[New post] Provenance Mysteries: Updates on Sir Edward Coke’s The first part of the institutes of the lawes of England.
mtlibrary posted: " In July 2020 I wrote a blog post about what I believed to be the third edition of Coke's Institutes of the laws of England (1633), and annotated by Robert Ashley. As we were in the midst of the pandemic, and in lockdown, I was relying on photographs take" Middle Temple Library Blog
In July 2020 I wrote a blog post about what I believed to be the third edition of Coke's Institutes of the laws of England (1633), and annotated by Robert Ashley. As we were in the midst of the pandemic, and in lockdown, I was relying on photographs taken many years ago, and clearly not labelled or named correctly. The photograph was a cropped doodle of a bug.
1. Full page of marginalia
A researcher recently asked to consult our copy of the fourth edition of Coke's Institutes, published in London in 1639. I review any books that researchers consult to ensure that they are in good condition, and I update the catalogue record, checking it for errors. Upon reviewing this book, I realised very quickly that it was the one that I mistakenly wrote about back in July 2020. Admittedly, the handwriting in the 'doodle' of the bug is remarkably similar to Ashley's hand.
As this fourth edition was only donated to the library in 1943 ("Presented to the Library of the Middle Temple by C.W.J. Taffs, member of the Inn 16th December 1943"), it is unlikely to have been owned by Robert Ashley, whose entire library was donated to the Middle Temple in 1641. Now that I have had a chance to review the book in person, I can see that there is more provenance information that was not included in the cropped photo I had on file. There is an inscription on the page which reads: 'Timo. Burrell Interioris Templi 1661'. Timothy Burrell (1643-1717), from Cuckfield Sussex, was admitted to the Inner Temple on the 26th of November, 1661 and was Called there on the 28th of November 1669. He was obviously a keen student, having acquired this copy of Coke's Institutes so early in his career.
Someone has interleaved the book, probably a later owner (analysis of the watermarks would determine this). These blank leaves measure 230 x 350 mm, while the textblock measures 175 x 285 mm. Many of the interleaved leaves contain manuscript notes about the text and references to other texts/cases. There is also contemporary marginalia in the textblock itself. At folio 41b for example, there is a small note in the margin, and the facing interleaved page has a note regarding a lease made by the Dean and Chapter of Worcester. This hand differs from that of Burrell, and the ink is fainter. A later inscription can be seen on the front end-leaf: 'Charnock w[?] in the King's Bench Walk'. King's Bench Walk is an address in the Inner Temple.
2. Folio 41b facing3. Folio 41b
The mystery as to the annotator's intentions for drawing this bug, and referencing 'matter of record' remains unsolved however. Burrell was a tutor of John Ray's (1625-1705), the famous naturalist, and so perhaps this was an unconscious homage to him.
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