred, Berkshire. Martin Breslauer, sale catalogue No. 92 (1960), item 267; and Duschnes.
Scott-Elliot & Yeo, No. 28 (pp. 57-8).
[Emblematical Drawing of Mary, Queen of Scots] Insigni Pietate Heroinæ Mariæ Stewartæ prædic: Illvstriss: Comit: Vxori Lectissimæ Castissimæq: Emblema Christianvm. Drawin and writin be me Esther Inglis Ianvar 1622
*InE 7
Autograph calligraphic MS, on one side of a single sheet (366 x 149 mm.). Comprising Latin verses by Bartholomew Kello to the Earl of Mar, followed by a pen-and-ink emblematic drawing of Mary Queen of Scots by Esther Inglis, subscribed by further verses in Latin and French, in Roman and italic scripts, with modest decoration. 1622.
Presumably presented to John Erskine (1558-1634), Earl of Mar, Lord High Treasurer of Scotland. Later owned by James West (1704?-72), President of the Royal Society (his library sold by Langford, 8 April 1773); bought by Thane.
Scott-Elliot & Yeo, No. 52 (p. 79). Briefly discussed, with a facsimile, in Thomas Lange, ‘A Rediscovered Esther Inglis Calligraphic Manuscript in the Huntington Library’, PBSA, 89 (September 1995), 339-42.
[Emblemes Chrestiens] Ce livre contenant cinquante Emblemes Chrestiens premierement inventez par la noble damoiselle Georgette de Montenay en France, forts plaisants & delectables a lire & voir lesquels sont, a present, escrits, tirez, et tracez, par la main et plume de moy Esther Inglis l'an de mon aage cinquante et trois. A Lislebourg en Ecosse, l'an 1624
Based selectively on Georgette de Montenay, Emblemes ou devises chrestiennes (Frankfurt, 1619, and other editions), the text variously in French, English, Latin and Greek, with verses to Esther Inglis by Melville, Rollock, and Johnston.
*InE 8
Autograph calligraphic MS, on rectos only, iv + 63 leaves (276 x 180 mm.), in crimson satin embroidered. A presentation MS to Prince Charles, with prose Dedication to him in English, in Roman and italic scripts, with a series of 54 emblems (dated 1622-3), a portrait of de Montenay, and a self-portrait, as well as some decoration. 1624.
Scott-Elliot & Yeo, No. 54 (pp. 80-3), with a facsimile of the portrait page (f. 7r) as Plate 30 (between pp. 42 and 43). Facsimile of the binding in Cyril Davenport, English Embroidered Bookbindings (London, 1899), plate 37.
[Genesis] Historiae memorabiles Genesis, per Estheram Inglis Gallam. Edinburgi, anno 1600
Presumably in Latin and derived from the Book of Genesis in the Bible.
*InE 9
Autograph calligraphic MS. 1600.
Later owned by Philip Harcourt (d.1759), barrister.
Recorded in Thomas Hearne, Gulielmi Neubrigensis historia (Oxford, 1719), p. 752. Scott-Elliot & Yeo, No. 14 (p. 44).
[Genesis] Tetrasticha selecta historiae Geneseos, Estherae Inglis manu exaratae. Londini. 1606.
Guillaume Paradin, Historiarum memorabilium ex Genesi descriptio tetrastichis versibus (published in Geneva, 1558), in Latin, with Latin verses to Esther Inglis by Melville and Johnston.
*InE 10
Autograph calligraphic MS, almost entirely on rectos only, 45 leaves (100 x 125 mm.), in contemporary calf gilt. A presentation MS to Christian Friis (1555-1616), Chancellor of Denmark, with a prose Dedication to him in French, in numerous styles of script, with colour and gold decoration and figures, and with a self-portrait. 29 July 1606.
In the Kurfürstliche Bibliothek, Berlin, in the second half of the 17th century.
Scott-Elliot & Yeo, No. 24 (pp. 53-4).
[Genesis] Argumenta singulorum capitum Geneseos per Tetrasticha. Manu Estherae Inglis Exarata Londini 1608
Guillaume Paradin, Historiarum memorabilium ex Genese descriptio tetrastichis versibus, first published in Lyons, 1558, in Latin.
*InE 11
Autograph calligraphic MS, on rectos only, ii + 60 leaves (34 x 86 mm.), in contemporary calf gilt (rebound). A presentation MS to Sir Edward Stanhope (1546?-1608), Chancellor of the Diocese of London, with a Dedication to him, in various styles of script, with colour and gold decoration. 1608.
Later sold by Cochran (catalogue, 1837, item 163) and by Thomas Rodd (1839). Owned by the Rev. Thomas Corser (Corser sale at Sotheby's, 11 July 1870, lot 55); by Ellis; and by Charles Sumner, LL.D, who bequeathed it in 1874.
Scott-Elliot & Yeo, No. 35 (p. 64).
[Genesis] Argumenta in Librum Geneseos Esthere Inglis manu exarata Londini 1606
An anonymous verse summary of the Book of Genesis in fifty Latin stanzas.
*InE 12
Autograph calligraphic MS, on rectos only, iii + 37 leaves (97 x 135 mm.), in contemporary calf gilt. A presentation MS to the courtier Thomas Wotton (1587-1630), Baron Wotton of Marley, with a prose Dedication to him in English, in numerous styles of script, with colour and gold decoration and figures. 1606.
Owned in 1657 by Charles Cotton (possibly the poet, 1630-87). Owned in 1832 by Robert J. Gabbett; bequeathed in 1857 to his niece Lucy O'Brien, then bequeathed by her to her daughter Mary Gwynn, and thence to the owner in 1990. Recorded in Scott-Elliot & Yeo as in private ownership in Northamptonshire.
Scott-Elliot & Yeo, No. 26 (pp. 55-6).
Livret traittant de la Grandeur de Dieu, et de la Cognoissance qu'on peut avoir de luy par ses oevres. Escrit par Esther Langlois, fille Françoise, de Dieppe. M.D.XCII.
A French treatise by Pierre du Val (d.1564), Bishop of Sées, first published in 1555, with Latin verses by Nicholas Langlois.
*InE 13
Autograph calligraphic MS, ii + 84 leaves (90 x 130 mm.), in contemporary vellum gilt. In various styles of script. 1592.
Bought from a Leipzig bookdealer by David Laing in 1865.
Scott-Elliot & Yeo, No. 4 (pp. 30-1), with facsimiles of ff. 78r and 83r as Plates 3 and 4 (between pp. 42 and 43).
