The Library holds a large Book of Common Prayer, 1633 (RB/LQ/3), according to an inscription in a contemporary hand, the bible was owned and used by Charles I (1600 - 1649).
The bible was donated to the Library after being kept by the Braham family for over a century.
To prove the provenance we would have to start from the latest known information as we would with genealogical research....but there wouldn't be any certificates or registry entries to confirm the ownership trail. Can this detailed provenance research be undertaken with the limited resources that we have? It would be fun but how cold is the case? We have a similar example in the Mitchell collection - A smaller Book of Common Prayer, 1639, reputedly owned by Bishop Juxon of London, who attended Charles I on the scaffold with this Book of Common Prayer.
Provenance aside, the Library has a fascinating collection of material on the life and times of Charles I. We also have a sample of his blood and multiple copies of the Eikōn basilikē . It isn't Australian history but could this fascinate the general public? Could this type of exhibition show the depth and breadth of the Library's collections for international not just Australian research?
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1 comment:
Would make a perfect SLNSW Heritage Collection display...?!!
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