Identification
Author Samuel Knight
Publication 1724, Printed in London England by J. Downing
MSU call number BR754.C6 K5
Author and Book
Samuel Knight was born in 1677, was educated at St. Paul’s, and was a clergyman.
The book follows the life of John Colet (1467) Who founded St. Paul’s School and was a prominent person in history. Being very close to Erasmus, the two of them followed a humanist approach and wished for reform for the church and education as a whole.
St. Paul is now known as one of the most prestigious schools in the world and hosts an incredible repertoire of alumni such as several politicians, artists, and important businessmen such as CEO David Levin of McGraw-Hill Education.
A portrait of John Colet included in the book.
Provenance
Book-Plate
The bookplate belongs to Rev. Francis Fortescue Knottesford of the Bridgetown house. The bookplate has also been reincluded into the book after rebounding, there are small cut marks along the side showing where it has been inserted. The Inscription on the bookplate “FORTE SCUTUM SALUS DUCUM” translates to “A strong shield is the safeguard for our leaders” and is the motto for the Fortescue family.
Very little is known about Francis, except that in 1841 his son and he built St.Andrews church in Wilmcote England in order to promote the Oxford movement.
Names and their significance
After a period of time, it ended up in the hands of George Gregory a bookseller in Bath, England. George Gregory was the son of a well-known book bounder and expanded the business to rare bookselling when he took over the business. This is when I believe the book was rebound. While Gregory’s bookseller business is no longer in business due to the fact they sold the company to George Bayntun in 1924. Thankfully they are still in business so I was able to reach out were able to let me know they believe the sticker is from 1900.
In the Front page of the book there is a reference list and Clarence E. Bement Signature.
In the top penciled in are what seems to be past owners’ reference notes to several other works. Based on the handwriting it could be Clarence’s.
These are mostly likely in connection to the marks made throughout the book that are references to other works, made by the same person who penciled in the names.
The name which I suspect to be Clarence E. Bement is dated 8/1/(19)13 which is most likely the year he acquired the book and aligns with his history. Bement is the son of a very influential industry and business owner in Lansing Michigan. Despite his love for academia and history he decided to go into business with his father and dropped out of college. However, he kept up with his love of books and academics owning an extensive collection of rare books and being a prominent figure in many history clubs.
MSU’s acquisition
There is an included stamp of the books that states “Michigan State College of Agriculture and Applied Science” which means that the book was acquired sometime between 1925-55. There is also a blue stamp that has the number 185799, which is an old system that the university has in place to catalog the books acquired.
References
https://aba.org.uk/page/george-gregory
https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Colet
https://archivesearch.lib.cam.ac.uk/agents/people/5994
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Old_Paulines
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Fortescue
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/21228503/clarence-edwin-bement
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Michigan_State_University
Ellie Skellenger – Bonneau 2023