2-995-760 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Manuscript treaty between Henry VII. and the Abbot and Convent of Westminster, 1860. This '...superbly-bound volume...is the collection of Indentures entered into by Henry VII. and the Abbot and Convent of Westminster, July 16, 1504, for prayers to be said for himself and family during his life, and the performance of services for their souls after their decease. The copy from which our Engraving was made is believed to have been the Royal copy; that executed for the Sovereign himself...These documents extend to above 250 pages, and are composed in a style the most ponderous and verbose imaginable...The execution of the volume containing the provisions of this endowment is in keeping with the magnificence of the undertaking itself. Every initial page is splendidly though coarsely illuminated; the richest and rarest velvet is employed to form its ample covering; the bosses, corners, and clasps are richly carved and beautifully enamelled; and the clusters of seals, attached by silken cords, are inclosed in silver cases...even the special case on the leathern cover of which the Royal arms were boldly cut, and in which a padded cushion affords the book an appropriate resting-place, is in admirable preservation'. From "Illustrated London News", 1860.