A Sammelband of Three Works by David Chalmers

Notes:

David Chalmers was also referred to as David Chambre and David Chambers, and held the title Lord Ormond.

Histoire Abregée will refer to Chamlers three works contained within this singular volume. When discussing the individual works within the piece, they will be referred to as Histoire, Recherche, and Discours, whose distinction I will make in the follow section: Identifcation.

Translations may not be entirely accurate, and will be included only when viewed as important for reader comprehension, such as when discussing book titles or dedications.

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Identification

Histoire

Short Title: Histoire abbregee de tous les Roys de France, Angletaire et Escosse

Title, divided by section:

Text: Histoire abbregee de tovs les Roys de France, Angleterre et Escosse, mise en ordre par forme d’Harmonie : contenant aussi vn brief discours de l’ancienne alliance, & mutuel secours entre la France & l’Escosse.

Translation: Abridged history of all the Kings of France, England, and Scotland, arranged in harmonious fashion/manner: also containing a brief discourse on the ancient alliance and mutual assistance between France and Scotland.

Text: Plus, l’Epitome de l’histoire romaine des Papes & Empereurs y est adjousté, & celle d’iceux roys augmentee selon la mesme methode.

Translation: As well, the Epitome of the Roman history of the Popes and Emperors is added, and that of these kings augmented according to the same method.

King Henry III & David Chalmers

• Henry III was born September 19, 1551 in Fontainebleau, France and died on August 2, 1589 in Saint-Cloud, France (assassinated at age 37).
  • He became king of France in 1574, which he remained until his death.
• After Chalmers was temporarily exiled from Scotland in 1568 (done after helping Mary, Queen of Scots escape from Lochlevan Castle and fighting in her name), he lived first in Spain and was involved in the court of King Phillip II. Afterward, he took refuge in France and was associated with the court of Charles IX of France, Henry III’s predecessor (Anderson, 1863).
• His warm welcome in France likely explains his dedication to King Henry III in his Histoire abbregee de tous les Roys de France, Angletaire et Escosse.

Text: Le tout recueilli & mis en lumiere, avec la recerche tant des singularitez plus remarquables concernant l’estat d’Escosse : que de la succession des femmes aux biens, & gouvernement des Empires & Royaumes.

Translation: All collected and brought to light, with research into the most remarkable singularities concerning the state of Scotland: as well as the succession of women to property, and government of Empires and Kingdoms.

Further Identification:

Text: A Paris, Chez Robert Coulombel, ruë S. Jean de Latran, à ľenseigne ďAlde. 1579. Auec privilege du Roy.

Translation: In Paris, at the house of Robert Coulombel, St. John Lateran Street, at the sign of Aldus. 1579. With the king’s privilege.

Author:

David Chalmers, Lord Ormond

Publisher:

Robert Coulombel¹

Place of Publication:

Paris, France

Above is a mid-16th century map of Paris (Image 1 Credit), then a closer view of central Paris (Image 2 Credit). I added the blue circle in Image 2, which highlights the neighborhood that S. Jean Latran was located in. Then, in the third image (Image 3 Credit), there is an even closer look at the immediate neighborhood. An arrow points to “S. JEHAN DE LATRAN.”

Year of Publication:

1579

MSU Library Call Number:

XX D22 .C47

Extra Note: Histoire was originally written as early as 1572. However, our edition was printed in 1579 in Histoire Abregée, alongside Recherche and Discours.

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Recherche

La Recherche des singularitez plus remarquables, concernant l’estat d’Escosse

Title:

Text: La recerche des singvlaritez plvs remarqvables concernant l’estat d’Escosse.

Translation: Investigation into remarkable singularities concerning the state of Scotland.

Princess Mary, Queen of Scots & David Chalmers

David Chalmers was a loyal follower of Mary, Queen of Scots. He helped her escape from being imprisioned at Lochleven Castle, where she was imprisoned from 1567 to 1568. It was because of this betrayal that he was exiled from Scotland. Chalmers later wrote Discours, which advocated for the right for women to succeed the throne, which was written with the intention of supporting Mary, Queen of Scots’ right to her throne.

