Edward Sackville 1590-1652

Edward SACKVILLE, 4th Earl of Dorset 1590-1652

The Sackville armorial stamp, possibly used by the 4th and/or 5th Earls (British Armorial Bindings)

Biographical Note

Son of Robert Sackville, 2nd earl of Dorset; he inherited the title from his elder brother Richard, 3rd Earl, in 1624. Matriculated at Christ Church, Oxford 1605, but did not graduate; he travelled in Europe in 1614-15. MP for Sussex 1621; after his assumption of the peerage, he held numerous court appointments and was a close supporter of Charles I's sovereignty, while sometimes doubting his actions. He travelled with the King during the Civil War, was made Lord Chamberlain in 1644, and tried (unsuccessfully) to broker peace. Heavily fined to compound for his estates, he died in much reduced and indebted circumstances.

Books

A number of books are attributed to Sackville in the Armorials Database, but the dates of the bindings suggest that they are more likely to have been made for his son Richard Sackville, the 5th Earl. About a dozen books are now known, in numerous libraries, from what was surely once a much larger collection. Subsequent ownership inscriptions support the theory that the books were dispersed in the late 18th century in Dorset/Sackville sales of 1769 and 1786. Examples: British Library C.48.d.18, Cambridge UL U*.8.126, National Art Library CLE O34, Trinity College, Dublin MM.mm.40. Books with his armorial stamp survive.

Sources

• British Armorial Bindings.
• Smith, David L. "Sackville, Edward, fourth earl of Dorset (1590–1652), politician." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.