Two copies of the same letter, in the same scribal hand, with minor differences in spelling and word choice. Discusses Henry VIII's frustration with delays in ratifying the king's impending marriage to his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves. Cromwell urges Wotton, the king's resident ambassador in Cleves, to secure an answer from the Duke of Cleves, indicating that the king and Privy Council "doo not a lytle muse and marvayl" at not having yet heard about the final arrangements.
Note
Accompanied by two detached address leaves: one addressed "To myn assuered loving ffreend Maister Wotton" is endorsed by Wotton with date of receipt "19 Noue[m]br" (X.c.149 (2)) ; the other "To o[u]r very louing freend[es] the Sherif and Justices of the peace of the countie of kent" (X.c.149 (4)) probably belongs to a Privy Council letter of 1569, previously bound in the same Towneley Hall volume as the two Cromwell letters. Mended with leaf bearing faint impression of imprimatur from Knightley D'Anvers' A general abridgment of the common law (London, 1713), possibly the result of off-setting from bleed-through (see Wolfe, Heather. "Printer's waste or endleaf?" http://collation.folger.edu/2012/09/printers-waste-or-endleaf/) Paper losses with later restoration to the lower third section, affecting the last seven lines of text and subscription and touching on the signature. Includes partial papered seal.
Provenance
All 4 leaves were previously bound in v. 31 of the manuscripts at Towneley Hall, Lancashire, which were dispersed by sales beginning in the 1880s (see Historical Manuscripts Commission, 4th report, Appendix, p. 413) Listed in Sotheby's sale of 12 July 2005 (lot 3).
Source of acquisition
Acquired from Bonhams (12 June 2012 sale, lot 55) Withdrawn from Bonhams sale of 19 March 2013 (lot 22) and privately acquired in 2013.