[Octonaires de la Roche Chandieu]Octonaries upon the vanitie and inconstancie of the world. Writin and limd be Esther Inglis the first of Ianuar, 1609 [i.e. 1600]
English translation of French verse ‘Octonaires’ by Antoine de la Roche Chandieu (1534-91), the original first published in 1586. With verses in English to Esther Inglis by ‘S.G.D.’
*InE 14
Autograph calligraphic MS, on rectos only, 53 leaves (108 x 152mm.), in contemporary calf gilt. A presentation MS to John, first Baron Petre, MP (1549-1613), with a Dedication to him, from Willingale Spain, in various styles of script, with colour decoration and pasted-in self-portrait. The title-page originally dated 1600 but altered to match the date of the Dedication. 1600-1 January 1609.
Sotheby's, 3 March 1924, lot 69, to P. and J. Dobell.
Scott-Elliot & Yeo, No. 13 (pp. 42-4), with a facsimile example as Plate 19.
[Octonaires de la Roche Chandieu] Octonaries upon the Vanitie and Inconstancie of the World. Writin by Esther Inglis, the first of Ianuar 1600
The French text and facing English translation of verse ‘Octonaires’ by Antoine de la Roche Chandieu (1534-91), the original French first published in Paris, 1586.
*InE 15
Autograph calligraphic MS, 51 leaves (113 x 161mm.), in contemporary calf gilt. In various styles of script, with colour and gold decoration and figures and with a later inserted self-portrait (1624). 1 January 1600/1.
Later owners include Mr Cripps, London surgeon; Barbara Ingram; John L. Clawson, of Buffalo, New York (whose library was sold at the Anderson Galleries, New York, 1926); A.S.W. Rosenbach (1937); and Lessing J. Rosenwald (until 1946).
Scott-Elliot & Yeo, No. 12 (pp. 41-2). Facsimile of the portrait page in Jonathan Goldberg, Writing Matter: From the Hands of the English Renaissance (Stanford, 1990), p. 152. Facsimiles of the first page of text in in Anneke Tjan-Bakker, ‘Dame Flora's Blossoms: Esther Inglis's Flower-Illustrated Manuscripts’, EMS, 9 (2000), 49-72 (Plate 5, p. 59); of ff. 30v-1r in Heather Wolfe, The Pen's Excellencie: Treasures from the Manuscript Collection of the Folger Shakespeare Library (Washington, DC, 2002), pp. 102-3; and of ‘Octo III’ in Reading Early Modern Women, ed. Helen Ostovich and Elizabeth Sauer (New York & London, 2004), p. 476.
[Octonaires de la Roche Chandieu] Cinquant Octonaires svr la vanite et Inconstance dv Monde. Dediez a Tresillvstre Seignevr Le Conte de Shrewsbvry, povr ses Estrennes l'an 1607. Escrit et Illvmine par Esther Inglis
Verse ‘Octonaires’ in French by Antoine de la Roche Chandieu (1534-91), first published in Paris, 1586.
*InE 16
Autograph oblong octavo calligraphic MS, ii + 51 leaves (plus later blanks, 98 x 140 mm.), imperfect and with later interleaving, in late 17th-century red morocco gilt. A presentation MS, a New Year's Gift to Gilbert Talbot (1553-1616), seventh Earl of Shrewsbury, with a Dedication to him, in various styles of script, with colour and gold decoration. 1607.
Later inscriptions include records relating to the Mallone family (1673-1713) and the names of Robert John Allen (18th century) and Susanna O'Neill (19th century). Phillips, 11 November 1993, lot 599, with a facsimile of the title-page in the sale catalogue.
[Octonaires de la Roche Chandieu] Cinquante Octonaires sur la va vanite et inconstance du monde. Dediez a monseigneur le Prince, pour ses estrennes, de l'an, 1607. Escrit et illuminé par moy Esther Inglis
The French text and facing English translation of verse ‘Octonaires’ by Antoine de la Roche Chandieu (1534-91), the original French first published in Paris, 1586.
*InE 17
Autograph calligraphic MS, almost entirely on rectos only, 54 leaves (120 x 133 mm.), in pink velvet. A presentation MS to Prince Henry (1594-1612), with a Dedication to him, in several styles of script, with colour and gold arms, decoration and figures, and with a self-portrait. 1607.
Owned in 1805 by Lady Jemima Hay, daughter of James, fifteenth Earl of Erroll. Later owned by Miss Armstrong and then by Miss R. Myrtle, who bequeathed it to her niece Miss I.M. Sudlow.
Scott-Elliott & Yeo, No. 27 (pp. 56-7). with facsimile examples as Plates 20 and 31 (between pp. 42 and 43). Facsimiles of the title-page and two others in Anneke Tjan-Bakker, ‘Dame Flora's Blossoms: Esther Inglis's Flower-Illustrated Manuscripts’, EMS, 9 (2000), 49-72 (Plates 1, 3 and 6, on pp. 53, 56 and 60).
[Octonaires de la Roche Chandieu] Cinquante Octonaires sur la vanité et inconstance du monde, dediez, a tresillustre et puissant seigneur Lodowic Duc de Lenox &c: pour ses estrennes Escrit et illumine par Esther Inglis 1607
The French text and facing English translation of verse ‘Octonaires’ by Antoine de la Roche Chandieu (1534-91), the original French first published in Paris, 1586.
*InE 18
Autograph calligraphic MS, almost entirely on rectos only, 53 leaves (95 x 135 mm.), in green velvet. A presentation MS to Ludovick Stuart (1574-1624), second Duke of Lennox and Duke of Richmond, with a dedication to him, in various styles of script, with colour and gold decoration and figures and a coloured self portrait. 1607.
Owned in 1865 by Sir George Clerk, Bt., of Penicuik.
[Octonaires de la Roche Chandieu] Octonaires sur la Vanite et Inconstance du Monde Escrits par Esther Inglis, a Lislebourg, Aoust 1615
Verse ‘Octonaires’ in French by Antoine de la Roche Chandieu (1534-91), first published in Paris, 1586.
*InE 19
Autograph calligraphic MS, on rectos only, 48 leaves (45 x 70 mm.), imperfect, in contemporary calf gilt. A presentation MS to Andrew Ramsay (1574-1659), minister of Old Greyfriars, Edinburgh, with a prose Dedication to him in French, in minute roman script throughout, with decoration. August 1615.
