CHARLES 1st. Eikon Basilike: The Pourtraicture of His Sacred - Lot 25

CHARLES 1st. Eikon Basilike: The Pourtraicture of His Sacred Majestie in His Solitudes and Sufferings. Published in The Hague by Samuell Broun in 1649. One volume, format In-16. Contemporary full vellum with small flaps. Muted square spine. (8 f.)+318 pages. In English. Modestly soiled binding, small leather loss at corners, hinges open. This famous autobiography, spiritual and royalist, is attributed to Charles I (king from 1625 to 1649), victim of the first English revolution. Possibly written by John Gauden, Bishop of Worcester, the text seeks to portray the king as a Christian martyr. Published in the year of the king's death, it was published in the United Provinces (Netherlands) to avoid the republican censorship of Oliver Cromwell's government. It features a double-page copper-engraved frontispiece showing King Charles I kneeling and receiving the blessing of heaven. Three handwritten bookplates. Appended: BLIND, Harry. The Life and Acts of the most Famous and Valiant Champion, Sir William Wallace, Knight of Ellerflie. Published in Edinburgh by the heirs and successors of Andrew Anderson in 1713, full contemporary vellum, square spine, 324 pages, binding soiled and detached on first board, hinge open, handwritten annotations on first counterplate and white endpaper, pages tarnished. A biography of the medieval Scottish hero and nationalist figure William Wallace, published by a royal printer only a few years after the Act of Union of 1707. A very interesting historical work.