The Court and Character of King James. Written and Taken By Sir A: W: Being and Ear and Eare Witness
- Frontispiece portrait of King James. [viii], 197 pp. 1 vols. Small 8vo
- London: Printed by R.I. and are to be sold by John Wright at the King's-Head in the Old Baily, 1650
London: Printed by R.I. and are to be sold by John Wright at the King's-Head in the Old Baily, 1650. First edition. Frontispiece portrait of King James. [viii], 197 pp. 1 vols. Small 8vo. Contemporary sheep. Corners finely repaired at an early date, red spine label. Fine. First edition. Frontispiece portrait of King James. [viii], 197 pp. 1 vols. Small 8vo. This "violently anti-Jacobean tract" (ODNB) was attributed to politician and reputed satirist Sir Anthony Weldon (d. 1648) within a year of its publication.
"Despite the somewhat perilous uncertainty of evidence for Weldon's role as a satirist, the publications with which he is commonly associated have enjoyed enormous popularity and influence on later historians. Sir Walter Scott's republication of The Court and Character in The Secret History of the Court of James I (1811) revived them, and modern historians have frequently had cause to lament the way in which 'Weldon' succeeded in distorting history. He may have been unfair, and his satire was certainly just one example drawn from a rich contemporary vein of courtly criticism, but his version of James VI and I as a perverted, hypocritical, slobbering villain remains compelling" (ODNB).
A choice copy with the portrait frontispiece present. Wing W1272
"Despite the somewhat perilous uncertainty of evidence for Weldon's role as a satirist, the publications with which he is commonly associated have enjoyed enormous popularity and influence on later historians. Sir Walter Scott's republication of The Court and Character in The Secret History of the Court of James I (1811) revived them, and modern historians have frequently had cause to lament the way in which 'Weldon' succeeded in distorting history. He may have been unfair, and his satire was certainly just one example drawn from a rich contemporary vein of courtly criticism, but his version of James VI and I as a perverted, hypocritical, slobbering villain remains compelling" (ODNB).
A choice copy with the portrait frontispiece present. Wing W1272