Armorial Bookplate: William Trumbull, Esqr.

Armorial bookplate of William Trumbull, Esqr. [Franks 29899].
❧ Bookplate of  William Trumbull (1708-1760), son of Sir William Trumbull (1639-1716) Secretary of State and bibliophile.

The Trumbull books were consigned to auction by the 8th Marquess of Downshire (d. 2004; obit.). The dispersal of the Trumbull books, extracted from Easthampstead estate, near Bracknell, was distributed across six sales, during 1990 and 1991, as follows:
❧ 1. Atlases, travel and natural history … : days of sale: Thursday 21st June 1990 …, Friday 22nd June 1990 …; Sotheby’s …, 34-35 New Bond Street, London. … the Property of the Most Honourable the Marquess of Downshire: Lots scattered throughout. Cf. lots 356, 360-63, 365-67. ❧ ❧ 2. English Literature and History: Including Books from the Library of the … Marquess of Downshire, Thursday 19th July 1990 .. Sotheby’s …, 34-35 New Bond Street, London. Lots 29-36, 47-50, 358-60, 381-95 [30 lots]. ❧ ❧ 3. Books and maps : Sotheby’s London [sale held during four days] 22nd-23rd October 5th – 6th November 1990. On the fourth day of sale: Tuesday 6th November 1990 lots 965-1232 were sold. These included “The Property of the Most Honourable the Marquess of Downshire Various Subjects including Science and Medicine,” Lots 910-964 [54 lots]. ❧ ❧ 4. Continental and Russian books and manuscripts, science and medicine … : day of sale: Tuesday 20th November 1990 …; Sotheby’s …, 34-35 New Bond Street, London. … the Property of the Most Honourable the Marquess of Downshire: Lots 223-227, 329-332 [9 lots]. ❧ ❧ 5. English literature and history … : Thursday 13th December 1990 …; Sotheby’s …, 34-35 New Bond Street, London. … the Property of the Most Honourable the Marquess of Downshire: Lots scattered throughout, e.g. 353. ❧ ❧ 6. Printed books and maps: 5. and 19. February 1991. Sotheby’s … London. …. the Property of the Most Honourable the Marquess of Downshire: Lots 687-762 [75 lots].

Bookplate in: John Kersey, Title: The Elements of that Mathematical Art Commonly called Algebra, Expounded in Four Books. London, Printed by W. Godbid, for T. Passinger and B. Hurlock, 1673-1674. Call number (Ex) QA33 .K4 1674q. (Sotheby’s, London, Feb. 19, 1991, lot 727).

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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.