News | August 20, 2024

One of England's Most Important Country Houses' Library Up for Sale

Chorley's

A particularly good copy of a very rare early printing of the Provisional Articles of the Treaty of Paris. Estimate £10,000 - £15,000

Chorley’s have been appointed to sell the library of Ombersley Court in Worcestershire, one of the most important historical country houses in England and the family seat of the Sandys family for 400 years. The collection of rare and never-before-seen books, manuscripts and letters will be offered for auction on September 17.

The Ombersley Court library has been largely untouched since the early 19th century. “Rarely does such a comprehensive library come for auction," said Chorley’s Director Werner Freundel, "especially one of such historical significance and one that has remained private and unseen outside a limited circle.” The library features sections on classical literature, medicine, travel, religion, history, poetry, mathematics, law, and commerce, and reflects the interests and occupations of various generations of the Sandys family, as well as their connections to various literary circles.

Edwin, 2nd Baron Sandys (1726-1797) was a noted classical scholar who studied at Oxford, which explains the broad number of Greek and Latin volumes in the collection. Edwin travelled in literary circles and was close to Henry and Hester Thrale, both esteemed members of literary society during the 18th century. and close friends of Samuel Johnson. whom Edwin famously hosted at Ombersley Court in 1774.

Tucked into plain manilla envelopes among the volumes were other publications. Inside three volumes of 18th century ephemera Chorley’s discovered a very rare early printing of the Provisional Articles of the Treaty of Paris (estimate £10,000-£15,000). Signed in type at the end by British Commissioner Richard Oswald and American commissioners John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, John Jay, and Henry Laurens, this provisional agreement is the first document in which Britain recognized the United States as a sovereign nation. The Definitive Treaty of Peace, incorporating the nine articles printed here, was later signed at Paris on September 3, 1783.

Chorley's

A lapidary, or The History of Precious Stone: with cautions for undeceiving of all those that deal with precious stones

Chorley's

Generalities of France

Chorley's

The Necromancer

Chorley's

Signed autograph letter by King William III of England

Other highlights include:

* a signed autograph letter by King William III of England (1689-1702) to English army officer, peer and politician Henry Viscount Sydney detailing the King’s instructions to form a regiment in Ireland (8th King’s Royal Irish Hussars). The letter is signed ‘William R’ and also signed by William I Blathwayt, a diplomat and politician under the later Stuarts and William of Orange. Estimate: £700-£1,000.

* the first English edition of The Necromancer, or The Tale of the Black Forest by the German author of gothic fiction, Karl Friedrich Kahlert (1765-1813) whose pen name was Lawrence Flammenberg. The work was translated from German by Peter Teuthold, London for William Lane at the Minerva-Press in 1794. The two volumes have gilt spines detailed with the crown and monogram of Mary Hill, Marchioness of Downshire (1764-1836), and Baroness Sandys (of the 2nd Creation). Estimate: £2,000-£3,000.

* a rare edition of the ‘Vinegar’ Bible, whose name comes from the misspelling of ‘the parable of the vineyard’ in Luke 20:9 as ‘the parable of the vinegar.’ Although admired for its decorative cover, the copious misprints not only damaged the reputation of Royal printer John Baskett (1664-1742), but also earned the bible the nickname ‘A baskett-ful of errors’. Dating from 1717, it has an estimate of £800-£1,200.

* the first book written on gemstones in English. Titled A lapidary, or The History of Precious Stone: with cautions for undeceiving of all those that deal with precious stones by Thomas Nichols (a professor at Cambridge University and active in the 17th century), it gives definitions of precious stones and looks at the history of ancient stones, touching on their supernatural properties. Published in 1652. Estimate: £800-£1,200.

* a series of 12 volumes in manuscript on the Generalities of France, instructing a survey of France by the French statesman Jean-Baptiste Colbert in the name of King Louis XIV (1638-1714). The ‘généralités’ were the administrative precincts in France under the Ancien Régime, the precursor to the modern préfectures. Estimate: £1,000-£1,500.

* a first edition 1670 English work Fodinæ regales or The history, laws, and places of the chief mines and mineral works in England, Wales, and the English pale in Ireland written by the Deputy Governor of the Royal Mines, Sir John Pettus Kt (1613-1690), great-grandfather of Samuel 1st Baron Sandys. It includes the first dictionary in English of mining terms and considerable technical information on mining, metallurgy and coinage. Printed by H.L. & R.B. for Thomas Basset. Estimate: £800-£1,200.

Proceeds of the sale will be donated to the Hartlebury Castle Preservation Trust. Hartlebury Castle is a historic Worcestershire estate first given to Bishop Aelhun in 855AD and has a longstanding connection with the Sandys family.