Inscribed (f. 5v) ‘S Palmes’. Owned in 1865 by James Douglas, of Cavers. Parke-Bernet, New York, sale 2071 (12 December 1961), lot 51. Harry A. Levinson, Beverly Hills, sale catalogue No. 58 (June 1962), item 61. Afterwards owned by Miss Julia Parker Wightman (1909-94), of New York and Edgartown (Martha's Vineyard), book collector.
Scott-Elliot & Yeo, No. 47 (p. 76), with facsimiles of the title page and binding as Plates 27A and 27B (between pp. 42 and 43).
[Octonaires de la Roche Chandieu] Octonaries upon the vanitie and inconstancie of the world, writin and limd be me, Esther Inglis the xxiii, Decemb: 1607
The French text and facing English translation of verse ‘Octonaires’ by Antoine de la Roche Chandieu (1534-91), the original French first published in Paris, 1586. With two sonnets in English to Esther Inglis by G.D.
*InE 20
Autograph calligraphic MS, on rectos only, 52 leaves (109 x 161 mm.), in contemporary calf gilt. A presentation MS to her ‘loving Freinde and Landlord M. William Jefferai’, with a prose Dedication to him in English dated from Mortlake, Surrey, in various styles of script and with colour and gold decoration. and figures. 23 December 1607.
Later owned by Rachel Kissack; by Dyson Perrins (sold at his sale at Sotheby's, 9 December 1958, lot 44); and by Lessing J. Rosenwald.
Scott-Elliot & Yeo, No. 33 (p. 62). Facsimiles of four pages in Infinite Variety: Exploring the Folger Shakespeare Library, ed. Esther Ferington (Washington, DC, 2002), p. 86; of the title-page in Heather Wolfe, The Pen's Excellencie: Treasures from the Manuscript Collection of the Folger Shakespeare Library (Washington, DC, 2002), p. 101.
[Octonaires de la Roche Chandieu] Octonaires sur la vanité et inconstance du monde, escrits par Esther Inglis ce premier de l'an, 1615
Verse ‘Octonaires’ in French by Antoine de la Roche Chandieu (1534-91), first published in Paris, 1586.
*InE 21
Autograph calligraphic MS, v + 55 + 8 leaves, on rectos only, dated 1 January 1614/15, in contemporary dark red velvet embroidered. A New Year's presentation MS to Prince Charles, with a Dedication to him, in several styles of script, with colour and gold arms and decoration. 1615.
Sotheby's, 5 December 1989, lot 65. Christie's, 29 November 1999, lot 65, with facsimile examples in the sale catalogue.
Julian I. Edison, St Louis, Missouri, [Esther Inglis Octonaires MS].
[Octonaires de la Roche Chandieu] Les Cinquante Octonaires sur la Vanité et Inconstance du Monde. Escrits par Esther Inglis pour son dernier Adieu, ce I Iour de l'an 1616
Verse ‘Octonaires’ in French by Antoine de la Roche Chandieu (1534-91), first published in Paris, 1586.
*InE 22
Autograph calligraphic MS (c.50 x 80 mm.), in contemporary calf gilt. Apparently prepared as a New Year's Gift, but with an inscription on the cover ‘For my cousin Mr Robert Frenche, Clerk of Kircaldie, 17 Junij 1616’, and with ‘A small miniature portrait’. 1 January 1615/16.
Owned by Alexander Hay, King's Apothecary, and presented by him before 1692 to the Advocates' Library, Edinburgh (where it was Adv. MS 18.3.46). Recorded there by David Laing (1793-1878), but lost sometime between 1892 and 1912.
Scott-Elliot & Yeo, No. 48 (pp. 76-7).
[Octonaires de la Roche Chandieu] Les Cinquante Octonaires sur la Vanité et Inconstance du Monde, Escrits à Lislebourg par Esther Inglis, 1616
Verse ‘Octonaires’ in French by Antoine de la Roche Chandieu (1534-91), first published in Paris, 1586. With two lines of Greek by Palladas and four lines of Latin before the Dedication.
*InE 23
Autograph calligraphic MS, almost entirely on rectos only, 67 leaves (49 x 75 mm.), in contemporary calf gilt. A presentation MS to John Spottiswood (1565-1639), Archbishop of St Andrews, with a Dedication to him, in a small roman script throughout, with little decoration. 1616.
Later owned by Elizabeth Sharp and in 1963 by G. S. Cox, in the Channel Islands.
Scott-Elliot & Yeo, No. 49 (p. 77).
[Proverbs] Les Proverbes de Salomon escrites en diverses sortes de lettres par Esther Anglois Françoise. A Lislebourg en Ecosse, 1599
A French translation of the Book of Proverbs in the Bible, with Latin verses to Essex by Melville, Rollock and Johnston and to Esther Inglis by Melville and Johnston.
*InE 24
Autograph calligraphic MS, xviii + 70 pages (184 x 128mm.), in red leather gilt, dated 13 April 1599. A presentation MS to Robert Devereux (1566-1601), second Earl of Essex, with a prose Dedication to him in French, in numerous styles of script, with arms, decoration, and a self-portrait. 1599.
Presented to the Bodleian in 1620 by Sir Thomas Nevill. Inscribed in 1711 by Thomas Hearne (1678-1735), Oxford antiquary, and also by Esther Inglis's great-grandson, Samuel Kello.
Scott-Elliot & Yeo, No. 9 (pp. 37-9), with a facsimile of p. 12 as Plate 11 (between pp. 42 and 43). Facsimile of the portrait page, f. xvr, in Jonathan Goldberg, Writing Matter: From the Hands of the English Renaissance (Stanford, 1990), p. 151. Facsimile of the Latin verses to Essex and the portrait page, ff. xivv-xvr, in Sally Mapstone, Scots and their Books in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance: An exhibition in the Bodleian Library, Oxford (Bodleian Library, 1996), p. 25.
[Proverbs] Les Proverbes du Roy Salomon. De la main d'Esther Anglois françoise. A Lislebourg l'an, 1601
A French translation of the Book of Proverbs in the Bible, with other verses in French and Latin including some to the Viscomte de Rohan by Bartholomew Kello and some to Esther Inglis by Melville and Johnston.
*InE 25
Autograph calligraphic MS, vii + 57 pages + i (164 x 115mm.), dated 1 April 1601. A presentation MS to Henri, Vicomte de Rohan (1579-1638), Huguenot leader, who became Duc de Rohan in 1603, with a prose Dedication to him in French, in various styles of script, with decoration, figures, and a self-portrait. 1601.
Owned in 1765 by D. de Rossi.
