Beschreibung:

HENRY VIII, King of England (1491-1547). Document signed ("Henry," followed by royal sign-manual) as King of England, address to "o[u]r trusty and welbeloved Sir Andrew Wyndsor Knight ke[e]per of o[u]r grete Wardrobe," Lambeth, 30 January [1514]. 1 page, oblong, 111 x 189mm. (4.3/8 x 7.3/8 in.), ON FINE PARCHMENT, written in a clear English court hand, original paper over wax royal seal at bottom edge; matted and framed. Provenance : Byron Reed (sale, Christie's New York, 8 October 1996, lot 199). "PURPLE VELVET" FOR HENRY VII'S "DEAREST WIFE" CATHERINE OF ARAGON. An unusually interesting household document from very early in the eventful reign of Henry VIII (1509-1547), mentioning his first wife Catherine of Aragon (1485-1536). It was Henry's insistence on obtaining a divorce from Catherine that resulted in his break with Papal authority, triggering the English reformation. The document, ordering velvet to decorate the devotional tapers to be used on Candlemas day, reads: "We wol and comaunde you to deliver unto the bringer hereof half a yarde of purple velvet for the garnisshing of our Taper and of o[u]r de[a]rest wife the Queens Taper on Candlemas day and a quartern of Crymsyn [crimson] velvet for our sister the princesse of Castilles Taper. And these...shal be your sufficient warraunt and discharge in this behalf Given under o[u]r Signet at Lambeth the xxxth day of January the vth yeare..."