Esther Inglis (1569?– 1624)
The information on this page is out of date. Please see Georgianna Ziegler's dedicated site on Esther Inglis, which she updates regularly (note added 1/9/2024).
This census was compiled by Georgianna Ziegler, Thalheimer Associate Librarian & Head of Reference Emerita.
Esther Inglis is an important, indeed possibly unique, "early modern British female book artist." Born around 1569 in Dieppe to French Huguenot parents fleeing religious persecution, she was raised in Edinburgh where she learned the art of calligraphy from her mother, Marie Presot. Her father, Nicholas Langlois, was Master of the French School in Edinburgh, under the patronage of James VI. Inglis married Scottish clergyman Bartholomew Kello around 1596 and used her calligraphic skills to make copies for him in his position as Clerk of Passports and other foreign correspondence. Some of her small, jewel-like calligraphic volumes appear to have supported Kello's involvement with the secret negotiations for the succession of James VI to the English throne. The volumes also figured in the patronage system, where Inglis and her husband hoped for remuneration for her work. Many of her little books are dedicated to members of the Protestant circles in England and Europe, including Elizabeth I; James VI and I; Prince Henry; Prince Charles; Lucy Harington, Countess of Bedford; Robert Cecil, Earl of Salisbury; Sir Anthony Bacon; Prince Maurice of Nassau; Catherine de Parthenay, Duchess of Rohan; and Catherine de Bourbon, sister of Henri IV.
She was not only an adept calligrapher, using over forty styles of handwriting, but she also illuminated her manuscripts with self-portraits, flowers and birds, or exquisite black-and-white title pages, historiated initials, and printer's devices copied from printed books. Many of her volumes are bound in velvet or silk which she likely embroidered herself, as her skill with needle as well as pen was remarked upon by a contemporary. One of her last works was a sumptuous copy of Emblemes Chrestiens by Georgette de Montenay, made for Prince Charles in 1624, the year of her death.
Inglis's sources
Inglis mostly copied out Biblical texts in English, French or Latin from Ecclesiastes, Genesis, Psalms, Proverbs, and the Book of Solomon. She also made copies of French religious poems:
- Quatrains by Guy du Faur, Sieur de Pybrac (1529-1584)
- Octonaires . . . sur la Vanité et Inconstance du Monde, by Antoine de la Roche Chandieu (1534-1591)
For a full discussion of her textual and design sources, see the Scott-Elliot and Yeo Catalogue.
Selected further reading
Folger Shakespeare Library, The Collation
Barker, Nicolas. Introduction to Esther Inglis's Les Proverbes de Salomon: a Facsimile. Arundel, England: Roxburghe Club, 2012.
Bracher, Tricia. "Esther Inglis and the English Succession Crisis of 1599." Women and Politics in Early Modern England, 1450-1700. Ed. James Daybell. Aldershot, England; Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2004. 132-146.
Frye, Susan. Chapter 2 in Pens and Needles: Women's Textualities in Early Modern England. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2010.
Ross, Sarah Gwyneth. "Esther Inglis: Linguist, Calligrapher, Miniaturist, and Christian Humanist." Early Modern Women and Transnational Communities of Letters. Ed. Julie D. Campbell and Anne R. Larsen. Farnham, England; Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2009. 159-181.
Tjan-Bakker, Anneke. "Dame Flora's Blossoms: Esther Inglis's Flower-Illustrated Manuscripts." English Manuscript Studies 1100-1700. Vol. 9, ed. Peter Beal and Margaret J.M. Ezell. London: The British Library, 2000. 49-72.
[Tjan]-Bakker, Anneke. "Esther Inglis & Maurice of Nassau." Quaerendo 48:1 (2018) 39-76. On Folger MS V.a.93.
Ziegler, Georgianna. "'More than Feminine Boldness': The Gift Books of Esther Inglis." Women, Writing, and the Reproduction of Culture in Tudor and Stuart Britain. Ed. Mary E. Burke et al. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 2000. 19-37.