Scott-Elliot & Yeo, No. 16 (pp. 45-6), with a facsimile of the architectural title-page as Plate 15 (between pp. 42 and 43).
[Proverbs] Les Proverbes de Salomon. Lislebourg, Esther Anglois, 1601
A French translation of the Book of Proverbs in the Bible, with other verses in French and Latin including some to to Esther Inglis by Melville and Johnston.
*InE 26
Autograph calligraphic MS, vi + 56 pages + 1 leaf (180 x 134 mm.). A presentation MS to Catherine de Bourbon (1558-1604), sister of Henri IV, with a Dedication to her, in numerous styles of script, with ink and colour decoration and a self-portrait. 3 June 1601.
Once owned by Chevalier Thomas and his wife. Lawrence Feinberg's sale catalogue 1 [1977], item 1.
Scott-Elliot & Yeo, No. 18 (pp. 47-8), as in a ‘Private collection, England’. Facsimiles of pp. 42-3 and the portrait page in The Wormsley Library (Maggs Bros, London, & Pierpont Morgan Library, New York, 1999), No. 39 (pp. 102-3).
[Proverbs] A New Yeers Guift for the Right Honorable and Vertuous Lord my Lord Sidnay of the hand writing and limming of mee Esther Inglis the first of Ianuar, 1606
English translation of the Book of Proverbs in the Bible, with Latin verses to Lord Sidney by Bartholomew Kello.
*InE 27
Autograph calligraphic MS, on vellum (flesh sides only), 21 leaves (79 x 104 mm.), in contemporary calf gilt. A presentation MS to Robert Sidney (1563-1626), Baron Sidney, afterwards (in 1618) Earl of Leicester, but without a separate dedication, in various styles of script, with colour and gold decoration and figures. 1 January 1605/6.
Later owned by William Caldecott, of Andover. Sold by his grandson, J.B. Caldecott, at Sotheby's, 15 February 1932, lot 61.
Scott-Elliot & Yeo, No. 21 (pp. 50-1). E.V. Unger and W.A. Jackson, The Carl H. Pforzheimer Library: English Literature 1475-1700, 3 vols (New York, 1940), II, 524-5, with a facsimile of one page and the binding on the facing Plate XVIII.
[Proverbs] Une Estreine pour tresillustre et vertueuse Dame la Contesse de Bedford, escrit et illuminé par moy Esther Inglis ce 1 de Janvier, 1606
Selections from a French translation of the Book of Proverbs in the Bible, with French verses by Esther Inglis to Lady Bedford.
*InE 28
Autograph calligraphic MS, on vellum, on rectos only, 23 leaves (81 x 105 mm.), in contemporat calf gilt. A presentation MS, a New Year's Gift to Lucy Russell (née Harington) (1581-1627), Countess of Bedford, with a Dedication to her, in numerous styles of script, with colour and gold decoration and figures. 1 January 1605/6.
Owned in 1679 by John Haywhite. Christie's, 22 July 1964, lot 259. Martin Breslauer, New York, sale catalogue No. 99, item 97. Afterwards owned by Harry Levinson (1965) and by Mr and Mrs Edwin P. Rome, Philadelphia (1966). Christie's, 3 June 1998, lot 25.
Scott-Elliot & Yeo, No. 22 (pp. 51-2), with a facsimile of the title-page as Plate 22 (between pp. 42 and 43). A facsimile page is also in Christie's 1998 catalogue.
[Proverbs] A New Yeeres Guift for the Right Honorable and Vertuous Lady the Lady Arskene of Dirltoun. Of the hand writing and limming of mee Esther Inglis, the 1. of Iannuar, 1606
Selections from an English translation of the Book of Proverbs in the Bible.
*InE 29
Autograph calligraphic MS, on vellum, on rectos only, ii + 21 leaves (79 x 105 mm.), in contemporary calf gilt. A presentation MS, a New Year's Gift to Elizabeth Pierrepoint (d.1621), second wife of the courtier Thomas Erskine (1566-1639), Baron Erskine of Dirleton and later Earl of Kellie, with a prose Dedication to her in English, in a number of styles of script, with colour and gold decoration and figures. 1 January 1605/6.
Scribbled initials ‘A. C.’ on the penultimate leaf. Sold by Maggs (1928). Sotheby's, 6 July 1932, lot 489. Tregaskis, Caxton Head catalogues No. 1005 (1931?), item 89, and 1027 (1932), item 8. Afterwards owned, and bequeathed in 1953, by Alfred E. Hamill.
Scott-Elliot & Yeo, No. 23 (pp. 52-3). Facsimiles of pp. 7 and 12 in Robert Williams, ‘A Moon to Their Sun: Writing Mistresses of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries’, Fine Print, 11, No. 2 (April 1985), 88-98 (Plates 4 and 5 on p. 92). Also described in the online Perdita Project.
[Psalms] Le Livre des Pseaumes escrites en diverses sortes de lettres par Esther Anglois francoise. A Lislebourg en Ecosse 1599
Psalms in French, with Latin verses to Queen Elizabeth by Andrew Melville (1545-1622) and Robert Rollock (1555-99) and French verses to Esther Inglis by Melville and John Johnston (?1570-1611).
*InE 30
Autograph MS, iii + 156 pages (185 X 130mm.), in contemporary crimson velvet embroidered. A presentation MS to Queen Elizabeth, with a Dedication to her, in several styles of script, with decoration and drawn figures, and with a self-portrait of Esther Inglis. 27 March 1599.
Inscribed by the Countess of Ancram.
Evidently the MS to which Bartholemew Kello refers, in his letter to Queen Elizabeth, complaining for lack of reward, 18 July 1599 (British Library, Add. MS 4125, ff. 355r-6v): namely, ‘the booke of psalmes wreaten be my wyfe in french and in diuers sortes of Carectaris adornit euerie way so far as was possible to ane simple woman, being presentit to your Matie’.
Scott-Elliot & Yeo, No. 7 (pp. 33-5), with facsimiles of pp. 69 and 99 as Plates 9 and 10 (between pp. 42 and 43).
[Psalms] Les Pseaumes de David Escrites en Diverses sortes de lettres par Esther Anglois Françoise. A Lislebourg en Escosse, 1599
Psalms in French, with Latin verses to Prince Maurice by Esther Inglis's husband Bartholomew Kello and to Esther Inglis by Andrew Melville, Robert Rollock, and John Johnston.
*InE 31
Autograph calligraphic MS, 6 + 189 + 3 leaves (94 x 62 mm.), in contemporary scarlet velvet embroidered. 2 April 1599. A presentation MS to Prince Maurice of Nassau (1567-1625), with a Dedication to him, in various styles of script, with decoration and figures. For the self-portrait detached from this MS, see InE 32. 1599.
