[Typed signed 'Certified Copy'.] A Catalogue & Valuation of the Art Treasures & Books at Buckminster Park in the County of Lincolnshire. The Property of the Trustees [of William Tollemache, 9th Earl of Dysart] made for the purposes of Insurance.

Author: 
[Charles des Graz, Director, Sotheby & Co., 34-35 New Bond Street, London, W1; Buckminster Park, Lincolnshire, seat of William Tollemache, 9th Earl of Dysart (1859-1935)]
Publication details: 
[Sotheby & Co., 34-35 New Bond Street, London, W1. 'Ch. des Graz, Director. | December, 1930.'] Certified Copy by Hasties, 65 Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, WC2, signed and dated 27 October 1937.
£120.00
SKU: 14665

32pp., foolscap 8vo. The leaves attached with green ribbon, and the whole folded into the customary packet, with typed title with Hasties' details on reverse of last leaf. The document begins with a three-page 'Index | Inventory of Buckminster Park, Grantham'; this is followed by 'An Inventory and Valuation of the principal Furniture and Works of Art at Buckminster Park, Grantham | the property of the Trustees, made for the purposes of Insurance'. The total valuation is £17,692. At the foot of the last page: 'We have examined this copy with the original Catalogue and Valuation and hereby certify it to be a true copy thereof. | Dated the 27th day of October 1937 | [signed] F. M. Carroll. | [signed] G. G. Prime | Clerks to Messrs Hastie., 65 Lincoln's Inn Fields, | W.C.2. | Solicitors'. The inventory proceeds room by room, from the Drawing Room, Boudoir and Breakfast Room of the Central Block, through the North and South Wings, and back to the Central Block (ending with the Lumber Room on the top floor). The contents of the library cover four pages, and include 'Lamb - "Adventures of Ulysses" | boards very fine - 1808', £75; 'Nichols - Leicestershire - 8 vols. Fo | 1800-11; boards uncut', £60; 'Voltaire - Oeuvres - 70 vols; Kehl; 1785-98; calf - fine set', £40; 'Mattaire - Corpus Poetarum - 2 vols; 1713; red morocco', £15. Other high points include a 'Portrait of Lady Huntingtower, seated by a table, on which is a basket of flowers', £750; 'A set of four fine Sheraton mahogany Bookcases, with glazed doors and cupboards with inlaid borders below', £800; 'John Wootton, signed | Portrait of the Duke of Rutland, with horses and attendants', £750; 'Twenty-four single Chairs | Five Armchairs | One Settee | with finely carved backs', £2000; 'A pair of panels of Mortlake 17th Century Tapestry, with armorials at the tops', £1000. There were various sales of Tollemache-Dysart effects after this valuation, including the sale in three parts of the library at Ham House in 1938 and 1947; another library sale in 1965, and a general sale at Strobo Castle in 1972. The National Trust Collections include a copy of a 1931 valuation of Buckminster Park, under the category 'Books', on show at Ham House.