Heraldic arms of Cheshire [manuscript], circa 1574-1760

England, circa 1574-1760.

1 item ; 350 x 225 x 13 mm

This is a PRELIMINARY RECORD. It may contain incorrect information. Please email catalog@folger.edu for assistance.

Great Britain -- England, -- publication place.

272955 MS

From dealer's description: "7. SOCIAL STRATA [HOLLAND, John (d.1760)]. Heraldic manuscript compilation of the arms of Cheshire. [Circa 1574-1760]. Folio (350 x 225 x 13 mm). Foliation ff. [22, blanks], 1-12, 20-22, 36-39, 50-55, [18, printed shields (16 per page)], [3 (four-page index)], [18, blanks]. Watermarks: leaves at beginning and end (including title, index, and blanks): fleur-de-lis, above letters WR and AJ (in italics); countermark: IV (Haewood 1786, circa 1690). Watermark visible to some manuscript leaves: Crown without arches, pearls within two lines (not in Haewood or Briquet). Provenance: John Holland’s bookplate to paste-down, inscribed underneath: “John Holland No 44”. INTRODUCTION ¶ At first glance this volume might appear to be an incomplete 16th-century armorial. But through an examination of its long history by multiple users, it becomes clear that the volume is exactly the way it was intended by its latest recorded user. The earliest sections of the manuscript may be dated circa 1574. These have been augmented in a different hand in the 17th century, before John Holland shaped the volume into a very specific workbook, which remains its current form. The central section of the volume comprises late 16th- and early 17th-century coats of arms. Most of the pages have been divided by rubricated vertical lines. The arrangements – some of which are unusual – vary from six or eight to a page, arranged in a central column (following the edges of the red lines) with pairs of shields conjoined along one side by a central vertical line to indicate their relatedness. Other pages contain six or 12 shields, often loosely arranged and drawn freehand. Many of the arms are enhanced by their crests, either drawn atop the shield or in the margins. The arms and crests are tricked throughout. At the end of the manuscript section, there are 37 pages of printed blank arms and an 18th-century index. These are sandwiched between about a dozen blank sheets at each end. SCRIBES Over a period of two centuries, at least four scribes have, in different and sometimes unusual ways, contributed to the creation of an artefact of singular form. But for all that their practices may have differed, they seem to have all shared one thing in common: their treatment of this volume as a working document shaped and radically adapted according to its utility. Hand I. The earliest contributor probably commenced this volume in the 1570s. The evidence for this is a note to one of the shields: “Roger Bridde of Clopton nowe liuing Ao do 1574” (f.5r). The scribe has arranged their information in a most unusual but entirely logical way. A good example of this occurs in the three opening pages: each page delineates six shields arranged as three contiguous pairs. The first shield depicts the Andrew family’s arms in trick on the dexter side, quartered with “tokett”. Thereafter, the dexter side is left blank (as this would not itself change) and quarterings entered for various families to the sinister side (“tomson”, “whitney”, “swinborne”). The shields on the first page are also bordered with small illustrations of additional shields. [...] Ordered from Dean Cooke, D9715, 2023-02-26, Cat. "Invisible ink" item 7.

272955