Ziegler, Georgianna. "Hand-Ma[i]de Books: The Manuscripts of Esther Inglis, Early-Modern Precursors of the Artists' Book." English Manuscript Studies 1100-1700. Vol. 9, ed. Peter Beal and Margaret J.M. Ezell. London: The British Library, 2000. 73-87.
Manuscripts chart
The chart lists 64 known manuscripts by Esther Inglis, four of which are untraced, and two of which have recently been identified and are in neither of the standard bibliographies listed below. The Folger Shakespeare Library and the Houghton Library at Harvard each own five of her manuscripts, the largest collections in the US. (Folger X.d.533 is not counted as a separate manuscript as it was part of V.a.93 and not numbered separately by Scott-Eliot and Yeo.)
The chart is organized by:
- Location
- Shelf-mark
- E-Y No., referring to the Catalogue prepared by A.H. Scott-Elliot and Elspeth Yeo, Publications of the Bibliographical Society of America 84:1 (March 1990), 10-86.
- CELM No.: Catalogue of English Literary Manuscripts 1450-1700
- Title: see note on Sources above
- Date
- Dedication
- Self-Portrait: Scott-Elliot and Yeo identified 4 basic types, which are identified if possible
- Digital or other images available: Perdita refers to the subscription database of manuscripts by early English women writers; unfortunately, many of the images, made from microfilm, are grainy and difficult to see
- Binding: unusually, most of the manuscripts are in their original bindings
- Catalog Record
- Notes: "Barker" refers to the substantial Introduction by Nicolas Barker to his facsimile edition of Esther Inglis's Les proverbes de Salomon (Roxburghe Club, 2012)
Esther Inglis manuscripts census
United States of America
| Location | Shelfmark | E-Y No. | CELM No. | Title | Date | Dedication? | Self-portrait? | Digitized? Images? | Binding | Catalog record | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Folger | V.a.91 | 12 | *InE 15 | Octonaries | 1600/01 | No | Type 4 | V.a.91; Perdita b&w | Leather, gold-tooled | Hamnet catalog record | |
| Folger | V.a.92 | 33 | *InE 20 | Octonaries | 1607 | William Jeffrey (active 1607) | No | V.a.92; Perdita b&w | Leather, gold-tooled | Hamnet catalog record | |
| Folger | V.a.93 | 8 | *InE 31 | Les CL Psames de David | 1599 | Prince Maurice of Nassau (1567-1625) | Type 1 [X.d.533] | V.a.93 (selections) | Brown velvet, embroidered | Hamnet catalog record | |
| Folger | V.a.94 | 36 | *InE 36 | Argumenta Psalmorum Davidis | 1608 | Prince Henry (1594-1612) | No | V.a.94 (selections); Perdita b&w | Red velvet, embroidered, pearls | Hamnet catalog record | |
| Folger | V.a.665 | 0 | 0 | Psalms of David | 1612 | Prince Henry (1594-1612) | Type 3 | Pink or yellow velvet, embroidered | Hamnet catalog record | ||
| Folger | X.d.533 | *InE 32 | Self portrait from V.a.93 | Type 1 [V.a.93] | X.d.533 | Hamnet catalog record | |||||
| Harry Ransom Center (University of Texas-Austin) | Pforz MS 0126 | 21 | *InE 27 | A New Yeers Guift. [Book of Proverbs] | 1606 | Robert Sidney, 1st Earl of Leicester (1563-1626); no written ded. | No | Perdita color | Leather, gold-tooled | NA | |
| Houghton (Harvard) | MS Typ 428.1 | 2 | *InE 34 | Penmanship specimens [Psalms] | 1605 | Susan de Vere, Countess of Montgomery (1587-1629) | No | Limp vellum | HOLLIS catalog record | ||