Later owned by the French surgeon Dongines (1648) and by his nephew, the Protestant refugee surgeon Thomas Michel. Maggs, sale catalogue No. 542 [1930], item 223. Owned in 1946 by Lessing Julius Rosenwald (1891-1979), Pennsylvania businessman and collector.
Scott-Elliot & Yeo, No. 8 (pp. 35-7). Facsimiles of pp. 2-3 and ff. 190v-1r, including arms and Dedication, in Georgianna Ziegler, ‘Hand-Ma[i]de Books: The Manuscripts of Esther Inglis, Early-Modern Precursors of the Artists' Book’, EMS, 9 (200), 73-87 (Plates 1, p. 78, and 2, p. 80).
The portrait in this MS has now been separated as Folger MS X.d.533.
[Psalms] Self portrait.
*InE 32
A self-portrait of Esther Inglis, extracted from InE 31. Facsimile in Georgianna Ziegler, ‘“More than Feminine Boldness”: The Gift Books of Esther Inglis’, in Women Writing and the Reproduction of Culture in Tudor and Stuart Britain, ed. Mary E. Burke, Jane Donawerth, Linda L. Dove, and Karen Nelson (Syracuse, NY, 2000), pp. 19-37.
[Psalms] Livret contenant diverses sortes de lettres, Escrit a Lislebourg par Esther Langlois, françoise. 1586.
Translations of Psalms 2 and 94 by Clément Marot and Théodore de Bèze (into French verse) and by Helius Eobanus Hessus (into Latin verse), also with some Latin verses by Esther's father, Nicholas Langlois.
*InE 33
Autograph calligraphic manuscript, in various styles of script, on rectos only, 33 leaves (132 x 172 mm.). 1586.
Later owned by Sir Hans Sloane, Bt (1660-1753), physician and collector
Scott-Elliot & Yeo, No. 1 (pp. 25-6), with a facsimile of f. 29r as Plate 1 (after p. 42).
[Psalms] Quotations from the Psalms and Proverbs
*InE 34
Autograph calligraphic MS, 41 leaves (plus two blanks), in contemporary vellum gilt. A presentation MS, in English, in numerous styles of script, with decoration, and with a prose Dedication to Susanna, Lady Herbert, from London (probably added in 1605 to a MS written earlier). 20 February 1605.
Later owned (in 1865) by the Rev. Charles W. Bingham, of Dorset, and by Mrs Wynyard of Kensington Palace (in the 19th century). Subsequently owned by the bookdealers Dobell and (on 8 December 1922) by Dr A.S.W. Rosenbach. Afterwards the W.A. White Estate; and Philip Hofer (1939).
Scott-Elliot & Yeo, No. 2 (pp. 26-7), with a facsimile example as Plate 2 (between pp. 42 and 43).
[Psalms] Argumenta in Librum Psalmorum Davidis Estherae Inglis Manu Exarata Londini 1606
A summary of the Psalms in Latin verse, with Latin verses to Sir Thomas Egerton by Bartholomew Kello and to Esther Inglis by Melville, Rollock, and Johnston.
*InE 35
Autograph calligraphic MS, on rectos only, iii + 101 leaves (98 x 140 mm.), in contemporary calf gilt. A presentation MS to Sir Thomas Egerton (1540-1617), Baron Ellesmere, Lord Chancellor, with a Dedication to him, in various styles of script, with colour and gold arms, decoration and figures, and with a self-portrait. 1606.
Later owned by W.L. Boyne (1850); by W.A. White (1915); by A.S.W. Rosenbach; and by Philip Hofer (1949).
Scott-Elliot & Yeo. No. 25 (pp. 54-5), with a facsimile of the portrait page (facing their p. 11).
[Psalms] Argumenta Psalmoru Davidis per tetrasticha manu Estherae Inglis exarata, strenae nomine Illus: Principi Henrico oblata, 1608.
A summary of the Psalms in Latin verse.
*InE 36
Autograph calligraphic MS, iv + 155 leaves (46 x 72 mm.), in contemporary red velvet embroidered. A presentation MS to Prince Henry, with a Dedication to him, in roman and italic scripts, with colour and gold arms and decoration. 1608.
Later owners include Edward Quail (sold at Sotheby's, 10 May 1901, lot 95); Ellis; J.A. Brooke (sold at the Red Cross sale, 26 April 1916); Pearson (sale catalogue, 1916, item 7A); Mortimer L. Schiff (sold at Sotheby's, 24 March 1938, lot 245); and, until 1951, by Lessing J. Rosenwald.
Scott-Elliot & Yeo, No. 36 (pp. 64-5), with a facsimile of the title-page as Plate 25 (between pp. 42 and 43). The binding is illustrated in Infinite Variety: Exploring the Folger Shakespeare Library, ed. Esther Ferington (Washington, DC, 2002), p. 49, and also on a postcard issued by the Folger Shakespeare Library.
[Psalms] The Psalms of David, written by me, Esther Inglis at Willingale Spain, the 1st of January 1612
The Psalms in English.
*InE 37
Autograph calligraphic MS. Presumably prepared as a New Year's Gift, and with a self-portrait. 1 January 1611/12.
Later owned by the Rev. Richard Farmer (1735-97), literary scholar (his sale May-June 1798, lot 8098); by James Bindley, FSA (1737-1818), book collector (his sale, Part II, January 1819, lot 2415), to the bookseller Thomas Rodd (1796-1849).
Scott-Elliot & Yeo, No. 38 (p. 69), as ‘Untraced’.
[Psalms] The Booke of the Psalme[s] of David in prose written be Esther Inglis in the fiftie thre yeere of hir age at Edenbrough the V. March, [1]624
The Psalms in English, with Latin verses to Esther Inglis by Melville, Rollock, Johnston, and Bartholomew Kello.
*InE 38
Autograph calligraphic MS, ii + 15 leaves + 298 pages (88 x 68 mm.), in contemporary white velvet embroidered. A presentation MS to Prince Charles, with a Dedication to him, in small Roman and italic scripts, with decoration and a self-portrait. 1624.
Possibly brought to Denmark by Prince George (who married Queen Anne in 1683) or by Leonora Christine, daughter of King Christian IV, who visited the English court in 1663. Transferred from Rosenborg Castle to the Royal Library in 1781.
Scott-Elliot & Yeo, No. 53 (pp. 79-80), with a facsimile of the binding as Plate 28 (between pp. 42 and 43).