Regarding the “succession of women to property”

The right to the “succession of women to property,” which is mentioned throughout the titles and topics of Chalmer’s work, is in regards to Mary, Queen of Scots [1542-1587]. Mary (as discussed above) was the Queen of Scotland, who inherited her throne at only six days old after the passing of her father. Scotland was ruled by regents in her place until she returned to Scotland from France (where she stayed from 1548 to 1561).

Scotland was divided between those who believed Mary had a right to rule (i.e. David Chalmers) and those who did not. After assisting Mary escape Lochleven Castle, and seeing how some Scottish subjects viewed Mary’s right to rule as tenuous, Chalmers going on to write Histoire Abregée in support of her reign makes sense in the broader historical context of the period, and provides ample reasons for him to write the three books/essays.

Further Identification:

Text: Par David Chambre Escossois, conseiller en la cour de Parlement à Edinbourg, ville capitale d’Escosse.

Translation: By David Chalmers of Scotland, Counselor in the Court of Parliament in Edinburgh, capital city of Scotland.

Text: A Paris, Chez Iean Feurier, pres le college de Reims. 1597. Auec privilege du Roy.

Translation: In Paris, at the house of Jean Feurier’s, near the College of Reims. 1579. With the King’s privilege.

Author:

David Chalmers, Lord Ormond

Publisher:

Jean Feurier²

Place of Publication:

Paris, France

As previously referenced when discussing R. Coulombel, shown above is a mid-16th century map of Paris (Image Credit) that I zoomed in on and cropped in order to show where the Collège de Reims and S. Jean Latran were located in accordance to each other. The Collège de Reims is referred to as “RAIN” on this map. Feurier’s printing house was located near there.

Year of Publication:

1579

MSU Library Call Number:

XX D22 .C47

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Discours

Discours de la legitime succession des femmes aux possessions de leurs parents: & du gouvernement des princesses aux Empires & Royaumes

Title:

Text:  Discours de la legitime Succession des Femmes aux Possessions de leurs Parens, et du Gouvernment des Princesses aux Empires et Royaumes.

Translation: Discourse on the legitimate Succession of Women to the Possessions of their Parents, and on the Government of Princesses to Empires and Kingdoms.

Further Identification:

Text: Par David Chambre Escossois, conseiller en la cour de Parlement à Edinbourg, ville capitale d’Escosse.

Translation: By David Chalmers of Scotland, Counselor in the Court of Parliament in Edinburgh, capital city of Scotland.

Text: A Paris, Chez Iean Feurier, pres le college de Reims. 1597. Auec privilege du Roy.

Translation: In Paris, at the house of Jean Feurier’s, near the College of Reims. 1579. With the King’s privilege.

Author:

David Chalmers, Lord Ormond

Publisher:

Jean Feurier

Place of Publication:

Paris, France

Year of Publication:

1579

MSU Library Call Number:

XX D22 .C47

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Description

Exterior

Rebinding

Histoire Abregée was definitely rebound at some point during its life, as “Great Britian” (located on the spine label) did not exist until 1707⁵ (128 years after Histoire Abregée‘s 1579 publishing). Alternative copies of Histoire Abregée boast the “original vellum bindings” (Bernard, 2013). While this does not guarantee that Histoire Abregée was originally bound in vellum, it is worth considering. As well, the person who might have owned Histoire Abregée during 1707, George Lockhart of Carnwath [1681-1731], strongly opposed the 1707 Act of Union and would have been unlikely to use the term “Great Britain,” had he decided to have the book rebound. Histoire Abregée’s next known owner, Charles Butler of Warren Wood, Hatfield [1821-1910], has a bookplate located on the front paste down, meaning the book would have either been rebound sometime between 1731-1821(?), or while in Butler’s posession, so 1910 at the latest.

Interior

Pagination

There are multiple pagination errors within Histoire Abregée. For example, the photos above show three successive pages, numbered on the upper right corner of the recto page. The pages are numbered: 153, 354, 155. It is clear that a “3” was accidentally used instead of a “1” in this instance.

Histoire Abregée is in octavo format, with three parts, each associated with a different work of Chalmers (Histoire, Recherche, and Discours). It is correctly paginated as: 8vo. pp. 16, ff. 17–24, 235, [5]; ff. [iv] 32, [1]; [vi], 34, [2].

