Difference between revisions of "Sylvius Elwes 1576-1638"

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[[File:ElwesSylvius1.jpg| thumb | 886px |Armorial stamp of Sylvius Elwes (British Armorial Bindings)]]
 
Elwes [[bequest::gave]] 184 books to [[beneficiary::Trinity College, Cambridge|Trinity]] in [[date of bequest::1626;1630|1626-30]], chosen (according to the note in the donors’ book) on the grounds of usefulness or as likely to be difficult to find; we do not know what proportion of his entire collection this represented.  The contents were largely [[subject::theology|theological]], with a mixture of other subjects, including [[subject::history]].  The only mention of books in his will (which is largely concerned with monetary bequests) was a dispensation to [[associates::Thomas Comber]] ([[occupation::Master]] of [[organisations::Trinity College, Cambridge|Trinity]], d.[[date of death::1654]]) to keep those books of Elwes which he had; the residue of goods and chattels was [[bequest::left]] to his [[beneficiary::brother]] [[family::Jeremy Elwes|Jeremy]].  Books with Elwes’ armorial are found in various libraries outside [[organisations::Trinity College, Cambridge|Trinity]].  Examples: Trinity College D.15.25, K.17.6; Lincoln College, Oxford N.1.13; Chetham’s Library G.7.26; Durham Cathedral Library E.III.34; NAL Clements P9; Maggs 1156 (1993)/42.
 
Elwes [[bequest::gave]] 184 books to [[beneficiary::Trinity College, Cambridge|Trinity]] in [[date of bequest::1626;1630|1626-30]], chosen (according to the note in the donors’ book) on the grounds of usefulness or as likely to be difficult to find; we do not know what proportion of his entire collection this represented.  The contents were largely [[subject::theology|theological]], with a mixture of other subjects, including [[subject::history]].  The only mention of books in his will (which is largely concerned with monetary bequests) was a dispensation to [[associates::Thomas Comber]] ([[occupation::Master]] of [[organisations::Trinity College, Cambridge|Trinity]], d.[[date of death::1654]]) to keep those books of Elwes which he had; the residue of goods and chattels was [[bequest::left]] to his [[beneficiary::brother]] [[family::Jeremy Elwes|Jeremy]].  Books with Elwes’ armorial are found in various libraries outside [[organisations::Trinity College, Cambridge|Trinity]].  Examples: Trinity College D.15.25, K.17.6; Lincoln College, Oxford N.1.13; Chetham’s Library G.7.26; Durham Cathedral Library E.III.34; NAL Clements P9; Maggs 1156 (1993)/42.
  

Revision as of 04:04, 9 June 2020

Sylvius or Silvester ELWES 1576-1638

Biographical Note

Son of Geoffrey Elwes, of Woodford, Essex. BA Trinity College, Cambridge 1597, MA 1600, chaplain 1601, a post he held for the rest of his life.

Books

Armorial stamp of Sylvius Elwes (British Armorial Bindings)

Elwes gave 184 books to Trinity in 1626-30, chosen (according to the note in the donors’ book) on the grounds of usefulness or as likely to be difficult to find; we do not know what proportion of his entire collection this represented. The contents were largely theological, with a mixture of other subjects, including history. The only mention of books in his will (which is largely concerned with monetary bequests) was a dispensation to Thomas Comber (Master of Trinity, d.1654) to keep those books of Elwes which he had; the residue of goods and chattels was left to his brother Jeremy. Books with Elwes’ armorial are found in various libraries outside Trinity. Examples: Trinity College D.15.25, K.17.6; Lincoln College, Oxford N.1.13; Chetham’s Library G.7.26; Durham Cathedral Library E.III.34; NAL Clements P9; Maggs 1156 (1993)/42.

Characteristic markings

Elwes used two armorial stamps.

Sources

  • British Armorial Bindings.
  • Gaskell, R. Trinity College Library: the first 150 years, 1980.
  • Venn, J. & J. A. Alumni Cantabrigienses. Cambridge, 1922.