| Houghton (Harvard) | MS Typ 212 | 25 | *InE 35 | Argumenta Psalmorum | 1606 | Thomas Egerton, Baron Ellesmere (1540?-1617) | Type 2 | MS Typ 212 | Leather, gold-tooled | HOLLIS catalog record | |
| Houghton (Harvard) | MS Typ 428 | 35 | *InE 11 | Argumentum singlorum capitum Geneseos | 1608 | Sir Edward Stanhope (1546?-1608) | No | Leather, gold-tooled | HOLLIS catalog record | ||
| Houghton (Harvard) | MS Typ 347 | 44 | *InE 50 | Les six vingts et six quatrains de Guy de Faur | 1615 | No | No | Leather, gold-tooled | HOLLIS catalog record | ||
| Houghton (Harvard) | MS Typ 49 | 46 | *InE 58 | Verbum sempiternum [by John Taylor] | 1615 | Samuel Kello (d. 1680) | No | MS Typ 49 | Green velvet, embroidered | HOLLIS catalog record | |
| Houghton (Harvard) | Julian Edison Miniature Books Collection, Houghton Library | 11 | *InE 43 | Quatrains | 1599 | No | No | Two images b&w - Bibliotheque Raphael Esmerian, vol. 1, lot 9 | Leather, gold-tooled | NA | |
| Houghton (Harvard) | Julian Edison Miniature Books Collection, Houghton Library | 43 | *InE 21 | Octonaires sur la Vanite | 1615 | Prince Charles (1600-1649) | ? | Three images in color - Sotheby's Cat. 5 Dec. 1989, London, Lot 65 | Red velvet, embroidered | NA | |
| Houghton (Harvard) | Julian Edison Miniature Books Collection, Houghton Library | 45 | *InE 51 | Quatrains | 1615 | Robert Karr, Earl of Somerset (1584/6-1645) | Formerly | Leather, gold-tooled | NA | ||
| Huntington Library | mssHM 26068 | 3 | *InE 2 | Discours de la Foy | 1591 | Queen Elizabeth (1533-1603) | No | Digital Scriptorium, no images | Limp vellum, gold-tooled | Huntington Library catalog record | |
| Huntington Library | 283000. Vol.5:III. | 52 | *InE 7 | Emblematical drawing of Marie Stewart, wife of John Erskine, Earl of Mar | 1622 | John Erskine, Earl of Mar (c1562-1634) | No | Huntington Library catalog record | Properly identified by Jamie Reid Baxter of Edinburgh, based on Latin inscription identifying image as Marie Stewart (c.1582-1644), wife of John Erskine, Earl of Mar. (She was the daughter of Esme Stewart, 1st Duke of Lennox.) | ||
| The Morgan Library and Museum | MA 2149 | 28 | *InE 6 | Argumenta singuloru[m] capitum Eccles | 1607 | Thomas Puckering (1592-1636) | No | Leather, gold-tooled | Corsair catalog record | ||
| The Morgan Library and Museum | B1 350 A MS W.72 | 47 | *InE 19 | Octonaires sur la vanite | 1615 | Andrew Ramsay (1574-1659) | No | Leather, gold-tooled | Corsair catalog record | ||
| Newberry Library | Wing MS miniature ZW 645 .K29 | 23 | *InE 29 | A New Yeeres guift [Book of Proverbs, select.] | 1606 | Lady Erskine of Dirleton | No | Perdita - b&w | Leather, gold-tooled | Newberry catalog record | |
| Newberry | Wing MS miniature ZW 645 .K292 | 31 | *InE 47 | Les Quatrains du Sr. de Pybrac | 1606? | Sir Thomas Hayes? | No | Perdita - b&w | Leather, gold-tooled | Newberry catalog record | |
| New York Public Library | Spencer Coll. French MS. 008 | 17 | *InE 3 | Le Livre de l'Ecclesiaste | 1601 | Catherine de Parthenay-Larcheveque, Vicomtesse de Rohan | Type 1 | Spencer Coll. French MS 008 (selections) | Leather, gold-tooled | NYPL catalog record | |
| New York Public Library | Spencer Coll. MS. 14 | 13 | *InE 14 | Octonaries upon the Vanitie | 1609 | John, first Baron Petre | Yes | Spencer Coll. MS 14 (selections) | Leather, gold-tooled | NYPL catalog record | |