[Psalms] The Booke of the Psalmes of Davide in prose written be Esther Inglis in the fiftie thre yeer of hir age at Edenbrugh the V. of May. [1]624
The Psalms in English, with Latin verses to Esther Inglis by Melville, Rollock, and Johnston.
*InE 39
Autograph calligraphic MS, in roman and italic scripts, with decoration and a self-portrait, ix leaves + 285 pages (84 x 62 mm.), in contemporary white velvet embroidered, dated 5 May 1624. 1624.
Sold by Quaritch, in 1948, to Major John Roland Abbey (1894-1969), collector. Sotheby's, 20 June 1978 (Abbey sale), lot 3000, with facsimile examples in the sale catalogue.
Scott-Elliot & Yeo, No. 55 (pp. 83-4).
[Psalms] Les Pseaumes de David. Escrit par Esther Inglis le xv de Sept: 1612
A French translation of the Psalms, the headings in Latin, with verses in French to Esther Inglis by ‘Velde’.
*InE 40
Autograph calligraphic MS, iv + 8 leaves + 308 pages, in contemporary white silk over millboard embroidered. A presentation MS to Prince Henry, with a Dedication to him, in a small Roman script, with colour and gold decoration, a miniature, and a self-portrait. 15 September 1612.
Later owned by Sophia Dorothea of Brandenburg, great-granddaughter of Prince Henry's sister, Elizabeth of Bohemia; then by Sophia Dorothea's daughter, Louisa Ulrica, who married Adolf Fredrik of Sweden in 1751.
Scott-Elliot & Yeo, No. 39 (pp. 69-70).
[Psalms] Les Pseaumes de David. Escrits a Londres par Esther Inglis pour son dernier adieu, ianvier, I. 1615
A French translation of the Psalms, with headings in Latin.
*InE 41
Autograph calligraphic MS, vi + 4 leaves + 284 pages (90 x 60 mm.), in contemporary maroon velvet elaborately embroidered with silver thread. A presentation MS, a New Year's Gift to King James VI of Scotland and I of England, with a prose Dedication to him in French, in small Roman and italic scripts, with colour and gold decoration, a miniature (of King David), and a small coloured self-portrait. 1 January ‘1615’: 1614/15.
Later owned by Lord Northbourne. Sotheby's, 13 June 1933, lot 401. Later owned by E. Parsons & Sons. Purchased in 1954 from Tregaskis.
Scott-Elliot & Yeo, No. 42 (pp. 71-2), with a facsimile of pages 248-9 as Plate 29 (between pp. 42 and 43).
[Quatrains de Pybrac] Les Quatrains du Sieur de Pybrac dediez a tresillustre et tresnoble Seigneur, monseigneur le Conte de Salisberrie, pour ses estrennes, de l'an 1607 Escrit et illuminé par moi Esther Inglis
Quatrains in French by Guy du Faur, Sieur de Pybrac (1529-84), first published in 1576.
*InE 42
Autograph calligraphic MS, on rectos only, 52 leaves (96 x 128 mm.). A presentation MS to Robert Cecil (1563-1612), first Earl of Salisbury, but without a Dedication, in various styles of script, with colour and gold decoration and figures, very imperfect. 1607.
Owned in 1865 by David Laing.
Scott-Elliot & Yeo, No. 30 (pp. 59-60).
[Quatrains de Pybrac] Quatrains du Sieur de Pybrac gentil homme François: Escrit en diverses sortes de lettres Par Esther Anglois Françoise, A Lislebourg le X. de Dec. 1599
Quatrains in French by Guy du Faur, Sieur de Pybrac (1529-84), first published in 1576.
*InE 43
Autograph calligraphic MS, in numerous styles of script, with little decoration, on rectos only, vii + 126 leaves (43 x 61 mm.), dated 10 December 1599, in contemporary calf gilt. 1599.
Later owned by Joseph Mayer (1870, and by Baroness Angela Burgett-Coutts (1814-1906), philanthropist. Sotheby's, 16 May 1922, lot 223. Maggs's sale catalogue No. 437 (1923), item 1023. Raphaël Esmerian, New York, 1966 (sale catalogue, Part 1, 6 June 1972, item 9), sold to Julian I. Edison.
Scott-Elliot & Yeo, No. 11 (pp. 40-1), with a facsimile of one page as Plate 18 (between pp. 42 and 43). Facsimile example in Anne C. Bromer and Julian I. Edison, Miniature Books (2007), p. 29.
Julian I. Edison, St Louis, Missouri, [Esther Inglis Pybrac MS I].
[Quatrains de Pybrac]
Quatrains in French by Guy du Faur, Sieur de Pybrac (1529-84), first published in 1576.
[Quatrains de Pybrac] Quatrains du Sieur de Pybrac, gentilhomme françois, escrits en diverses sortes de lettres par Esther Anglois, françoise, l'an 1600
Presumably the Quatrains in French by Guy du Faur, Sieur de Pybrac (1529-84), first published in 1576.
*InE 45
Autograph calligraphic MS, in contemporary red morocco gilt. 1600.
Later owned by Charles Nodier (1844). Van de Helle sale, 10 February 1868, lot 1003; and Heilbrun (Paris, c.1936), to Laforge.
Scott-Elliot & Yeo, No. 15 (pp. 44-5).
Quatrains in French by Guy du Faur, Sieur de Pybrac (1529-84), first published in 1576.
Quatrains in French by Guy du Faur, Sieur de Pybrac (1529-84), first published in 1576.
*InE 46
Autograph calligraphic MS, chiefly on rectos only, 131 pages (42 x 62 mm.), in contemporary calf gilt. A presentation MS to Henri, Vicomte de Rohan (1579-1638), Huguenot leader, who became Duc de Rohan in 1603, with a prose Dedication to him in French, dated in Edinburgh, in numerous styles of script, with decoration. 30 December 1600.
Discovered in 1994 in a lacquered cabinet once owned by Sir William Temple (1628-99), statesman and author. Sotheby's, 13 December 1994, lot 21, to Quaritch.
Facsimile of an opening in Sotheby's sale catalogue. Photocopy examples are in the British Library, RP 5878.
[Quatrains de Pybrac] Les Quatrains du Sr. de Pybrac dediez a tresnoble et treshonorable Seigneur, Monseigneur de Hayes, pour ses estrennes 1607 Escrit et illumine, par moy Esther Inglis
Quatrains in French by Guy du Faur, Sieur de Pybrac (1529-84), first published in 1576.