Pagination Errors

• Flaws:
  • Ff. 66 is incorrectly numbered as 69.
    • Likely the result of flipping the 6 around.
  • Ff. 128 is counted twice.
  • Ff. 135 is omited.
  • Ff. 146 is mistyped as 346.
  • Ff. 154 is mistyped as 354.

Signs of Usage

Also in Discours, on the verso page of ff. 14, the upper corner of the page is slightly torn and was originally folded over. This is known as a témoin in French, meaning: “Witness.” When unfolding the corner, it revealed that the page used to be larger before being cut at some point in its history. This could have occured while being rebound at some point between 1731-1910 or during the initial sizing process. However, it is more likely that this occured during the rebinding process.

Interesting Features

Included in Histoire Abregée is an Errata page and a “Warning to the Reader,” as well as a printer’s mark. The printer’s mark located on the cover pages of Recherche and Discours, which were, to note, both printed by Feurier, while Histoire was printed by Coulumbel.

Text: Advertissement au Lecteur. La succession legitime desfemmes aux biens hereditaires de leurs parens, auec le public gouuernement des princesses aux Empires & Royaumes: en particulier à ľAngleterre, est approuué par les loix de nature & detoutes nàtiones: que par droit positif, diuin, & humain, selon ľorde coninué dans la table fur la fin de ce liure.

Translation: Warning to the Reader. The legitimate succession of women to the hereditary property of their parents, with the public government of princesses in Empires and Kingdoms, particularly in England, is approved by the laws of nature and of all nations: by positive, divine, and human right, according to the order continued in the table at the end of this book.

Meaning: Women are able to inherit from their parents, unlike in the case of the royal house in France.

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About the Book

Sir David Chalmers, Lord Ormond

[1530?-1592]

David Chalmers was born in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1530(?) (Anderson, 1863). A proud Scotsman, he was also a faithful follower of Mary, Queen of Scots. She appointed him a Lord of Session⁶ and Privy Counsellor⁷. He was exiled from Scotland after being implicated in the murder of Lord Darnley, the second husband of Mary, Queen of Scots in 1567 and helping Mary escape Scotland after being forced to abdicate the throne in 1568. However, he was allowed to return in 1584, even going so far as to resuming his position as a judge in 1586. While in France (where he wrote Histoire), he was very well liked, especially considering he chose to write his works in French, rather than Latin, as was the fashion at the time, or English. He continued to work as a judge until his death in November, 1592.

About Histoire Abregée

The first work (Histoire) “placed Scotland in the mainstream of European history as seen by French readers, and emphasized the continuity of the Franco-Scottish alliance against England” (Bernard, 2013). Histoire is dedicated to King Henry III, the king of France, where he found refuge after being exiled from Scotland. The second work, Recherche, was dedicated to Mary, Queen of Scots and “stressed the civilized nature of the Scots, even the Highlanders” (Bernard, 2013). It praises the laws, religion, and valor of Scotland. The third work, Discours, “is a defence of the right of women to inherit the property of their parents and of princesses to succeed to their parents’ thrones” (Bernard, 2013). It was meant to be a compliment and praise of Mary, Queen of Scots, as well as defend her right to the throne.

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Provenance

“MRBurnet”

16th-17th Century(?)

The above signature reads as: “Ex dono [A gift from] MRBurnet medicini doctoris [medical doctor].” Based on the color of the ink, the positioning of the writing, it is reasonable to conclude the existance of two different hands being at work here. One assumption could be that that MRBurnet originally signed their book, owned it for an unknown period of time, and then gifted it to another individual at some point, who then wrote in that the book was “a gift from” a “medical doctor.” The hand writing appears to be from the 16th-17th century.

