Sir Samuel Meyrick Engraving "Thomas Montacute, Earl of Salisbury" from “A Critical Inquiry into Ancient Armour ..." 1842 Plate 61

Antiques : Prints

 

SIR SAMUEL MEYRICK Engraving "Thomas Montacute, Earl of Salisbury" from “A Critical Inquiry into Ancient Armour ..." 1842, Plate 61

Information

This is a beautifully hand colored and illuminated in gold and silver armorial engraving from Sir Samuel Meyrick’s “A Critical Inquiry into Ancient Armour, As It Existed In Europe, Particularly In Great Britain, From The Norman Conquest To The Reign Of King Charles II.” This engraving, Thomas Montacute, Earl of Salisbury, And a Knight, is on fine Whatman paper and is from Volume III, Second Edition, published London, 1842.

Sir Samuel Rush Meyrick (1783-1848) was from a wealthy English family but he forfeited the family wealth by running off with a poor Welsh woman. Eventually he finally did inherit his father’s money through tragedy; the fortune originally having been left to Sir Meyrick’s son who died at a young age. For many years he lived in London where he accumulated a magnificent collection of armour, a subject on which he was consulted by the authorities of the Tower of London and by King George IV. In 1810 he was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and he worked on organizing and arranging the collection of arms and armour at the Tower of London and Windsor Castle. He is revered by people interested in the study and collection of ancient arms and armour.

His famous work, “A Critical Inquiry into Ancient Armour….” published originally 1824 in three quarto volumes, with stunning brilliantly colored and illuminated plates in gold and silver assured his reputation.

Size and Condition

This large folio second edition engraving, Thomas Montacute, Earl of Salisbury, And a Kight, is beautifully illuminated with silver and gold hand applied paints and the other colors, reds, blues, etc. are very vibrant. Thomas Montacute was an English nobleman and one of the most important English commanders during the Hundred Years’ War. Condition is very fine with evidence of the original book binding on the left. The overall size is approximately 10 5/8” x 14 3/8”. A copy of the title page is included.

Item ID: 0001170