Henry Furnese 1658-1712
Sir Henry FURNESE, 1st bart 1658-1712
Biographical Note
Son of Henry Furnese of Sandwich, Kent. After apprenticeship to his uncle, a London hosier, he developed a successful business in London in clothing and cloth, trading with the continent and becoming a government supplier for the army. He was knighted in 1691 and became a founding director of the Bank of England in 1694, subscribing £3000. MP for Bramber 1698, for Sandwich 1701; sheriff of London 1700-01; created a baronet in 1707. He continued to be involved in involved in managing army contracts and finances through the first decade of the 18th century.
Books
Furnese's inclusion here rests on the existence of a few prayer books of the same 1706 edition bound with his armorial stamp on the covers. His will, which relates largely to the disposal of extensive holdings of property and money around his family, with some charitable bequests to Sandwich, has no mention of books; all the residue of his estate was left to his son Robert (1687-1733), who became 2nd baronet. A 1588 Venice edition of Tasso with Robert's inscription on the titlepage, dated 1706, was sold at Bloomsbury Book Auctions on 24 November 2005 (lot 7).
Characteristic Markings
The prayer book in the NAL (CLE W4)
Sources
- British Armorial Bindings.
- Handley, Stuart. "Furnese, Sir Henry, first baronet (1658–1712), politician and financier." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.