The Burnet(t) Family

The Burnet family is a well know Scottish family with a long history. Originally written as Burnard/Bernard, they date back to the 11th century and can be found in Anglo-Saxon England in Bedfordshire, Hampshire, Wiltshire, and 13th century southern Scotland (Burnett). Eventually, after being gifted a large barony by King David I, the name evolved into Burnet. Sir Alexander Burnard, 1st Laird of Leys [1270-1348] was rewarded for his service to King Robert I with a large grant of lands. His descendants (the Burnet(t) Family of Leys) resulted in a series of family branches in the north-east of Scotland, such as the Burnet of Craigmyle, Crimond, Kemnay, and more. The Burnet family is closely linked to Scotland, and is considered “one of the most illustrious of Scottish families, with a history going back to before the Norman Conquest and a record of many distinguished members in the church, in letters, in the law and in the military” (Burnett).

Note: 
I exchanged emails with James C. A. Burnett of Leys. He expressed interest in uncovering the owner of the MRBurnet signature, and mentioned that he might include a segment about it in the next quarterly Burnett Newsletter (found here).

The House of Burnet Website

Potentially Sir Thomas Burnet, [1638?-1704]

More on Sir Thomas Burnet:

The son of Robert Burnet, Lord Crimond [1592-1661], Sir Thomas Burnet [1638?-1704] was the physician to the royal family. He studied at the University of Montpellier and is named in the original charter of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh in 1681 as a fellow. He was president of the college from 1696-1698 and was the physician who attended to King Charles II, James II, William III, Queen Mary, and Queen Anne (NZ Grant Family Genealogy). His book, Thesaurus Medicinæ Practicæ, was popular throughout Europe and widely printed with multiple editions.

George Lockhart of Carnwath

[1681-1731]

When considering the history of Histoire Abregée, there is potential for George Lockhart to have been gifted Histoire Abregée by MRBurnet, should it have been Sir Thomas Burnet [1638?-1704], as they were both alive for a twenty-three year period of time. As well, the Burnet and Lockhart families did have some interconnection, as Sir Thomas Burnet [1694-1753]⁹ wrote A protestant index to Mr. Lock—-t’s Memoirs, concerning the affairs of Scotland, which is about George Lockhart of Carnwaths Memoirs Concerning the Affairs of Scotland. However, this is just speculation, and should not be taken as pure fact. Ultimately, when, how, and where Lockhart obtained Histoire Abregée, as well as who the identity of MRBurnet, is uncertain. One can only hope that, sometime in the future, proof can be found that definitively connects the two individuals together.

David Laing Esq.

[1793-1878]

The above paste in cut out of the Catalogue … of the … Library of the Late David Laing Esq., LL.D. … Comprising an Extraordinary Collection of Works by Scottish Writers Or Relating to Scotland […] (Laing 1879). David Laing [1793-1878] was the “antiquarian, bookseller, and librarian of the Signet Library” (Archives Space at Edinburgh). He became an apprentice to his father, bookseller William Laing [1764-1832], at the age of fourteen. His father was “at the time, [..] the only bookseller in Edinburgh dealing in foreign literature” (Archives Space at Edinburgh). He was later made a partner in his father’s business in 1821, going on to become an avid collector of manuscripts and other published works.

Notably, Laing also reprinted Thomas Craig’s Epithalamium on the marriage of Darnley and Mary Stuart (1821), individuals who were also known as Lord Darnley and Mary, Queen of Scots. Laing would have been interested in the entirety of Histoire Abregée as both a Scotsman and historian. He was well known for his studies of the literary and artistic history of Scotland. In 1837, Laing was appointed the Keeper of the Library to the Society of Writers to Her Majesty’s Signet. After being appointed, he stopped being a bookseller, and held the position until his death in 1878.

Upon Laing’s death at age 85 on October 18th, 1878, his library was sold in an auction by Sotheby, Wilkinson & Hodge, while his collection of manuscripts was given to the University of Edinburgh. Histoire Abregée was held in Laing’s library at the time of his death, as it is logged as item 745 in a catalogue of his library made in 1879, a year after his death.

Note: 
The next two known owners—Charles Butler and Thomas William Dewar—had lives that greatly overlapped, and who died within twenty years of each other. As such, it is uncertain who owned Histoire Abregée first, and so they are listed in the order of birth year. Coincidentally, this order aligns with the most likely order of ownership, which will be discussed after all known owners (including Michigan State University) have been introduced.

