International Autograph Auctions Ltd.
Lot 3
HENRY VIII: (1491-1547) King of England 1509-47. A fine D.S., Henry R, (a good, bold example) as King, at the head, one page (vellum), oblong folio, Westminster, 30th October 1533. The manuscript warrant is addressed to Baron Windsor, Keeper of the Great Wardrobe, and orders him to deliver clothing to John Berwick, Richard Bolton, William Hammond and Thomas Maxson, the 'children of our lease' [leash], each to receive 'oon Dublet of chamlet…any dublet….lyned with fustyan and Canvas….three shyrthendy shyrte….made with draught worke….a gowne of fowre brode yardes of woollen cloth….to bee finred with yrisshe lambe….thre peyre of hosen….fowre peyre of doble soled shoes (or eight peyres of single-soled)…oon hatte…five brace of colers, fowre cheynes of the best…[and]…thre leases'. With a blind embossed paper signet seal at the foot. A very small printed identification slip is neatly affixed at the base. Some extremely minor overall creasing and very light dust staining and two very slight traces of former mounting to the verso, otherwise a clean and attractive document overall, about VG Andrews Windsor (1467-1543) English Nobleman, Keeper of the Great Wardrobe from 1504 until his death. King Henry VIII's household was the home for many animals and pets (he kept ferrets, his first wife Catherine of Aragon owned a monkey; canaries and nightingales could be found in ornamental birdcages hanging in the windows at Hampton Court) however it was his dogs, particularly beagles, spaniels and greyhounds, that the King considered his favourites. As illustrated by the present document, the monarch's dogs were adorned with decorative collars of velvet (permitted only to Royal dogs) and the Royal leash boys were equally handsomely attired. King Henry VIII regularly sent dogs (all garnished with a good iron collar) as gifts to foreign leaders. It has been recorded that some sixty-five dog leashes were found in the King's closet upon his death. Henry VIII was the second monarch of the Tudor dynasty and has been described as 'one of the most charismatic rulers to sit on the English throne'. The monarch notably initiated the English Reformation, thereby greatly expanding royal power, and the scale and complexities of his legacy are such that, in their work Henry VIII in History (2012) Betteridge and Freeman state 'throughout the centuries [since his death] Henry has been praised and reviled, but he has never been ignored'. Provenance: Formerly part of the Enys Collection of Autographs and Manuscripts.
