Difference between revisions of "Thomas Isham 1657-1681"

Revision as of 02:09, 13 July 2020

Sir Thomas ISHAM, 3rd bart 1657-81

Biographical Note

Son of Sir Justinian Isham of Lamport Hall, Northamptonshire, from whom he inherited the title and estates in 1675. Matriculated at Christ Church, Oxford 1675, but did not graduate; he spent some years travelling in Europe under the tutleage of his cousin Zacheus Isham before returning to Lamport in 1679. He died in London, of smallpox, two years later.

Books

The Isham family library at Lamport Hall was developed over many generations, beginning around the turn of the 17th century, until its dispersal from the 19th century onwards (although many books still remain at Lamport today). Our knowledge of Thomas relies largely on a Latin diary which he kept between 1671 and 1673, at his father's request, while he was living at Lamport and completing his pre-Oxford education. This has been edited and translated (see below); it contains many details of the minutiae of estate life, with references to broader national affairs, but has few mentions of books. There are however surviving letters between Thomas and his father which reflect engagement with books, requesting particular texts to help with his studies. In a 1674 letter to Sir Justinian's younger son (also Justinian), advice was given on how to look after books, while a student at Oxford: "if you keep not yr books in a study lockt up to yr selfe where no bed is, then for all yr lesser books then [i.e. than] folios, get 2 shallow boxes wth little shelves in which you may lock them up, & take out as you have occasion to use them" (The diary, p.36). Thomas died too young to have made much impact on the Lamport library, but he is known to have bought many books (as well as paintings, prints and furniture) in Italy.

Sources

Sir Thomas Isham, Wikipedia.
Graves, R. The Isham books, Bibliographica 3 (1897), 418-29.
Jackson, W. A. The Lamport Hall – Britwell Court books, in his Records of a bibliographer (1967), 121-133.
Hallam, H. Lamport Hall revisited, The Book Collector 16 (1967) 439-49.
Snook, E. Elizabeth Isham’s “own bookes”, in L. Knight et al (eds), Women’s bookscapes in early modern Britain, Ann Arbor, 2018, 77-93.
Isham, G., e(d),The diary of Thomas Isham of Lamport (1658-81), 1971.

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 ====Biographical Note====
-Member of [[family::the Isham family]] of [[location::Lamport Hall, Northamptonshire]].
+Son of [[crossreference::Sir Justinian Isham]] of [[location::Lamport Hall, Northamptonshire]], from whom he inherited the title and estates in 1675. Matriculated at [[education::Christ Church, Oxford]] 1675, but did not graduate; he spent some years travelling in [[location::Europe]] under the tutleage of his cousin [[family::Zacheus Isham]] before returning to Lamport in 1679. He died in [[location::London]], of smallpox, two years later.
 ====Books====
-The family developed the library at Lamport Hall over many generations, until largely dispersed in the late 19th century. [[family::Elizabeth Isham]] refers in a [[format::manuscript]] diary to "the bookes which I had in my closet".  Her list of her mother’s books, ca. 25 titles, is edited as ''Private Libraries in Renaissance England'' 270; a separate list of her sister’s books, 17 titles, as ''Private Libraries in Renaissance England'' 272; and a list of her own books, ca.100 titles, as ''Private Libraries in Renaissance England'' 276.
+The Isham family library at Lamport Hall was developed over many generations, beginning around the turn of the 17th century, until its dispersal from the 19th century onwards (although many books still remain at Lamport today). Our knowledge of Thomas relies largely on a [[language::Latin]] diary which he kept between 1671 and 1673, at his father's request, while he was living at Lamport and completing his pre-Oxford education. This has been edited and translated (see below); it contains many details of the minutiae of estate life, with references to broader national affairs, but has few mentions of books. There are however surviving letters between Thomas and his father which reflect engagement with books, requesting particular texts to help with his studies. In a 1674 letter to [[crossreference::Sir Justinian Isham|Sir Justinian]]'s younger son (also Justinian), advice was given on how to look after books, while a student at [[location::Oxford]]: "if you keep not yr books in a study lockt up to yr selfe where no bed is, then for all yr lesser books then [i.e. than] folios, get 2 shallow boxes wth little shelves in which you may lock them up, & take out as you have occasion to use them" (''The diary'', p.36). Thomas died too young to have made much impact on the Lamport library, but he is known to have bought many books (as well as paintings, [[format::prints]] and furniture) in [[location::Italy]].
 ====Sources====
 <div id="sourcelist">
-*Aughterson, Kate. [https://doi.org/10.1093/ref:odnb/68093 "Isham, Elizabeth (bap. 1608, d. 1654), diarist."] ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography''.
+*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_Thomas_Isham,_3rd_Baronet Sir Thomas Isham, Wikipedia].
-*Black, J. L. & others, Judith Isham, Judith Isham, Elizabeth Isham, ''Private Libraries in Renaissance England'' 9 (2017), 179-189, 201-208, 319-345.
-*Cambers, A. ''Godly reading'', 2011, p.47, 65.
 *Graves, R. The Isham books, ''Bibliographica'' 3 (1897), 418-29.
 *Jackson, W. A. The Lamport Hall – Britwell Court books, in his ''Records of a bibliographer'' (1967), 121-133.
 *Hallam, H. Lamport Hall revisited, ''The Book Collector'' 16 (1967) 439-49.
 *Snook, E. Elizabeth Isham’s “own bookes”, in L. Knight et al (eds), ''Women’s bookscapes in early modern Britain'', Ann Arbor, 2018, 77-93.
-*''The diary of Thomas Isham of Lamport'' (1658-81), 1971.
+*Isham, G., e(d),''The diary of Thomas Isham of Lamport'' (1658-81), 1971.
 {{DEFAULTSORT:Isham, Thomas, Sir}}
 [[Category:Gentry]]
-[[Category:Drafts]]