Anna Margaretta Mason ca.1641-1717

Anna Margaretta MASON or LONG ca.1641-1717

Anna Mason's bookplate (British Museum Franks Collection *151)

Biographical Note

Daughter of Sir James Long, 2nd bart, of Draycot, Wiltshire. She married Richard Mason, ca.1619-85 (knighted 1671), MP and Comptroller of the Green Cloth (a court position). A manuscript book of songs compiled by her survives at Belton House, while her account of the death of Charles II achieved some fame when it was discovered and published by Charles Dickens in the mid-19th century.

Books

An engraved armorial bookplate was made for her, dated 1701 and noting her status as Mason's widow (Franks 19910/*151). We do not know the extent and disposition of her library; it seems likely that the making of the plate was associated with the fact that one of her daughters married Sir William Brownlow, 4th bart, and the Brownlow family were noted early adopters of the fashion for bookplates.

Sources

• Sir Richard Mason, Wikipedia.
• Sir James Long, 2nd bart, Wikipedia.
• MS book of songs in her hand, Belton House, National Trust.
• Gambier Howe, E. R. J . Franks bequest: catalogue of British and American book plates bequeathed to the ... British Museum. London, 1903.
• Lee, B. N., British bookplates, Newton Abbot, 1979, no.37.