John Cecil ca.1648-1700

John CECIL, 5th Earl of Exeter ca.1648-1700

One of the bookplates of John Cecil (British Museum Franks Collection *92)

Biographical Note

Son of John Cecil, 4th Earl of Exeter, from whom he inherited the title and family estates in 1678. Matriculated at St John's College, Cambridge but did not graduate. MP for Northamptonshire 1675; he was noted as an art collector, and purchased many paintings during various trips to Europe during the 1680s and 90s. He became a nonjuror after 1688.

Books

Cecil had several engraved armorial boookplates made (Franks *61, *92, 5460); a plate was also made for his wife Anne. The extent of the family library at the time of his death is not known.

Sources

• History of Parliament.
• John Cecil, 5th Earl of Exeter, Wikipedia.
• Gambier Howe, E. R. J. Franks bequest: catalogue of British and American book plates bequeathed to the ... British Museum. London, 1903.