Izaak Walton 1670 Autograph Vellum Document Framed

IZAAK WALTON (1593–1683). Manuscript indenture signed, framed, dated 18 March 1670.

 

A large vellum indenture (c. 750 × 830 mm), releasing and discharging property to Charles Grinsell in the Strand, London, signed by Izaak Walton (“citizen and ironmonger of London”), together with Humphrey Grinsell and Henry Browne. Mounted, framed, and glazed, with three verso windows.

-------------------

A document of remarkable rarity and biographical resonance

This impressive vellum indenture bears the autograph of Izaak Walton, one of the most beloved writers of the seventeenth century, and the author of The Compleat Angler (1653), a classic of English literature. Signed in 1670, when Walton was seventy-seven years old, it identifies him in his original trade capacity as “citizen and ironmonger of London” - a reminder of his roots in commerce before his literary fame.

The document records a release and discharge of property to Charles Grinsell in the Strand, and is further signed by Humphrey Grinsell and Henry Browne. Its familial context is of particular importance: Walton had been apprenticed to Thomas Grinsell, who married his sister Ann, and through this connection established himself in the London iron trade. Ann’s sons Walter, Nathaniel, and Humphrey Grinsell are all mentioned in her will, and Humphrey here appears as co-signatory with Walton. The manuscript thus provides direct evidence of Walton’s enduring ties to his family and profession, situating the author within the lived fabric of seventeenth-century London.

 

-------------------

 

The extreme rarity of Walton’s autograph

Manuscripts signed by Walton are virtually unobtainable. Only five autograph letters by him are known to be extant, alongside around two dozen signed documents, the vast majority held in libraries and archives (all except for ~4). The compilers of CELM record none corresponding to the present indenture, which appears to be previously unknown to scholarship.

The scarcity of Walton’s autograph in commerce is underscored by the only other example to publicly appear for sale since the 1800s: Sotheby’s New York, which in 2015 offered a comparable indenture, noting: “an exceptional rarity: we have no record of any other Izaak Walton signed document or manuscript having been sold at auction since the nineteenth century.” They further observed that “the only obtainable examples of his signature are inscribed copies of printed books.” The 2015 example carried an estimate of $5,000–7,000 USD. This present indenture was acquired by its previous owner for £6,000, reflecting both the rarity of opportunity and the strength of demand for autograph material by Walton.

-------------------

 

Walton’s dual identity: tradesman and author

Born in Stafford in 1593, Walton was apprenticed into the Ironmongers’ Company before setting up shop in Fleet Street. His friendships with John Donne and other Anglican divines drew him into Royalist and ecclesiastical circles, eventually producing his Lives of Donne, Wotton, Hooker, Herbert, and Sanderson, biographies that helped shape the cultural memory of the English Church. Yet Walton always retained the imprint of his mercantile beginnings, a fact vividly confirmed in this indenture.

That such a large and handsome document should carry his signature in the capacity of “citizen and ironmonger of London” allows us a rare glimpse behind the enduring literary persona of The Compleat Angler, reminding us that Walton was not merely a man of letters, but a tradesman, brother, and Londoner, grounded in the same social and familial networks that sustained his long life.

This is a document of the highest rarity and importance, uniting the elusive autograph of Izaak Walton with biographical substance of a kind seldom encountered: a tangible, signed link between the author of The Compleat Angler and the lived reality of his London origins.

 

-------------------

Condition: 

Wax seal impressions lacking though the original vellum tags remain. A few small closed tears and areas of weakness, one light stain, some discolouration, but overall very well preserved. Handsomely mounted, framed, and glazed, with three verso mount windows. This document has not been fully transcribed as it is extensive, but it is fairly easy to read when compared to most documents of the period as the hand is neat.

 

*note the dispatch time for this may be a few days so that it can be securely packaged as it is quite large and heavy.