| Private Library | USA | 0 | *InE 46 | Quatrains | 1600 | Henri, Vicomte de Rohan (1579-1638) | ? | One image in Sotheby's Cat. 13 Dec. 1994, London, Lot 21 | Leather, gold-tooled | NA |
United Kingdom (England)
| Location | Shelfmark | E-Y No. | CELM No. | Title | Date | Dedication? | Self-portrait? | Digitized? Images? | Binding | Catalog record | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bodleian Library | MS. Bodl. 990 | 9 | *InE 24 | Les Proverbes de Salomon | 1599 | Robert, 2nd Earl of Essex | Type 1 | MS. Bodley 990 (14 openings) | Rebound: Leather, gold-tooled | Digital Bodleian catalog record | |
| Bodleian Library | MS. Bodl. 987 | 50 | *InE 52 | Les six vingts et six quatrains de Guy de Faur | 1617 | Joseph Hall, DD | Unique type - photographed as p.006 with MS. Bodl. 990 | Leather, gold-tooled | Perdita record | ||
| British Library | Sloane MS 987 | 1 | *InE 33 | Livret contenant diverses sortes de lettres [Psalms] | 1586 | No | No | Perdita - b&w | Modern leather | British Library catalog record | |
| British Library | Add. MS 27927 | 10 | *InE 4 | Le Livre de l'Ecclesiaste / Cantique de Salomon | 1599 | Anthony Bacon (1558-1601) | Type 1 | Perdita - b&w | Brown velvet, embroidered (set in rebind) | British Library catalog record | |
| British Library | Harleian MS 4324 | 40 | *InE 48 | Les Quatrains de Guy de Faur | 1614 | Sir David Murray of Gorthy | No | Perdita - b&w | Leather, 19th c | Catalogue of Illuminated Manuscripts record | |
| British Library | Add. MS 19633 | 41 | *InE 49 | Les Quatrains de Guy de Faur | 1615 | Prince Charles (1600-1649) | Yes | Perdita - b&w | Maroon velvet, embroidered | British Library catalog record | |
| British Library | Add. MS 22606 | 51 | *InE 53 | Les six vingts et six quatrains de Guy de Faur | 1617 | Walter Balcanquall, BD | No | Perdita - b&w | Leather, gold-tooled | British Library catalog record | |
| British Library | Royal MS 17.D.XVI | 54 | *InE 8 | Ce Livre contenant cinquante Emblemes Chrestiens | 1624 | Prince Charles (1600-1649) | Type 4 | Perdita - b&w | Crimson satin, embroidered, Prince of Wales feathers & crown | British Library catalog record | |
| Christ Church, Oxford | MS. 180 | 7 | *InE 30 | Le Livre des Pseaumes | 1599 | Queen Elizabeth (1533-1603) | Type 1 | 180 - 162 openings | Crimson velvet, embroidered, Tudor rose & crown | Digital Bodleian catalog record | |
| Royal Library, Windsor | RCIN 1047001 | 27 | *InE 17 | Cinquante Octonaires | 1607 | Prince Henry (1594-1612) | Type 2 | Selections digitized | Pinkish velvet | NA | |
| Wormsley Library | RH158 | 18 | *InE 26 | Les Proverbes de Salomon | 1601 | Catherine de Bourbon, redirected (probably) to Sir Thomas and Lady Hayes | Type 1 | Fully photographed and printed for Roxburghe Club, 2012 | 18th c French calf | NA | See Barker |
| Wormsley Library | BM1851 | 38 | *InE 37 | Psalms of David | 1612 | Sir David Murray | Yes | Purple silk; yellow, white, silver thread stripes | NA | ||
| Wormsley Library | BM1850 | 55 | *InE 39 | The Book of the Psalmes of Davide in prose | 1624 | Probably Prince Charles (see Barker) | Type 4 | White velvet, embroidered | NA | ||
