A bibliographical puzzle for the list, from the manuscript catalogue of the
Sidney family library at Penshurst (ca. 1655-65). Would anyone have
suggestions that might help us identify the catalogue entry: "Leycester sa
Genealogie. 4o"’?
If this entry represents a printed book, it could reflect the running head of
a book with a quite different title (a common practice with this cataloguer).
But the entry might also refer to a manuscript, though the catalogue often
identifies as such the few manuscripts it lists. If manuscript, it could be a
genealogy compiled for the use of Robert Sidney, the 2nd earl (1595-1677)
while he was ambassador extraordinary in Paris in the
late 1630'S. It could also be a text connected with the family’'s successful
attempt to recapture the Leicester title.
On the other hand, the text might be a version (printed or manuscript)
of /Leicester’s Commonwealth/, /Leicester’s Ghost/, or a related libel: the
library catalogue also lists a copy of a 1641 edn. of /Leicester’s
Commonwealth/, and, listed as “Leycester sa vie”, the French
translation, /Discours de la vie abominable ... desquelles a usé et use
journellement le my lorde de Lecestre machiaveliste/ (1585).
Any thoughts appreciated.
Joe Black and Germaine Warkentin
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