By the Protector, A Proclamation Signifying His Highness Pleasure...
"All Men Being in Office of Government...Shall So Continue Till His Highness Further Direction" [Broadside]. Cromwell, Richard [1626-1712], Lord Protector. By the Protector. A Proclamation Signifying His Highness Pleasure, That All Men Being in Office of Government, At the Decease of His Most Dear Father, Oliver Late Lord Protector, Shall so Continue Till His Highness Further Direction. London: Printed by Henry Hills and John Field, Printers to His Highness the Lord Protector, 1658. 20-1/2" x 11-1/2" broadside formed from two sheets, text in single column below headline and large woodcut arms of the Commonwealth, six-line woodcut initial. Moderate toning, faint horizontal and vertical fold-lines, two short clean tears along fold lines, shelf mark in early hand, later library inkstamp, minor repairs to edges in two places of verso, recent cloth hinge along its left-hand edge. $1,250. * Richard Cromwell's first proclamation, given at Whitehall on September 4, 1658, the day following the death of his father. It stated that he was now Lord Protector and that the functions of the government would go smoothly. This was an important assertion of authority. Some claimed that Oliver Cromwell verbally designated Richard Cromwell as his successor, but the lack of a clear succession plan by the Lord Protector and Parliament undermined Richard Cromwell's authority and contributed to his brief term in power (September 3, 1658-May 25, 1659). This is a scarce broadside. OCLC locates 4 copies in North America (Brown, Case Western Reserve, Purdue, Simon Fraser); the ESTC adds 2 more (Harvard, Huntington). English Short-Title Catalogue S3584.
Price: $1,250.00
Book number 77525