| Private Library | PL Northamptonshire | 26 | *InE 12 | Argumenta in Librum Geneseos | 1606 | Thomas Wotton, Baron Wotton of Marley (1587-1630) | No | Leather, gold-tooled | NA | ||
| Private Library | PL Norfolk | 37 | *InE 1 | A Book of the Armes of England | 1609 | Prince Henry (1594-1612) | Yes | Green velvet, embroidered | NA |
United Kingdom (Scotland)
| Location | Shelfmark | E-Y No. | CELM No. | Title | Date | Dedication? | Self-portrait? | Digitized? Images? | Binding | Catalog record | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aberdeen University Library | MS 277 | 0 | 0 | Quatrains | 1600 | No - see description in Barker | No | No | Leather, gold-stamped | Aberdeen catalog record | |
| [National Library of Scotland] | MS 2197 | 5 | *InE 54 | Specimens of writing [moral sententia] (not by Inglis) | No | No | Perdita - b&w | Vellum, gold-tooled | NLS catalog record | Barker says "not by Inglis" | |
| National Library of Scotland | MS 20498 | 19 | *InE 5 | Le Livre de l"Eclesiaste . . . Lamentations de Ieremie | 1602 | Archibald Campbell, 7th Earl of Argyll (1575-1638) | Type 1 | Perdita - b&w | Original Dutch paper; rebound leather 20th c | NLS catalog record | |
| National Library of Scotland | MS Acc. 11821 | 32 | *InE 56 | Argumenta singulorum . . . Evangelii Matthaei | 1607 | William Douglas, Earl of Morton (d.1648) | No | Perdita - b&w | Leather, gold-tooled | NLS catalog record | |
| National Library of Scotland | MS 8874 | 42 | *InE 41 | Les Pseaumes de David | 1615 | James VI and I (1566-1625) | Type 3 | Perdita - b&w | Maroon velvet, embroidered | NLS catalog record | |
| National Library of Scotland | MS 25240 | 0 | *InE 16 | Cinquant Octonaires | 1607 | Gilbert Talbot, 7th Earl of Shrewsbury (1553-1616) | ? | Leather, gold-tooled | NLS catalog record | ||
| National Library of Scotland | MS Acc. 11624 | 22 | *InE 28 | Une Estreine . . . [Proverbs] | 1606 | Lucy Harington, Countess of Bedford (d. 1627) | No | Leather, gold-tooled | NLS catalog record | ||
| National Library of Scotland | Adv. MS 33.1.6, Vol.20, no.11 | 0 | *InE 61 | Autograph copy of poem by David Hume | 1605 | James VI and I [no dedication but bound with letters to him] | No | Modern leather | NA | ||
| National Library of Scotland | Adv. MS 33.1.6, Vol.20, no.21 | p.84 | *InE 62 | Autograph letter signed to James I on behalf of Inglis's son | 1620 | No | No | Facsimiles of National MSS of Scotland (1871), III, No. XCIII | Modern leather | NA | |
| Edinburgh University Library | MS La.III.440 | 4 | *InE 13 | Livret traittant de la Grandeur de Dieu | 1592 | No | No | Perdita -b&w | Vellum, gold-tooled | Edinburgh catalog record | |
| [Edinburgh University Library] | MS La.III.522 | 6 | *InE 55 | Specimens of writing | ? | No | No - portraits of Henri IV & Gabrielle d'Estrees | Perdita -b&w - see also link to one page in catalog record and to a further three pages | Leather, gold-tooled, 18th c | Edinburgh catalog record | not by Inglis (see Barker) |
| Edinburgh University Library | MS La.III.525, f.8 | p.84 | *InE 60 | Inscriptions in album amicorum of George Craig | 1604 | Edinburgh catalog record | |||||
| Edinburgh University Library | MS. La.III.249 | 20 | *InE 59 | Vincula Unionis . . . David Hume | 1605 | By Hume to James VI and Prince Henry | No | Perdita -b&w | Leather, gold-tooled | Edinburgh catalog record | |
