Binding for Henry, Prince of Wales

This English translation of Boccaccio's tragedies is signed by John, Lord Lumley (d. 1609), one time High Steward of Oxford University, later imprisoned for his implication in the Ridolfi Plot to overthrow Elizabeth I and replace her with Mary, Queen of Scots. King James I bought Lumley's library, one of the biggest of the time, for his son and heir Henry, Prince of Wales (1594-1612), who predeceased his father, dying of typhoid. The binding, shown here, bears Henry's arms in gilt, with the plumed crest of the Prince of Wales stamped in silver in each corner. The work itself, originally in Latin, describes the inevitable demise of the fortunate.

Donated by Thomas Gisborne, Fellow, 1806.