King Henry VIII Autographed Historical Document
For Sale: £65,000.00
Henry VIII was the King of England from 1509 until his death in 1547. He
is remembered mainly for his six wives, two of whom he divorced, and
two of whom he beheaded.
Henry VIII is also remembered for in his part in the separation of the Church Of England from the Roman Catholic Church.
Description & history
This very rare early signature is on a document relating to Sir
Richard Gresham, an important figure in the history of the City of
London.
The signed document is addressed to John Heron, the Treasurer of the Chamber. In it King Henry VIII informs him:
"Richard Gresham of oure Citie of London with other stonde
bounde by obligacion for the payment to oure use of the somme of Sixe
hundred thirty seven poundes and ten shillynges at a certayn daie
expired".
Henry VIII orders that "for certayne consideracions us
movyng" and informs Heron that the payment of this sum should be delayed
for two years upon existing sureties from Gresham, and that Heron
should retain Gresham's bond.
The sum of money involved is considerable - £637 10s which equates to £3,940,000 today, based on the average earnings index.
At the time of the loan the 29 year old Richard Gresham was a
major English cloth merchant trading in Antwerp.
Gresham supplied Henry VIII with velvets and satin and, on 19 May 1536,
was present at the execution of Anne Boleyn in the Tower of London.
The loan from Henry VIII allowed Gresham to found the 'House of
Gresham' one of the most celebrated mercantile and financial houses of
the 16th Century.
Gresham went on to become Mayor of London from 1537-1538 and was elected
a member of Parliament in 1539.
His son, Sir Thomas Gresham, further increased the family fortune and
founded the Royal Exchange in the City of London, and Gresham College,
an independently funded educational institution in central London.
The document once formed part of the collection of Sir Thomas
Phillipps, a British Baronet who amassed the largest collection of
manuscript material in the 19th Century.
The one page document features a superb signature by Henry VIII and is dated 3 March 1513.
Rarity
Henry VIII is recognised globally due to his role in the
historically important changes to the Catholic Church and his somewhat
unorthodox approach to marriage. It is thus not surprising that items
related to him are highly sought after by collectors of both historical
and royal memorabilia.
It is not surprising that only a limited number of documents
have survived the 460+ years since Henry VIII's reign and documents of
this quality are exceptionally rare.
Due to Henry VIII's historical significance, many items related
to his reign are kept in institutions such as British Library, The
National Archives and the British Museum, and are unlikley to reappear
on the collectors' market.
Exceptional content - a highly desirable piece.
This item qualifies for our layaway plan
Stock Status:In Stock
Product Code: PT319