| Edinburgh University Library | MS. La.III.439 | 30 | *InE 42 | Les Quatrains du Sieur de Pybrac | 1607 | Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury (1563-1612) | No | Perdita -b&w | Leather, gold-tooled laid in modern bind | Edinburgh catalog record | |
| Edinburgh University Library | MS. La.III.75 | 34 | *InE 57 | Treatise of preparation to the Holy Supper | 1608 | Sir David Murray of Gorthy (1567-1629) | No | Perdita -b&w | Leather, gold-tooled laid in modern bind | Edinburgh catalog record | |
| University of St Andrews | MS 38830 | 49 | *InE 23 | Les Cinquante Octonaires | 1616 | John Spottiswood, Archbishop of St Andrews | Formerly - removed | No | Leather, gold-tooled | St Andrews catalog record | Unusually annotated with Greek & Latin epigrams |
| National Archives of Scotland | GD 18/4508 | 29 | *InE 18 | Cinquante Octonaires | 1607 | Ludovic Stuart, 2nd Duke of Lennox (1574-1624) | Type 2 | No | Green velvet | NAS catalog record | |
| National Trust for Scotland - Culzean Castle | 45.3597 (see Barker) | 0 | 0 | Cinquante Octonaires | 1616 | "Madamoiselle de Trochrig" Anna Maliverne de Lavignolle, wife of Robert Boyd | ? | No | Leather, gold-tooled | NA | |
| National Trust for Scotland - Culzean Castle | 45.3596 (see Barker) | 0 | 0 | Les Six vingts et six quatrains | 1616 | Robert Boyd, sieur de Trochrig | ? | No | Leather, gold-tooled | NA |
Europe
| Location | Shelfmark | E-Y No. | CELM No. | Title | Date | Dedication? | Self-portrait? | Digitized? Images? | Binding | Catalog record | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal Library, Copenhagen | GKS 3380 oktav | 53 | *InE 38 | The Booke of the Psalme[s] of David | 1624 | Prince Charles (1600-1649) | Type 4 | No | White velvet, embroidered, pearls | REX catalog record | |
| Royal Library, Copenhagen | Thott 323 oktav | 0 | 0 | Quatrains du Sieur de Pybrac | 1606 | Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex (1591-1646) | ? | Litt.ref.: Carl Elberling. breve fra en bogelsker s.68, pl IX - binding image | Leather, gold-tooled | REX catalog record | |
| Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris | MS. Francais 14849 | 16 | *InE 25 | Les Proverbes du Roy Salomon | 1601 | Henri, Vicomte de Rohan (1579-1638) | Type 1 | Gallica | Modern leather | BnF catalog record | |
| Staatsbibliothek, Berlin | MS. Lat. oct. 14 | 24 | *InE 10 | Tetrasticha selecta historiae Geneseos | 1606 | Christian Friis (1556-1616) | Type 2 | May order PDF or TIFF | Leather, gold-tooled | Record in printed 1905 catalog | |
| Royal Library, Stockholm | Cod. Holm. A.781 | 39 | *InE 40 | Les Pseaumes de David | 1612 | Prince Henry (1594-1612) | Type 3 | No | White silk, embroidered | No catalog record | |
| Untraced- formerly British Library | Sloane MS 808 | 0 | 0 | Quatrains | 1615 | ? | Not listed in 1904 Index of Sloane MSS or current online numeric list | ||||
| Untraced | 14 | *InE 9 | Historiae memorabiles Genesis | 1600 | No | NA | |||||
| Untraced | 15 | *InE 45 | Quatrains | 1600 | No | Leather, gold-tooled | NA | ||||
| Untraced- formerly Advocates Library, Edinburgh | Adv. MS. 19.3.46 | 48 | *InE 22 | Cinquante Octonaires | 1616 | Robert Frenche, Clerk of Kircaldie ("my cousin") | Leather, gold-tooled | NA |