The Last Letter of Mary Queen of Scotland; Addressed to Her Brother in Law Henry III King of France on the Night before Her Execution at Fotheringay Castle 8 February 1587
Chelsea, London: The Swan Press, 1927. Limited edition. Quarto (11 inches tall), original royal blue cloth, gilt cipher, uncut, 6 pages. Early owner signature, minor blemishes to boards but gilt bright and corners sharp. A nearly-fine copy. Item #1724
"THEY WILL NOT LET ME SAY IT IS FOR THE CATHOLIC RELIGION THAT I DIE"
Limited edition of The Last Letter of Mary Queen of Scotland—written at Fotheringay Castle hours before she was executed in the winter of February 1587.
Arrested, convicted at a trial in October 1586, and imprisoned at Fotheringay Castle, Mary Queen of Scots was informed of her imminent execution on 7th February. The Queen spent her final night praying in the castle's small chapel and this letter was completed at two in the morning, six hours before the Queen was beheaded on a scaffold in Fotheringay's great hall on Wednesday 8th February 1587.
Pairing the English translation with the French transcript (printed in Italics), Mary's letter—a facsimile of the original which is in the possession of the National Library of Scotland—is addressed to Henri III ("the Most Christian King my brother and ancient ally"), the younger brother of her first husband, the late Francis II. The letter concludes with a request for the King to "pray God for a queen who has been called Most Christian, and dies Catholic, stripped of all her goods...This Wednesday, at two hours after midnight / Your most loving and very good sister / MARI R." With a colophon: "500 copies on hand-made paper / and 10 copies on vellum / Printed in Baskerville type at the Swan Press Chelsea."
Price: $75.00