1622 King James 1 Great Seal with Vellum Document (Ambassador Commission)

Great Seal of King James 1 of England. Beautiful 6" seal attached to large 25" x 17" vellum document signed by King James (signed "Jacobus R"). It is a commission for Sir Richard Weston (1577-1635) for his embassy to Germany. Includes an initial letter portrait of the King within a stapwork letter "J" in pen and ink and wash, margins decorated with scrolling flowers and foliage. Lines ruled in red. Attached is a 6" Great Seal in brown wax. 

Weston was sent to Brussels in the Spring of 1622 to secure an end to fighting (the early stages of the Thirty Years War) and the restoration of the Palatinate. It is likely that this document was this very commission, which enabled him to attend a conference on the restoration of the Palatinate to the Elector Frederick, husband of James 1' daughter, the Princess Elizabeth. "Weston became disillusioned with Spanish diplomacy, writing ‘desperate letters’ home. On 16 Aug. he complained to Cranfield that whereas Lord Digby (Sir John Digby*), the ambassador in Madrid, ‘tells you the Palatinate shall be restored ... I see it by piecemeal taken away’, and he fully expected to be called home by James in protest." (historyofparliamentonline.org). 

Protected in a red cloth covered box measuring 10" x 8" x 2" with gilded title: "James 1. Document with Great Seal 8 April 1622" on the front cover and on the spine. Includes the bookplate of William Foyle on inside front cover: "Ex Libris W A Foyle. Beeleigh Abbey" 

William Foyle (1885-1963) was the co-founder of Foyle's bookshop in London. "During the Second World War, Foyle bought Beeleigh Abbey, a 12th-century monastery on the River Chelmer at Maldon, Essex. Although Foyle had collected books from an early age, it was at Beeleigh Abbey that he was able to house the books properly, forming one of the largest English private libraries of the 20th century." (Wikipedia)