BOOKS OWNED BY STEWART ROYALTY
- the purple and gold collection

De Triplici Nodo. Triplex Cuneus - James 1
London 1607; 256pp, 184mm x140mm

James 1 wrote this work anonymously to encourage his subjects to remain loyal to the throne. Sales were disappointing, so he issued a second edition and allowed it to be known that he was the author. This facsimile is the King's own copy of the first edition with his extensive and revealing manuscript corrections. It concerns Pope Paul V's opinion of the Oath of Allegiance and James's response to him. £45 Order


Diclides Coelometricae seu Valuae Astronomicae Universales - Nathaniel Torpolaeus
London 1602; 272pp, 184mm x 140mm

This volume was one of the most important books in the mathematical library that Edward Wright acquired for Henry, Prince of Wales. Henry was the eldest son of James 1, and it had been assumed that in due course he would become Henry IX, but he died young, leaving the way for the ill-fated Charles to succeed to the throne. An enthusiast in many different spheres, he treasured this book by the brilliant mathematician, Nathanial Torpolaeus, which is one of the most extraordinary expositions on trigonometry ever published. £45 Order

Trois Dialogues de l'Exercise de sauter et voltiger en l'Air - Arcangelo Tucarro
Paris 1599; 416pp, 214mm x 140mm

Henry's enthusiasm embraced a number of sporting activities, in many of which he excelled. This exceptional book on gymnastics and acrobatics, with superb illustrations, mirrors the personality of the owner, and was one of Henry's prized possessions. Such books were rare because, in the sixteenth century, they were chiefly regarded as suitable only for circus people, who had a poor reputation. £45 Order


The Second Folio of Shakespeare
London 1632; 920pp, 375mm x 250mm

By gracious permission of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, we have reproduced Charles I's annotated copy which, it is reputed, he was reading the night before his execution. It contains a small amount of interesting marginalia including the poignant last words the King ever wrote "Dum spiro spero" (while I breathe I hope). The final leaf is signed by Sir Thomas Herbert, Charles's jailer, under the aphorism in both Welsh and English "Every man in his way or humour". It appears that Herbert purloined the volume after Charles's death. £175 Order


The Advancement of Learning - Francis Bacon
Oxford 1640; 624pp, 280mm x 204mm

A famous copy of a famous book, this was the personal property of Charles I and contains the King's own additions to many of Bacon's pithy sayings. A typical example: in the King's spidery hand reads "Natural Wit, destitute of Learning, is but lyke unpolished Marble". The "Dum spiro spero" with the King's initials on the first leaf in this book is an obvious forgery. Francis Bacon, Baron Verulam, Viscount St. Albans, was philosopher, statesman and essayist and he propounded the inductive method of reasoning. £65 Order


SPECIAL SET PRICE (5volumes) £320