Charles Butler of Warren Wood, Hatfield

[1821-1910]

The University of Manchester in England has, in their collections, “The Charles Butler Collections : catalogue of the first portion of the extensive and valuable library of the late Charles Butler, Esq. of Warren Wood, Hatfield and Connaught Place, W. […],” printed in 1911. On a zoom call with librarian Ian Graham, I was able to look at this book, which recorded the sales of Butler’s library after his death in 1910. Histoire Abregée was not recorded anywhere in this book, potentially meaning it could have been given away or sold before Butler’s death. (Or, alternatively, Histoire Abregée might not have been sold during the auction, and instead ended up with a bookseller or whoever would have obtained the portion of the library that was not sold.)

Dr. Thomas William Dewar

[1861-1931]

The bookplate included in Histoire Abregée is a 1898 etching made by William Strang for “TW DEWAR,” or: Thomas William Dewar (The British Museum). Not much is known about Dewar, although it is apparent that he was a successful physician during his time. Below is his biographical index of his Royal Society of Edinburgh membership (which, as a reminder, Sir Thomas Burnet [1638?-1704] was included on the original charter of).

Michigan State University

[?-2025]

Notably, there are no signs of ownership from Michigan State University within Histoire Abregée. Meaning, there are no signs of embossment, stamps, etc.. The lack of MSU stamps or embossing likely means that Histoire Abregée arrived at Michigan State more recently, as MSU stopped stamping/embossing books in the 1970s. Histoire Abregée might have been aquired by MSU at roughtly the same time the French Monarchy Collection was aquired in 1961.

An alternative option, presented by Andrew Lundeen, is that the book pre-dates MSU’s special collections ownership markers. Books that have been held by MSU’s special collections for over seventy years have embossments with the name “Michigan State College of Agr. and App. Science,” which was Michigan State University’s previous name, used from 1925 to 1955. Books obtained the name change in 1955 would have embossments or stamps with MSU’s current name (Michigan State University). That is, up until the university stopped stamping and embossing books in the 1970s.

As it is unknown whether MSU utilized embossments for the entire duration of the period from 1925-55, or when MSU started putting ownership marks in books, it remains possible that MSU gained ownership of Histoire Abregée sometime before 1925 or early enough within this period that embossments were not yet being used. Thus, this potential acquisition timeline would align with the last living author, Thomas William Dewar, who died in 1931. Alternatively, if Charles Butler was the last author, and he bought the book from Dewar, it is well known that Butler owned a vast library and was a book collector. It is possible that it was from him that MSU obtained Histoire Abregée.

Theories on the Order of Ownership

Ultimately, it is unknown who owned the book first between Thomas William Dewar and Charles Butler. However, given that Dewar outlived Butler by twenty years, and that Butler was 58 at the time of David Laing’s death, while Dewar was 18, it seems more likley that Butler would have owned Histoire Abregée first. As such, the likely timeline of acquisition from Laing to Michigan State University is outlined below:

