LETTER SIGNED BY THOMAS POVEY. SINGLE FOOLSCAP SHEET IN INK MANUSCRIPT. by POVEY, Thomas.: - 1668

November 26th 1668.. The letter is addressed to "My Lord" (Sir William Temple), thanking him for taking William Blathwayt, Povey's nephew, under his patronage. This letter was taken from an old card folder containing items connected with Samuel Pepys. The folder was put together by Willam Upcott (17791845) a well known librarian and author, who also collected large quanties of books, manuscripts, letters and other ephemera. See Margaret Willes, The Curious World of Samuel Pepys and John Evelyn, the Introduction for information on Upcott. Sheet approximately 310 x 200 mm, 12½ x 8 inches, written on both sides, 2 ink blots to recto, 1 with bleed through to verso, text mostly readable apart from 4 words, (images attached). Pale age-browning and spotting otherwise in good condition. Povey was one of the original members of the Royal Society, it was he who proposed Samuel Pepys for membership on 8 February 1665. Povey had a house in Lincoln's Inn Fields which was famous for its elegance and the ingenious arrangements of its wine-cellars. There he dispensed generous hospitality, John Evelyn and Samuel Pepys were both frequent guests (DNB). William Blathwayt joined the diplomatic service in 1668 when his uncle Thomas Povey found him a post as Clerk of the English embassy at The Hague. He returned to London in the early 1670s, and was from 1675 to 1679 secretary of trade and plantations, becoming heavily involved in the administration of England's colonies in North America. In 1680, he became the first surveyor and auditor-general of royal revenues in America and was appointed secretary of the Privy Council's committee on trade and foreign plantations, i.e. colonial under-secretary. In this capacity he became a key figure in American affairs. He was responsible for establishing the charter of the Crown colony of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, later the state of Massachusetts. MORE IMAGES ATTACHED TO THIS LISTING, ALL ZOOMABLE, FURTHER IMAGES ON REQUEST. POSTAGE AT COST.