*InE 47
Autograph calligraphic MS, on rectos only, i + 76 leaves (95 x 135 mm.), in contemporary calf gilt. A presentation MS to Monsieur de Hayes (? Sir Thomas Hayes, d.1617, Lord Mayor of London), with a prose Dedication to him in French, in various styles of script, with colour and gold decoration and figures. 1607.
Later owned by J. Adams (19th-century) and later by Mrs Florence Edwards (Sotheby's, 14 July 1952, lot 131).
Scott-Elliot & Yeo, No. 31 (pp. 60-1). Also described in the online Perdita Project.
[Quatrains de Pybrac] Les Quatrains de Guy de Faur, Sieur de Pybrac, Ensemble Les cinquante octonaires sur la vanité et inconstance du monde, ecrites par Esther Inglis, 1614
Quatrains in French by Guy du Faur, Sieur de Pybrac (1529-84), first published in 1576, and verse ‘Octonaires’ in French by Antoine de la Roche Chandieu (1534-91), first published in Paris, 1586.
*InE 48
Autograph calligraphic MS, on rectos only, 118 leaves (48 x 79 mm.). A presentation MS to Sir David Murray of Gorthy, with a prose Dedication to him in French, in a small Roman script, with colour and gold arms and decoration. 1614.
Later owned by Richard Fleming (1688) and by D. Hackluith (1693). In the Harleian Library formed by the politician and book collector Robert Harley (1661-1724), first Earl of Oxford, and his son Edward (1689-1741), second Earl of Oxford.
Scott-Elliot & Yeo, No. 40 (pp. 70-1).
[Quatrains de Pybrac] Les Quatrains de Guy de Faur Sieur de Pybrac, escrits par Esther Inglis, ce premier jour de l'an 1615.
Quatrains in French by Guy du Faur, Sieur de Pybrac (1529-84), first published in 1576.
*InE 49
Autograph calligraphic MS, on rectos only, v + 68 leaves (42 x 64 mm.), in contemporary maroon velvet embroidered. A presentation MS, a New Year's Gift to Prince Charles (1600-49), later King Charles I, with a Dedication to him, in a small Roman hand throughout, with colour and gold arms, decoration, and a self-portrait. 1 January 1614/15.
Later owned (until 1853) by John Wade.
Scott-Elliot & Yeo, No. 41 (p. 71).
[Quatrains de Pybrac] Les six vingts et six quatrains de Guy de Faur Sieur de Pybrac escrits, par Esther Inglis pour son dernier adieu ce I. iour de l'an, 1615
Quatrains in French by Guy du Faur, Sieur de Pybrac (1529-84), first published in 1576.
*InE 50
Autograph calligraphic MS, on rectos only, ii + 65 leaves (45 x 75 mm.), in contemporary calf gilt. Apparently prepared as a New Year's Gift, but without a Dedication, in small Roman script throughout, with decorated title-page. 1615.
Later owned by Sir John Arthur Brooke of Fenay Hall, Huddersfield (and sold at Sotheby's, 31 May 1921, lot 817); Quaritch's sale catalogue of illuminated manuscripts, 1931, item 111; afterwards owned until 1968 by Philip Hofer.
Scott-Elliot & Yeo, No. 44 (pp. 73-4).
[Quatrains de Pybrac] Les six vingts et six quatrains de Guy de Faur Sieur de Pybrac. Escrits, par Esther Inglis pour son dernier adieu le premier de l'an 1615 [and] Les cinquante octonaires sur la vanite et inconstance du monde, escrits, par Esther Inglis, pour son dernier adieu. Le premier de l'an, 1615
Quatrains in French by Guy du Faur, Sieur de Pybrac (1529-84), first published in 1576, and verse ‘Octonaires’ in French by Antoine de la Roche Chandieu (1534-91), first published in Paris, 1586.
*InE 51
Autograph calligraphic MS, on rectos only, 121 + v leaves (44 x 74 mm.), in contemporary calf gilt. A New Year's presentation MS to Robert Carr (1585/6?-1645), Earl of Somerset, with a Dedication to him, in small Roman script, some majuscules in italic, with gold decoration, lacking what was probably a self-portrait. 1 January 1614/15.
Inscribed in the 19th century ‘The present of Mr Hamerton Godfather’. Sotheby's, 10 July 1986, lot 18.
Scott-Elliot & Yeo, No. 45 (p. 74). Facsimile of the title-page in Sotheby's sale catalogue. Facsimile examples in Anne C. Bromer and Julian I. Edison, Miniature Books (2007), pp. 29 and 31. A set of photocopies and two photographs in British Library, RP 3330.
Julian I. Edison, St Louis, Missouri, [Esther Inglis Pybrac MS II].
[Quatrains de Pybrac] Les six vingts et six quatrains de Guy de Faur sieur de Pybrac, escrits, par Esther Inglis pour son dernier adieu, ce 21 iour de Iuin, 1617
Quatrains in French by Guy du Faur, Sieur de Pybrac (1529-84), first published in 1576.
*InE 52
Autograph calligraphic MS, 77 leaves (51 x 80 mm.), in contemporary calf gilt, dated 21 June 1617. A presentation MS to Joseph Hall (1574-1656), Dean of Worcester and later Bishop of Exeter, with a prose Dedication to him in English, in roman and italic scripts, with decoration and a self-portrait. 1617.
Given to the Bodleian Library in 1638 by Edward Hall.
Scott-Elliot & Yeo, No. 50 (pp. 77-8).
[Quatrains de Pybrac] Les six vingts et six quatrains de Guy de Faur, Sieur de Pybrac, escrits par Esther Inglis ce xxvii de Juin, 1617
Quatrains in French by Guy du Faur, Sieur de Pybrac (1529-84), first published in 1576.
*InE 53
Autograph calligraphic MS, on rectos only, 69 leaves (46 x 72 mm.), in contemporary calf gilt (rebound). A presentation MS to Walter Balcanquall (1586-1645), Master of the Savoy, London, and later Dean of Rochester and of Durham, with a prose Dedication to him in English, in a small Roman script throughout, with some decoration. 27 June 1617.
Later owned by Archer Ryland (1814); by the Rev. Philip Bliss (1787-1857), antiquary and book collector. Sotheby's, 21 August 1858 (Bliss sale), lot 201.
Scott-Elliot & Yeo, No. 51 (pp. 78-9).
Specimens of various styles of writing [I]
Alphabets and moral sentences in English, French, Italian, Latin, and Spanish.