1. During the sale of David Laing’s library in 1878, Charles Butler either bought Histoire Abregée directly from Laing’s library at the age of 58 or from a bookseller or otherwise unknown intermediary sometime during the years before his death in 1910
2. Histoire Abregée is notably not included in the first portion of the catalogue of sales of Charles Butler’s library in 1911. This could mean that either a) the book was sold or given to Thomas William Dewar before Butler’s death OR b) not sold during the initial sale, and bought by Thomas William Dewar at a later date after the initial 1911 sale.
   • That being said, it must be mentioned that there are multiple volumes of Charles Butler’s library catalogue, which includes his collections of coins and medals and engravings and etchings. The book I looked at was the “catalogue of the first portion of the extensive and valuable library of the late Charles Butler, Esq. […]” which is one of five “portions.” The catalogue was listed in alphabetical order, and “Chambre, David” was not located within the first volume, hence my theory that the book might have left the library before Butler’s death in 1910. However, it is not out of the question that the book was just included in the other portions. Unfortunately, I could not gain access to those resources.
     • In regards to the the five volumes of the Charles Butler Collection, I was only able to examine the first portion. While I was able to find all five portions, I was not able to acccess them. While that may not be helpful now, there is the potential of examining these books at a later date and narrowing down whether or not Histoire Abregée was included in Butler’s library at the time of his death. Regardless, I have linked the potential resources related to all five portions below:
       • The First Portion does not include Histoire Abregée.
       • Here is the Second Portion, of which I could not gain access to. Therefore, it is unknown whether or not it contains Histoire Abregée.
       • The same as the second portion, the Third Portion is also located in the SUDOC catalogue archives, and therefore it is unknown whether or not it contains Histoire Abregée, as I was not able to access the book.
       • The Fourth Portion ( logged on page 47) might(?) potentially be included within the Sotheby catalogue collection, which is associated with the University of Cambridge. Again, it is unknown whether or not this catalogue contains Histoire Abregée.
       • The Fifth and Final Portion (logged on page 49) is also included in the listing of the Sotheby catalogue collection. Once again, it is unknown whether or not this catalogue contains Histoire Abregée.
3. At some point, the book ended up in the hands of Thomas William Dewar after Charles Butler. Dewar might have obtained the book at an unknown time before Butler’s death, or recieved it after his death outside of the initial auctioning of Butler’s library (or, as noted above, it could still be included in a sale record in the second through fifth portions catalogue collection).
4. The book then likely left the Dewar family’s possession sometime after Thomas William Dewar’s death in 1931, possibly passing through the hands of an intermediary, before eventually ending up at Michigan State University.

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Concluding Thoughts

Ultimately, much of Histoire Abregée‘s timeline is obscured and unknown. The known owners exist more as touchpoints in the book’s four hundred forty-six year long history as opposed to providing a set roadmap of ownership and travel. However, we do know that Histoire Abregée was at one point part of the Burnet family (likely in the 16th-17th century), then included in library of George Lockhart of Carnwath [1681-1731]. The book then has an uncertain history of around half century or more until it was obtained by David Laing [1793-1878], where it remained with him until his death. From then, Histoire Abregée was owned by Charles Butler [1821-1910] and Dr. Thomas William Dewar [1861-1931]. After passing through Butler’s and Dewar’s hands, Histoire Abregée eventually made its way to the library of Michigan State University, either in the early-mid 20th century, predating MSU’s practice of ownership marks, or during/after 1960s-1970s, when MSU stopped embossing and stamping their books. Histoire Abregée has since remained in Michigan State University’s possession.

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Footnotes

1. Little could be found about Coulombel, aside from the information included in the publication imprint. Interestingly, there are two publishers cited within this specific book (Coulombel & Feurier), but there were three printers in total who worked to publish the collection of three works, the last of which being Michel Gadoulleau (Simpson, 2015) ↩︎
2. Similar to Coulombel, there is little information regarding Feurier. ↩︎
3. King Henry III. ↩︎
4. Translation: Abridged history of all the kings of France. ↩︎
5. More on The 1707 Act of Union. ↩︎
6. A judge in the Court of Session, which is “Scotland’s supreme civil court since 1532” (Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service). ↩︎
7. “For most of the two centuries before its abolition in 1708, the Scottish privy council was the single most important institution of central government. It was the executive branch, handling day-to-day responsibilities in tandem with the monarch” (Kennedy, MacDonald, and Mann). ↩︎
8. I was able to find another usage of Lockhart’s bookplate, which attributed its usage to George Lockhart of Carnwath [1681-1731]. This was incredibly helpful, as his father was a Sir George Lockhart of Carnwath (Shaw, 2021). ↩︎
9. Sir Thomas Burnet [1694-1753] was a judge and the grandson of Lord Crimond, who was Sir Thomas Burnet’s [1638?-1704] father. He was the third son of Gilbert Burnet, who was Sir Thomas Burnet’s [1638?-1704] brother (Stephen, 1885-1900). ↩︎
10. Finchley is a large district in the north of London, England. ↩︎
11. Hertfordshire is a ceramonial county of England, which a long administrative and historic history. Hertford, Butler’s residence, was a country seat located in south-central Hertfordshire. ↩︎
12. The Royal Geographical Society was a 19th century society that “promoted or supported explorations in British Guiana (now Guyana; led by Sir Robert Schomburgk), in Africa (David Livingstone, Sir Richard Burton, John Hanning Speke, James Augustus Grant, and Joseph Thomson), and in the Arctic (Sir John Franklin and Sir George Strong Nares)” (Britanica: Royal Geographical Society, 2023) ↩︎

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Citations

“Act of Union 1707.” UK Parliament. Accessed March 2025. https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/evolutionofparliament/legislativescrutiny/act-of-union-1707/.

