Sold at £3300 was a broadsheet, now mounted on linen, that celebrates the ‘Triumphant Reception of… King William III’ following his return to London from Flanders after the conclusion of a peace treaty.
This would have been the Treaty of Ryswick, in which France, after years of conflict, effectively recognised William as sole ruler of Britain and Ireland – his wife and sovereign partner, Queen Mary, having died three years earlier.
Also part of the lot was a 1979 letter from the British Library asking for first refusal if the broadsheet ever came up for sale. Perhaps it did refuse.
Bid to £2000 was The Circle of Knowledge: a New Game of the Wonders of Nature, Science & Art. Published by John Passmore, c.1845-50, the engraved and coloured playsheet was in the original, gilt-titled cloth boards and complete with instruction booklet.