*InE 54
Autograph oblong quarto MS, on rectos only, iv + 21 leaves (165 x 198mm.), in contemporary blind-stamped vellum. In various styles of hand, with pen and ink decoration.
Presented by Hugh Stuart of Allanbank to the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, 24 April 1828.
Scott-Elliot & Yeo, No. 5 (pp. 31-2), with facsimiles of ff. 9r and 7r as Plates 5 and 6 (between pp. 42 and 43).
Specimens of various styles of writing [II]
Letters, elaborate drawings, decoration, and moral sentences in English, French, Italian, Latin, and Greek, including texts by William Gedde, Cicero (translated into Greek by Jacobus Dorsannus), and other material.
*InE 55
An oblong quarto composite autograph volume, in various styles of script, with decoration and pen-and-ink figures, 36 leaves (paper sizes varying from 110 x 150mm. to 290 x 365mm.). Late 16th-early 17th century.
Later owned by the advocate David Constable and bought at the D. Speare sale of Constable's library, 13 December 1828, lot 2973, by David Laing.
Scott-Elliot & Yeo, No. 6 (pp. 32-3), with facsimiles of ff. 8r and 28r as Plates 7 and 8 (between pp. 42 and 43).
[St Matthew's Gospel] Argumenta singulorum capitum Evangelii Matthaei Apostoli, per tetrasticha manu Estherae Inglis exarata Londini xxvi Ianuarii, 1607
A verse summary of the Gospel according to St Matthew in twenty-eight stanzas in Latin.
*InE 56
Autograph calligraphic MS, on rectos only, ii + 30 leaves (97 x 145 mm.) in contemporary calf gilt. A presentation MS to William Douglas (d.1648), Earl of Morton, with a prose Dedication to him in English, in several styles of writing, with colour and gold decoration and figures. 26 January 1607.
Later owned by John Nimmo, factor of Boghall (1700); by Grizell Nimmo (1719), whose grand-daughter, Elizabeth Hogg, married into the Scott Moncrieff family; and by John Scott Moncrieff (1865).
Scott-Elliot & Yeo, No. 32 (p. 61), with facsimile examples (including the title-page) as Plates 21 and 23 (between pp. 42 and 43). A microfilm of this MS is also in the National Library of Scotland, Acc. 7633.
A Treatise of preparation to the Holy Supper of our only Saviour and redeemer Jes' Christ...Translated out of French in Inglishe...By Bartholomew Kello...[1608]
An English translation of Yves Rouspeau, Traitté de la préparation à la saincte Cène de Nostre seul Sauveur et Rédempteur Jésus Christ.
*InE 57
Autograph calligraphic MS, 35 quarto leaves (180 x 142 mm.), in contemporary calf gilt (rebound). A presentation New Year's Gift to Sir David Murray of Gorthy (1567-1629), poet and Gentleman of the Bedchamber to Prince Henry, with a prose Dedication to him in English, in italic and Roman scripts, without decoration. 1 January ‘1608’.
Inscribed (f. 2r) ‘Mr Robt Wonram his book’.
Scott-Elliot & Yeo, No. 34 (p. 63).
Verbum Sempiternum -- Written at Londo by Esther Inglis April 1615
John Taylor's brief verse synopsis of the Bible, his ‘Thumb Bible’ of 1614, with two English verse epistles to Samuell Kello by Esther Inglis.
*InE 58
Autograph calligraphic MS, iii + 128 leaves (47 x 31 mm.), imperfect, in contemporary green velvet embroidered. A presentation MS to her son Samuel Kello, with a prose Dedication to him in English, in small Roman and italic scripts, with some decoration. April 1615.
Probably the MS recorded in 1775 as being in the possession of Esther Inglis's great-grandson in 1711. Sotheby's, 24 January 1950, lot 423.
Scott-Elliot & Yeo, No. 46 (pp. 74-5).
Vincula Unionis sive scita Britannicae id est De Unione insulae Britannicae tractatus secundus. Per Davidem Humium Theagrium. [1605]
The second (unpublished) part of a treatise by the Latin poet and historian David Hume (1560?-1630?), the first part of which was published in 1605.
*InE 59
Autograph calligraphic MS, in a principally italic script, the title-page with colour decoration, with Hume's Dedication to King James VI and Prince Henry, 38 quarto leaves (200 x 160 mm.), in contemporary calf gilt (rebacked). 12 October [i.e. 20 September] 1605.
Owned in 1867 by David Laing.
Scott-Elliot & Yeo, No. 20 (pp. 49-50).
Miscellaneous
Inscription
Two extracts from Psalms 145 and Ecclesiastes in French.
*InE 60
Autograph inscription by Esther Inglis, in italic scripts, in French and English, addressed to her ‘intime amy et tres-aimé frere M. G. C.’, dated from London, 8 August 1604, facing one of the same date (f. 7v) by her husband Bartholomew Kello.
In: The octavo album amicorum of George Craig, of Edinburgh, with inscriptions in numerous hands, 182 leaves, in contemporary vellum. 1602-5.
Edited in Laing, ‘Notes’, p. 289. Recorded in Scott-Elliot & Yeo, p. 84.
Ad Serenissimvm Principem: Iacobvm Dei Gratia Magnæ Britanniæ, Franciæ et Hiberniæ Regem. &c (‘Accipe E haec nostro quondam vigilata labore’)
A Latin poem by David Hume of Godscroft, to James I, first published in Hume's Iacobaea (Paris, 1639), p. 45.
*InE 61
Autograph calligraphic copy by Esther Inglis of a poem by David Hume, in a meticulous roman script, not signed by her, on the first page of two conjugate folio leaves, evidently presented to James I. [1605].
In: A folio composite volume principally of original letters to King James VI ‘from Learnid Men & Staitsmen’, in various hands and paper sizes, 110 leaves, in modern quarter red morocco on marbled boards. Vol. XX of the Denmilne Papers, collected by Sir James Balfour, first Baronet (1600-57), of Denmilne and Kinncaird, Lyon King of Arms and antiquary.
Letter(s)
*InE 62
Autograph letter signed by Esther Inglis, in English, on behalf of her son, to King James I, in a small roman script, on the first page of two conjugate folio leaves, addressed on the fourth page and once folded as a letter. Edinburgh, 20 June 1620. 1620.
In: the MS described under InE 61.
Edited in Laing, ‘Notes’, pp. 307-8. Recorded in Scott & Elliott, p. 84. Facsimile in Facsimiles of National Manuscripts of Scotland (Southampton, 1871), III, No. XCIII.