Anderson, William. “Chalmers, Lord Ormond.” Essay. In The Scottish Nation. London, England: A. Fullarton & Company, 1863. https://electricscotland.com/history/nation/chalmers.htm.

Bernard Quaritch Ltd. “CHALMERS [CHAMBERS], David, Lord Ormond.” Bernard Quaritch Ltd – Rare books, manuscripts & photographs, October 14, 2013. https://www.quaritch.com/books/chalmers-chambers-david-i-lord-ormond-i/histoire-abbreg%C3%A9e-de-toutes-les-roys-de-france-ang/C3747/.

The Charles Butler Collections : Catalogue of the First Portion of the Extensive and Valuable Library of the Late Charles Butler, Esq. of Warren Wood, Hatfield and Connaught Place, W. Comprising Many Fine Illuminated and Important Historical Manuscripts … Which Will Be Sold by Auction by Messrs. Sotheby, Wilkinson & Hodge …on Wednesday, 5th April, 1911, and Two Following Days, and on Monday, the 10th of April, and Two Following Days… London: Dryden Press: J.Davy & Sons, 8-9 Frith Street, Soho-Square, W., 1911.

“Charles BUTLER, Late 19th c,  Warren Wood, Hatfield.” Genealogy in Hertfordshire, December 2011. http://www.hertfordshire-genealogy.co.uk/data/answers/answers-2011/ans11-044-charles-butler.htm.

“The Court of Session.” Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service. Accessed March 2025. https://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/courts-and-tribunals/the-supreme-courts/the-court-of-session/.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Henry III.” Encyclopedia Britannica, September 19, 2024. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Henry-III-king-of-France-and-Poland.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Royal Geographical Society.” Encyclopedia Britannica, March 20, 2023. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Royal-Geographical-Society.

Fraser, A. “Mary.” Encyclopedia Britannica, February 6, 2025. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mary-queen-of-Scotland.

GariochGraver. “Dr Thomas William Dewar (1861-1931) – Find a…” Find a Grave, July 8, 2020. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/151022878/thomas_william-dewar.

“History.” Burnett. Accessed March 2025. https://www.burnett.uk.com/history/?doing_wp_cron=1742510810.5414829254150390625000.

Kennedy, Allan, Alan R MacDonald, and Alastair J Mann. “Historical Introduction.” Scottish Privy Council Records. Accessed March 2025. https://spcr.ac.uk/about/historical-introduction/.

Laing, David. “745.” Essay. In Catalogue … of the … Library of the Late David Laing Esq., LL.D. … Comprising an Extraordinary Collection of Works by Scottish Writers Or Relating to Scotland … Including Complete Series of the Publications of the Abbotsford, Bannatyne, and Other Literary Clubs; Transactions of Scotch & English Societies; Writings of Eminent Divines Historians and Topographers; First Editions … &c. Which Will Be Sold by Auction, by Messrs. Sotheby, Wilkinson & Hodge, 54–54. Dryden Press, J. Davy and sons, 1879. https://books.google.com/books?id=SwtofI8xaJYC&q=%22745+Chambre.+Another+copy,+3+vol.+in+1%22&dq=%22745+Chambre.+Another+copy,+3+vol.+in+1%22&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiZ2b2X-LKMAxW_C3kGHd9YO64Q6AF6BAgFEAM.

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The work of:

Jordan Ivonen

Professor Brockey’s HST 475 History of the Book, Spring of 2025

Many thanks to James Burnett (for being so cool and being interested in the history behind the MRBurnet signature), the University of Manchester library (for having a special collections room that lets you zoom into it), Tad and Andrew (for reading the latin and figuring out that the signature was an “MR”), and Professor Brockey (for figuring out the M.R. might mean “medico regis”).