Sales catalogue 551: Maggs Bros

Date:
1930
Reference:
WA/HMM/CM/Sal/13/98
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Sales catalogue 551: Maggs Bros. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    12/244 page 6
    Alfonso (Infante of Spain)—continued. decessor, who had given evil encouragement to ‘‘ the traitor Beltran’”’ and _ the Queen Dona Juana; ‘‘ an offence to God and his own honour.” It should be mentioned that Don Alfonso, as younger son of John II, was the legitimate heir-presumptive to the throne, after Henry IV ; but there had been so much ill-feeling between the brothers, that Henry had gone to extraordinary lengths to thwart Alfonso. The latter, as recorded in this document, subsequently proclaimed himself King of Castile for a short while, but has never been recog- nised in history as a sovereign. In the course of this historical letter, Don Alfonso records how Henry had the infant Doha Juana (La Beltraneja) formally sworn in as his offsprme and heiress to the throne, with precedence of Alfonso as a son of Juan II, an earlier king. He also records; how Henry ordered the arrest ‘‘ of my person and that of my illustrious sister the Infanta Isabel, and to be delivered to the said Queen [Juana} and the traitor Beltran, they being my enemies by reason of the said question of the succession, of which they wished to deprive me.’’ He declares that as it was his will to act as God should decree for the benefit of his kingdom, many prelates and knights had been moved to regard his position with sympathetic interest; ‘the which gathered together in the city of Burgas for the purpose of serving God and myself, and of mitigating some of the evils aforementioned, as well as for the purpose of liberating my person and that of the said Infanta Isabel.’’ He states that, after numerous perils which his supporters braved on his behalf, he was liberated from his prison, and his right of succession was proclaimed not only by them but by Henry himself. Subsequently, some of the supporters were requested to go to the court and revoke their oath of allegiance to Alfonso as heir to the throne, and transfer their allegiance to the infant Dofia Juana! They refused to dc this, and as a consequence, Henry and his partisans mustered their troops and retainers, ‘‘in order to come upon me in the city of Placencia, and by every means demonstrate the animosity that was nursed against me by the Queen Donia Juana and the traitor Beltran de la Cueva.”’ 1842 ALGAROTTI (FRANCESCO, COUNT, 1712-1767). Celebrated Italian Critic and Philosopher. Friend of Pitt and of Frederick the Great. AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED. i? pp., small foto. erst June, 1731. £1 5s Giving his correspondent minute particulars of a journey made in the country, when he accompanied his friend’s wife. 1843 ALIBERT (JEAN LOUIS, 1766-1837). Physician to Louis XVIII and Charles X, Professor at the Faculty of Medicine. AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED TO THE MINISTER OF THE INTERIOR. pace, folio. .Palaiside Tuileries, 12.May, 1830; £2 2s Asking for the subscription to twelve more copies of his work ‘Wa mosolocie naturelle.”’
    digitised image 1
    digitised image 2
    digitised image 3