Armorial bookplate dated 1739: Francis Massy, Esq. of Rixton, Lancashire

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“Francis Massy, lord of the manors of Rixton and Glazebrook, born 1703, and who died unmarried 28 September 1748, when the family became extinct. By his will, dated 27 February, he left his estate and effects to his kinsman George Meynell of Yorkshire.” – Remains Historical & Literary Connected with the Palatine Counties of
Lancaster and Chester. Published By The Chetham Society. Vol. CX. (1882), p. 224.
❧ Bookplate signed “I. Skinner, Bath, sculpt.” Jacob Skinner was active between 1732 and 1753.
❧ The Massy bookplate is on the front pastedown of Gabriel Harvey’s copy of Livy (Basle, 1555). Call number (Ex) PA6452 .A2 1555q. A complete digital scan of this remarkable annotated book is available here, however, the scanning project did not include full coverage of this piece of ownership evidence.
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About Stephen Ferguson

Stephen Ferguson is Librarian Emeritus, Princeton University Library. He came to Princeton in 1975 to be Curator of Rare Books, after several years of professional work at the John Carter Brown Library (Brown University) and the National Heritage Museum (Lexington, Mass.). Between 2014 and 2026, he held various posts as an Associate University Librarian at Princeton. He has degrees from Bowdoin (A.B.) and Rutgers (M.L.S.). His scholarly interests include book history, provenance research, and the history of collecting. He has taught at Drew University on the latter topic.