Missal. Use of Sarum

Median folio (325 x 212mm.), printed in red and black throughout, title-page with woodcut, woodcut illustrations, woodcut initials printed in red and black, typeset music on a 4-line stave, 4 leaves of the Canon of the Mass on vellum with 2 full-page illustrations with contemporary colouring, printer's device on final verso, contemporary English blind-tooled calf over wooden boards, some deletions and crossing out (see below), later sixteenth-century notes in English above printer's device, A1, L2-6, M1, P5, e2 and e6-7 torn and repaired at lower corner, some small wormholes in first and last few quires, rebacked and repaired at edges, lacking two clasps, boards slightly wormed

Sir Adrian Fortescue (c.1481-1539), inscription on verso of title-page with heraldic motto and the date 1536; bookplate with motto "Studio minuente laborem" of Thomas Sharp (1770-1841), antiquary of Coventry, signed T.S., part of his library "scientific and miscellaneous" sold in these rooms, 23 July 1858, but this work is not in the catalogue; Law Society, bookplate and stamps on title-page

Sir Adrian Fortescue, a relation of Anne Boleyn (his mother was her great aunt), was executed for treason in 1539, on unknown grounds, though possibly because he was connected to the Pole family; he was later considered a martyr for the Catholic cause and beatified in 1895. He is also known to have owned a book of hours in which, as in this book, he corrected the text according to the King's instructions (such as deletions of St Thomas a Becket and the word "Papa", Pope); here he also included under his inscription the bidding prayer which stated that Henry was supreme head of the Church, and at the end he wrote "God save the king". In the calendar are mentions of family deaths, including that of his wife Anne in 1518. (For further information, see entry by R. Rex in ODNB).

Rép. bibl. xvie siècle, Rouen, Morin 32; STC 16187; Weale-Bohatta 1414; the single sheet is unrecorded

Condition is described in the main body of the title-page, where appropriate
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

A fascinating volume belonging to a relative of Anne Boleyn attesting to the early effects of the Henrician Reformation, contrasted with a unique sheet of Latin prayers from the time of Queen Mary.

Attached in the front of this volume is a unique STC item, Prayers or collectes to be sayd in the Masse for the Quenes highness, beinge with childe (London: John Cawood, n.d. [late 1554]), a single sheet containing three prayers (Oratio, Secreta and Postcommunio) in Latin. Queen Mary (reigned 1553-1559), who married Philip of Spain in July 1554, was thought to be pregnant in autumn 1554, though by June 1555 it was known not to be the case. In November 1554 a celebratory procession and mass was held in St Paul's, so this sheet must have been printed around that time, when Cawood also printed A copie of a letter sent from the counsell, regarding public thanksgiving for the queen's pregnancy (STC 7753.6 and 7753.8, also single sheets). John Cawood had become Queen's Printer in July 1553, and he retained that position under Elizabeth I (see lot 34). The small wormhole at the head of the sheet indicates that it was originally bound at the end of this volume (where there is a matching wormhole).

The two tools used on the binding are also found together in a similar pattern on a binding produced by Garrett Godfrey of Cambridge (active 1502-1539; Shrewsbury School binding E.II.5). This likewise has lattice stamps in the diapered central panel with half lattice stamps in the outer sections and a roll tool of small quatrefoils for the borders, though the lattice stamps are not completely identical, nor is this stamp identifiable with the variations illustrated by Oldham, English Blind-Stamped Bindings, (1952), plate LVIII. Oldham also reproduces the quatrefoil roll tool, DI.a (2), located to Cambridge, and a similar quatrefoil roll tool was used by Nicholas Spierinck in Cambridge (for a Spierinck binding, see lot 63).

For another Sarum Missal produced by Morin, see lot 107.